A New Year! 2015, so what did I accomplish?

Last year I had I high hopes of keeping my blog going, but life happens and it was put on the back burner. 

I am going to try this again. But before I move on, I want to take a step back and look at what I accomplished last year. 

A Year in Review

I finished my master's degree in educational leadership and am now an assistant principal at an elementary. I am loving the new challenges that I face everyday and I love all my 560 students at my school. It was hard knowing that I was leaving the classroom. A place where I felt like I really knew what I was doing. But I am always up for a challenge. 

I didn't complete my goal of running a full marathon this past year, but it is still a goal. And I am determined to stay focused on what I want. 

I didn't read the bible in one year, but I didn't give up either. I will have read the best book ever written by the end of this year. 

Last year was amazing. My husband and I had so many blessings. Our children are growing up in Christ and when you have teenagers who have so many temptations around them everyday, growing up in Christ is a huge accomplishment. 

This year will be amazing. My focus is the Lord. Everything I do everyday is for him. My goal is for all my little ones and the adults that I work with see Him in me. 

Getting ready for summer

I always have good intentions to really take care of myself spiritually, physically, and emotionally, but then my week starts and I fall short. I'm either driving here or there, cleaning, working or just doing what moms do. 

I saw myself in my Mother's Day pictures and I didn't like what I was beginning to look like. It is hard to always eat right and exercise when the kids and husband want to grab a pizza on the way home. That is easier for me, I don't have to cook. I am sure there are plenty of other moms that are just as busy out there, and can find that balance. 

That is what this blog is for to help me find my balance. 

I know I will succeed! 

I am Alive

Today was a perfect day! 

I have serval things going on to help me stay focused and I hope that I haven't taken on too much (which I have been known to do).

1st: I am training for my half marathon and then a marathon, so this morning I woke up are a little breakfast and went to the gym to run 5 miles. Now I am not a great runner and I have to pace myself, but I accomplished my goal. I have to admit mile 3 was hard and I caught myself praying for the pain to go away and it did. To help me stay focused I joined a Facebook group: 100 days of miles, and every time I run, I post to that page how many miles I ran and how many days I have left. It seems to keep me motivated. 

2nd: I have several devotional books going on at one time. Right now I am reading, The Runner's Devotional, which is only weekly, Live Second 365 Ways to Make Jesus First, The Confident Wowen, and The Weekly Bible Reading Chart on my bible app. It may seem overwhelming but I enjoy getting my cup filled from all these diffent books. 

3rd: tomorrow my husband and I will be starting the Daniel Fast. This will be a great challenge, but I know it will bring me closer to God. Right now, as I type, I am waiting for some of my recipes (snacks) to be ready so that tomorrow I will be ready to take on the day. 

My final thoughts: I really like what Joyce Meyer said in today's devotional, we are flawed, so when we do great things it must come from God. I truly believe this, I am here to work for him, to witness, and to give Him all the glory and He leads me to what I need to do. I'm not sure if that makes sense reading it, but it makes complete sense in my mind. 

Confidence

This will be a year of confidence! I have always doubted myself and my ability. However I know that if I trust in The Lord and I work at the gifts that He has given me then I will be successful. This new confidence can apply to all parts of my life: My family, my work, and my goals. 

I never thought that I would want to run a marathon, but here I am training, and planning so when that day comes I will be ready and I will be confident in my ability.  

2 Miles down and 98 Days to Go

This is much later then what I had planned on for today's post, but I ended up staying up late and having a long talk with a family member, and family is always important. The late night talks are something that I will always cherish. 

Today I did not do my scheduled run. Instead I only ran 2 miles but had a chance to hang out with a good friend during my run and spent the third mile walking and catching up. My time for my run improved from yesterday and that is a good thing for me. 

On my spiritual growth, today I read about Job and his faithfulness to God and I hope and pray that I could be just as faithful. I also read about Jesus asking Peter to join him and walk on water and as long as he had his eyes on The Lord he could. I want to step out of my comfort zone while keeping my eyes on The Lord and I know what ever I do will be blessed. 

A New Year, A New Me

The idea of creating a blog isn't something I thought I would ever do, but here I am.  This blog is really my online life changes journal. This year I plan on growing my relationship with my Lord,
Jesus Christ, I plan on running my first marathon, riding in a 100 mile bike ride and continue to making family memories that my children will cherish.

Prior to today, I purchased a small planner. Yes I have access to a planner on my phone, but I wanted
a planner just for my training. I spent one afternoon planning out my workout schedule. I also added in all my event dates.

Today being the first day of the year I had to get my workout in, even though I'm not feeling 100%. I
started my training on Friday, and it is important that I don't stop now, so early on. Today was an easy running day, just 2 miles, weights and I am working through two 30 day challenges that I found on
Pinterest. My first run will hopefully be a 10k on January 18th.

http://tribesports.com/challenges/30-day-ab-and-squat-challenge


30 plank challenge found on the link below.
 http://www.fitbodyhealthandfitness.com/AbWorkouts.html

For my spiritual growth I started a reading plan on my bible, Weekly Bible Reading Chart from my Olive Tree Bible app.  My goal is to the entire bible read by December 24th. My husband and I plan to start the Daniel Fast on Monday and spend more time in prayer individually and as a family.