Usually, I stand at the brink of a new month and think, “Where did the last one GO? How is it a new month already?!” But today, looking into February and evaluating January, I don’t feel like that at all. January didn’t fly by, nor did it crawl, it just was. It felt happily full, steady. It felt like a month living by the mantra of “staying.”
Maybe this is working!
Here’s a recap of the 2012 Staying Goals and how they fared this month:
[faithful]
DEFINITION: to be in constant relationship with Christ; to live a life which bears evidence of that relationship
2012 GOAL: complete Project 345, keep a one verse/one gratitude daily journal, memorize Galatians 5
PROGRESS: Oh my goodness. If anything has been a positive change for me, it’s this time that I spend with the Lord every morning. I look forward to it every day! I love the flexibility that Project 345 allows, love Tony Dungy’s daily challenge devotional, love focusing on one verse and one gratitude a day, love praying confidently and specifically. This is the one change that makes all of the other changes possible.
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[relational]
DEFINITION: to love the friends and family who make my life so rich; to make people a priority
2012 GOAL: make one meaningful connection per week with a friend or family member
PROGRESS: Um…I need to refurbish this goal. Who knew I was not as much of a hermit as I thought?
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[hungry]
DEFINITION: to eat thoughtfully prepared (or purchased) food enthusiastically; to expand my culinary skills beyond brownies
2012 GOAL: make one new dinner recipe (from the millions of magazines or billions of blogs I subscribe to) per week
PROGRESS: I love this goal. I love making a conscious effort to have a real meal for dinner. I love this one best: Salsa Chicken.
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[athletic]
DEFINITION: to make the most of the healthy body I’ve been given; to run a lot of miles, do a lot of yoga, lift something heavy every now and again, and make every effort to be active as opposed to inactive
2012 GOAL: run 1000 miles
PROGRESS: I’m behind on this goal due to a minor setback. I ran 50 miles this month. I need to run 83 per month to be on pace. But I already made up for 10 of the miles I missed, so I’m hoping to keep chipping away at the deficit and start getting ahead over the next few months.
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[creative]
DEFINITION: to use the gifts I’ve been given to see the world in a unique way; to appreciate beauty everywhere
2012 GOAL: take one new (legit) picture per week
PROGRESS: This one makes me happy. I’m having fun taking pictures that I love. Favorite so far: Crepes and Bacon.
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[compassionate]
DEFINITION: to love people, especially those who need love most
2012 GOAL: volunteer one day per month
PROGRESS: This one is almost ready to be a reality! I’m in the final stages of application/orientation for the Better Day Buddies program at Strong and can’t wait to get started!!! In the meantime I’ve been enjoying spreading as many random acts of kindness around the greater Rochester area as possible.
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[intelligent]
DEFINITION: to use my brain
2012 GOAL: read one book per month
PROGRESS: I love being held accountable for reading actual literature (i.e. not blogs and/or magazines and/or cookbooks) regularly. The library is my BFF. And so is this book, which couldn’t have given 2012 a more apt start.
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[in rochester]
DEFINITION: to make the most of the city I live in by exploring new places and frequenting well-loved ones
2012 GOAL: visit one new place in Rochester per month
PROGRESS: Done! The Gate House was the newbie of the month…and Aladdin’s, Finger Lakes Coffee, Simply Crepes, and Wegmans saw plenty of me, too.
//
[out of rochester]
DEFINITION: to scratch the travel itch, expand my perspective, and regularly recharge by getting away
2012 GOAL: travel outside of the greater Rochester area and, if at all possible, the state of New York, once per season
PROGRESS: I was all I <3 NY this month. No worries…a trip is in sight for February!
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[real]
DEFINITION: to enjoy life, warts and all
2012 GOAL: not to get so caught up in goals and plans that I forget to enjoy laughable life moments, football and snow, coffee and chocolate, Gilmore Girls and magazines, candles and Pinterest, stumbles, falls, and a boatload of other things that make life so much fun
PROGRESS: This is the easy one. See: here. And here. And here.
//
favorite post: being an exclamation point
favorite good thing: milk & honey chocolate banana granola
favorite pin:
favorite verse: Here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.” John 5:39-40 (MSG).
So, that’s January! A wonderful month by all accounts. What a nice start to 2012.
How about you guys? How would you rate January 2012 in your book?
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