Resolutions.

Every year I make them... and every year I forget what they were by February. 

Not this year.

This year I'm not only going to make resolutions, I'm going to set forth with a plan to ensure I go through with, at least attempting, my resolutions. 

And my readers get volunteered to be my accountability partners, along with my husband, close friends and family! Yay for you! :)

So here goes:

1. Be a stronger spiritual being; therefore, walking closer with my God. In my opinion, this one should be a the top of everyone's list, every year. As pastor Chris would put it,

 "We are not physical beings having temporary spiritual experiences, we are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience."

What else could be more important?

If I make this my main focus, I have a feeling that the rest of my resolutions will follow suit. 

Here's how I'm going to work at it this year:

• Every January, our church sets aside a time for prayer and fasting to become closer to God, called 21 Days of Prayer.We believe that fasting isn't about starving yourself just to prove how much you love God. It's about taking distractions out of your life and devoting that time to hearing God. We have decided to stop doing one of our favorite things, eating out, for 21 days. We will cook all of our meals at home, even on weekends (that's going to be a tough one)! This will take a lot of discipline on our part, but in the end will give us more time to focus on our relationship with Christ. It will also be a huge money saver!
• Reading a little bit of God's living word every day in the One Year Bible. (Our church website has a great version that's also a phone app now).
• By joining the 2011 Beth Moore siesta scripture memory team! Thanks to a new blogger friend, Megan, (who  totally wrote about this days ago and has inspired me to do it as well)! The scripture memory team is a commitment to memorize 2 scripture verses a month. A small commitment that, I believe, can make a huge impact on a life.  Who wants to join?!

2. Become a better wife. Another very important resolution that I think all wives should strive for every year. To do this, I am going to make more of an effort to speak in Jordan's "love language" (I talk about it here) and show acts of service. I think I can do this by trying to make the bed in the mornings, making sure the laundry is caught up and there are no dirty dishes in the sink. Try is the key word here, but he deserves it! 

We will also make an effort to attend at least 1 or 2 marriages conferences this year. Those are fun! :)

3. To  use my gifts to serve others. 

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace"

1 Peter 4:10

I want to take this scripture to heart this year and serve others. I will be looking for opportunities to volunteer and give. I hope to inspire at least one person this year. 

4. Focus on my hobbies. Photography and blogging have become such incredible hobbies for me. I hope to learn more about my camera, different lenses and editing softwares. In order to do this I am going to take pictures every chance I get and keep my blog updated as much as possible!

Annnnd, that's it...in a nutshell!

 Sure, there are about a million other things I'd like to accomplish this year, but I'm not organized enough to keep up with more than 4 (on this blog anyways). And that's less "keeping up" for my accountability partners too! :)