A Walk with Papa

“Remember that on this walk together, where we are going is a surprise, a secret that only I know. At times on this walk you will not see me. Remember that I am still with you. Trust my voice to instruct you in the way you should go. I know where I am leading you; trust me. I do not leash you or bridle you, forcing you along. No, I desire that you would follow me, walk with me, willingly as one who loves and trusts me. You can trust me, Brittany.”

We Shall Have Spring Again

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

It seems that winter has decided to stay for a while. I am so tired of the bitter cold. So done with snow and ice. So over hard, dead ground.

Let the roaring lion shake his mane and shake the snow from these limbs.

A Quiet Afternoon

A quiet afternoon
Old sweater, steady snow
A blanket for cold skin and raw earth
Insulated, undisturbed
Open arms, bitter wind
An invitation to come in

Fall Gently, Lightly

Fall gently, lightly
Not like crashing, breaking glass
Like dust settling in a room
Quiet even when stirred

Fall gently, lightly
Not like heavy, driving rain
Like a soft afternoon snow
A call to slow down

Fall gently, lightly
Not like painful, gasping breath
Like a sleepy exhale
Natural in its rhythm

That Time of the Year

I haven’t made any resolutions for 2014.

I’m not against the concept of New Year’s resolutions, but the way they’re usually done doesn’t seem to work. You all know how it goes: you declare that this is the year you’re going to lose weight/quit smoking/stick to a budget/travel more, etc. But by February you have forgotten all about those resolutions (if you hadn’t already failed by mid-January). So you make those same resolutions again the next December.

I’m not on board with that.

This year I’m trying something different.

It’s hard to keep focused on resolutions throughout an entire year, especially when those resolutions are vague or hard to measure. But short-term goals are a lot more manageable. So this year I am trying something new: making goals every three months in the physical, financial, intellectual, social, and emotional areas of my life.

In the interest of accountability (whatever accountability there is in internet sharing), I am putting my goals out here.

Physical – Get back down to my original goal weight of 150
After a lot of hard work to reach my goal weight earlier this year, I got off track when my schedule changed. I haven’t gained back a lot, but I would like to get back to the disciplined eating and exercising I had before. Setting a concrete goal like the number 150 will give me something measurable to focus on.

Financial – Understand where my money goes
Admittedly, I’m not very good at saving money. This year I have recognized that I often go shopping simply because I am bored, and often money feels like it’s eating a hole in my pocket until the urge to spend results in mindless shopping. So this week I have been researching the basics of budgeting, and I plan to document my spending in order to better understand my habits and see where I can start saving money.

Intellectual – Complete all reading assignments on time
When the my grades for the fall semester came out, I was so proud of the work I put into my classes. But I know I could have pushed myself a little harder and gotten more out of my classes had I done all the readings for all of my classes. So this semester the plan is to write down all of the reading assignments in my planner ahead of time so I know what is coming up, and to carve out time in my weekly schedule specifically for academic reading.

Social – Stop initiating and engaging in gossip
Recently I have recognized a disturbing habit of gossiping about certain people in my everyday conversations with some friends. I acknowledge this as an unhealthy habit that prevents me from loving some of my brothers and sisters in Christ. So the gossiping has to stop. I want to stop initiating it, and I plan to have a response ready for when others initiate gossip in my presence.

Emotional – Journal five days a week
One of the best practices for my emotional health has been journaling. It may be obvious, but I process my life by writing about it. In the interest of working through my thoughts and emotions, I want to make journaling a more disciplined part of my life.

So there it is, my short-term goals for January-March 2014. My hope is that breaking up the year into shorter intervals will make my goals more manageable. I hope that I have put enough thought and intentionality into setting these goals that they will be clear and success can be more easily measured.

Because I’m tired of failed resolutions.

Here’s to goals and growth in 2014,

 

P.S. Feel free to share your goals for the New Year in the comments. Or share any suggestions you may have for making my goals more clear and measurable. Thanks for reading!