Guest Post! Nicole's P365 {Part Two}

Nicole shared Part 1 of her P365 Story earlier this week. Take a look at her January journey below!

So what did I accomplish in January?

Get healthier – I’m drinking more water, I went on a 4½ mile bike ride with my family and I’m choosing the stairs instead of the elevator. Nothing earth shattering, but it’s a start.

Be intentional – This goal has really made me stop and think about how I spend my time with people, but especially my kids. 

It’s helped me look for fun in the middle of every day life – like stopping in the middle of making dinner to crawl around on the floor like a mama lion with both boys on my back until we all collapsed in a giggling heap or leaving my phone and iPad in the other room while we watched Sophia the First for the 86^th time or leaving my “to do” list at home when I went to my mom’s house so I just sat with her instead of busying myself with my list. 

It’s been humbling to realize how much I need to improve in this area, but I want to be more intentional with the people I love the most. I’m really thankful to recognize this now so it will only get better!

Spend less and save more – I met with a good friend a couple of weeks ago that offered to go through all of my finances with me and help me set a budget. I made some real progress! I still have a bit of work to do, but I spent considerably less this month and am on track to pay off the last of my debts in the next few months. But to be completely honest, it’s been harder than I thought it would be. I’m still thinking on this one but I’m sure it has something to do with my control issues and everything belonging to God and not me anyway, but I need some more time to let it simmer.

Make memories – This has been so FUN! This month I bought canvases and taped off my boys’ names, then let them finger paint over the whole thing. When the paint dried we peeled off the paint and their names were left in white. They LOVED their creations and proudly put them by their beds. 

We spent one morning on a bike ride with my sister to two different parks to play (which was no small feat, let me tell you!). My sister put a seat on the front of her bike for my youngest and a trailer bike on the back for my oldest while I trailed behind on my own bike. Yes we were totally a “scene” riding down the road, but we had a blast!

I also bought some new storybooks and have been reading a story with the boys every night before bed. I’m pretty sure it’s become their favorite part of the evening…mine too!

Read more – I've read 1 book, a few chapters in another book, several magazines (I know, I know…kind of cheating!), and am regularly reading a few blogs. Next month my goal is to read another few chapters in the one book and 2 additional books. I LOVE to read so I really don’t know why this one has been so hard for me…better think on that some more.

I’ve been so encouraged by Project365 this last month. I love knowing I’m not alone in my daily struggles to be the woman, mom, friend and daughter that God is calling me to be. And I love that it’s not just OK, but rather it is good to celebrate together over the great days AND the not so great days. 

I know God is trying to get my attention through all of this goal setting and intentionality and memory making. I can feel it. And even though hearing from God can sometimes be scary (not because God is scary, but because I might actually have to do what He is saying!), I’m pretty sure He is telling me to slow down, to stop hiding in the busyness of my life, to create space to hear from Him and to make the most of every single day. 

I think it’s about time I listened. After all, the fog is lifting which means blue skies, not storm clouds, are trying to peek through.

Milton On Gratitude

{via English Muse}

I saw this quote yesterday and have been mulling it over ever since.

I'm amazed at how much my "experience of life and the world" has morphed since beginning the Thank You Note piece of my Project 365 and {I know I say this once a week, but} I really can't wait to see how much more things will change--I will change--in this year.

Who {or what} in your life has become typical, possibly even overlooked?

How can you express gratitude to or for them this week in hopes of reigniting the awe you once felt for them?

I'm very excited for a bike ride on such a beautiful day!

Hope your Monday is equally as fun and relaxing.

love. love. love.

H.O.P.E.

Hope is our family word of the year for 2013. 

We pick a word every year and it becomes like a filter through which we see the world around us.  It also shapes how we think about decisions, solutions, outcomes.  It changes how we think and it grounds us to a character trait of God that we want to understand, implement and become part of our DNA.

My mind was wondering the other day and I ended up pen to paper, writing down topics that I would like to journal or research and then journal or blog, etc.  I then wrote the word Hope across the top of the page and out came an acrostic.

Hope - 2013

H - Honor God
O - Oppose the schemes of the devil
P - Praise His Holy Name
E - Expect His Goodness

If I did these four things every day all day, I think my life would look different, better, full of... Hope. 

So that is what I am setting out to do.  Join me and let's see what happens together.

Guest Post! Nicole's P365 {Part 1}

A little about Nicole, in her own words: I’m a single mom of two wonderful boys (2 ½ and 4 ½ yrs). I love cooking, baking, reading, crafting and finding “deals of the century”. I love my friends and family and they are really important to me. I would do anything to help a friend, I’m loyal to a fault, and I don’t like mean people.

I’ve never been one for writing yearly goals. Sure, I’ve set goals for myself and I’ve definitely accomplished things in my life (some would even say BIG things). But when it came to the whole “New Year’s Resolution” thing, I’ve never really understood it and for sure never participated. But for whatever reason, I decided 2013 was the year I wanted to set some goals for myself. It’s probably mostly because I’ve just come out of the hardest 2½ years of my life, a time in my life affectionately referred to as “the fog”. And since the fog is now lifting, I kinda have to figure out who I am again. So after lots of hemming, hawing and arguing with God about my goals for the year, I finally landed on these: 

• Get healthier (lose weight, eat better, exercise)
•  Be intentional (more focused when I’m with people esp. my kids)
•  Spend less and save more (set a budget and stick to it)
•  Make memories! (at least one fun activity a month w/ my kids; write down their “funnies”; take more pictures AND videos)
•  Read more 

I wrote them with a dry erase marker on my mirrored closet door so I would look at them every morning. And I’m really surprised at what a difference it’s made. I certainly haven’t been perfect, but I’ve been more focused. And I’m learning not to be so hard on myself by celebrating the wins (even the little ones) instead of beating myself up for the losses.

More about Nicole's P365 to come...

Let's change the world

For the last 3 years I have had the opportunity to attend Catalyst.  It is a 3 day submersion into the most creative and inspiring speakers, leaders, musicians, poets, and artistry.  It is deeply thought provoking and widely motivating.  More than half of the speakers stir my soul in such a way to leave my seat of the room and go explosively change the world.
I believe that inside every attender of Catalyst is a world changer: both in idea producers and efficient executors, which are equal parts that make anything successful. 
Then the conference comes to an end, a couple thousand attendees pour out of the building, life goes right into the weekend.  And Monday morning, sadly, looks almost exactly the same as last Monday. 
But what if it didn't?
What if the over 2,000 attendees of this conference, along with all other Christians attending conferences, got together and really did rock the world?
The US House of Representatives has 435 members.  I would guesstimate that of the over 2,000 Catalyst attendees, there are approximately 500 churches represented.  The House of Reps pass laws that impact the entire country.  In any given year they pass anywhere from 200-500 laws.  Christian leaders don't have nearly that many goals on an annual basis, nor should they. 
First and foremost is the goal of seed planting and calling seekers into the destiny of their lives.
Second, we want them to grow in relationship with the trinity and begin the process of a transformed life.
Third, a life lived to the purpose defined by God, leads to maximized relationships, life-giving serving, and continually inviting the rest of the world to the hope we have in Jesus.
What if this year there was a laying down of individualistic goals, dreams, and ambitions, and picked up the idea of just one goal: working together to bring Christ to every one's life.  What would this take?  How would I live differently?  Would this be a slight shift or a radical change?
Could we all die to self in such a way that we laid down our personal plans so we could pick up one unified platform and really explode Christ follower-ship?
If 435 House Reps can change the whole country, what more can 500 churches accomplish? 

A-freaking-lot. 

And because this is just west coast Catalyst conference - meaning there are so many more churches, along with this analogy be askew in so many ways, I just think it is our time, it is this generations turn, to take the states by storm. 

Love. Love. Love.

I have a high school small group of freshmen and sophomore girls. Sixteen freshmen and sophomore girls, to be exact. They're everything you imagine a group of fifteen- and sixteen-year olds to be: hilarious, moody, semi-melodramatic, easily distracted, loving, loud, and t e r r i f i e d of any kind of insect or arachnid {see also, loud}.

These girls have been such a fun part of my 2012-2013 school year. They've also been a really great piece of my P365. They were recipients of 15 of 91 notes in January. And, since Valentine cards were on a ridiculous sale at Michael's last week. {Seriously: eight cards for sixty-eight cents? Dig it. I bought eight packs. not joking.}, they will receive another round this week!

I loved writing each girl a 'love love love note' this week {because sometimes one 'love' doesn't quite capture the sentiment.} Wouldn't you like to receive a note filled with things that someone loves about you?! I know I would. And I know they will, too.

As an added bonus, this really helps my card count for this month. {which was hurting as of Saturday. See previous post.}

Who, in your life, could use a LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. NOTE right about now? 

One decision at a time

Water.
Love it for the following: swimming, washing the dishes, washing the car, clothes, getting ready in the morning, nourishing the plant life all around, cooking, washing my hands.
As for drinking it...
Blech.
I'm totally over it.  I am even in a mood about it because I just want to drink diet coke and get on with it.
But, God made the human body mostly out of water so I know in my brain that I need to replenish it regularly.
This is clearly a rebellion issue.  It is an issue of not doing something that I have to do.  Honestly, it's like I'm 14.  "I don't want to drink water, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Good grief. Get a life, right?
So, I've not been drinking my goal of 64oz of water for the last four days.
Yesterday I was having lunch with a group of friends.  The conversation turned to what we had all committed to for lent and one gal shared that she gave up her snooze button.
"What?", I said.
"Yeah," she said, "I was really getting bad with hitting snooze and I don't want that for my life, so I gave it up."
I was dumbfounded.  That's brilliant.  That is a decision of intentionality.  I know this friend and I am not at all surprised that she is this disciplined.  I am so inspired by her.
Then I come back to my crybaby water issue and I really had a different thought about it.  Water is a necessity.  We have clean water.  I need to drink it.  The end.
And little by little, I grow up.  One decision at a time.

Starting again

           I'll be honest, so far February has been kind of a wash for me. It started strong, but then I got sick and after a few days of not really accomplishing any of my goals (except eating breakfast-currently the only light in my otherwise dark P365 world) I just sort of.....forgot.
         
         And when I did remember, I just sort of half assed it.  I know that we are supposed to be celebrating, not shaming and be all about progress, not perfection, but I feel a little ashamed, and more than a little disappointed in myself. 

Man, building habits are hard, breaking them is easy, and re-building them is REALLY hard; mostly because I get in the way of myself and let my disappointment and failure paralyze me.

Not this time.

This time I will pick myself up and start again.  So I didn't do all the things I wanted, and maybe stepping back into that place of daily vulnerability and thankfulness and generosity is a little scary because I'm a little afraid of failing again. But here's the thing, I'm learning that failing doesn't signify the end of the world, or really any huge loss except maybe a little disappointment or embarrassment.  Which I'll get over-eventually.

My world will not end if I don't accomplish all my goals this week. Or this month.  Or this year. 
P365 is not meant to be a chore.  Its meant to be a fun, learning, growing experience with my friends.  I need to get back to that part of it, not the "if you don't do it all perfectly you are a horrible person and a failure" part of it. Maybe its a little easier said than done, but I'll get there.

Generally, New years resolutions are notoriously broken by this time of the year (a whole one and a half months in) and we dont start again until the following year. 
What if this time, we started again RIGHT AFTER WE STOPPED?  And what if, we were OK with the stopping because tomorrow is a new day. And a fresh start. And a gift. And we get to use it to start over.

So if you've already given up on your goals and resolutions for the year, lets start again. Together.

Here we go.....

Oh, Well, Hello There!

Well January was the draggiest month ever. {I know, dotted-red-underline, "draggiest" isn't a word, but it seems to perfectly describe my sentiments about the month when 31 days felt like 45.}

However, February seems to be flying.

I can't believe it's halfway over.

And here I am, having posted once this month.

Once.

I suppose I haven't been posting because I haven't been all that great with my P365 this month. {I missed most of the first week entirely: 2 cards {good thing I was so over-the-top with these in January!}, very little activity, hardly any writing...nothing close to what it should have been.} I couldn't very well post about nothing, could I? Oh wait, that's what this post is about...

So, there it is: the big, fat truth.

I'm starting my day with this--and the hope that I will hit all four of my 365 goals today!

Celebration, not shame, my friends.

If I write about being tired, it will stop, right? (smirk)

It is the day of St. Valentine.  I hope you had something sweet to eat, smiled at those who wore red, pink or hearts; smiled at yourself if you were one of them.  I saw a lady in a red leather jacket today.  Do you think she wears that any other day of the year?

I am having an interesting week.  I am feeling mediocre at best.

I wonder why I am in a meeting or what I have to offer when asked my opinion.

I have been in the trenches with people one on one more this week than since the few days before Christmas, but I don't feel quite as much awe and wonder readily available.

Several groups that meet via ministry on our campus are plagued with depression, suicidal thoughts or grief.  I have shared more about identity in Christ with amazing leaders in the last three days than I have in the last six months.

Yet, I am tired, feeling bummed out, wondering if there will ever be a reprieve from the pain this world has before Christ returns.  The world sits in the palm of Satan's hands and we are charged with the effort to find peace and joy.  Christ died for our sin and the Holy Spirit is our conscious, our ability to see the world via the lens of Gods ultimate design.  But I am weary as I am seeing the world in light of Satan's stain and I am tired.


I've been here before.  It's not a dry bones kind of tired; but more of a sadness that all this tragedy is happening all around.  I am so desperate for Jesus.  I am also feeling lazy.  I hear my heart saying, in a whine, "Could you please just come back or could you, just for one day, let my eyes be blind to the constant manipulation and deception of Satan and his control over others?"

This is what I know though, He is faithful.  He says trust Him, so I trust Him.  He says run the race with endurance, so I will sleep tonight and run again tomorrow.  He says consider joy in the trials, so I will pray for the Holy Spirit to lavish His joy where all this trial is occurring.  He says that we are to sit quietly while He fights on our behalf, so I will silence myself (right after this post).

I am asking you to share, so that I can have perspective and your help.  What do you when you are tired?  Weary of the world's pain?  How to you rejuvenate?  Where in the bible is your soul replenished?

Tonight I will turn to music or reading.  I will read some of James because I dearly love how James speaks.

And tomorrow I will start over. 

Guest Post! Michelle's P365 {Part Two}

 {Read Part One of Michelle's P365 here}

To be quite honest and upfront from the get go, we've had thirty three days of the year so far and I think I've only done ALL four maybe ten times.  On average, I do at LEAST one a day but all four is a really, really good day.  I find that the hardest commitments is starting my day with God.  I love starting my day early but the problem is that I have the hardest time waking up early.  That being said, I usually start my day rushed because I need to cook my new husband, Kelly, and I breakfast and whip up his lunch (check and check).  I work for myself so I set my own schedule but I am the kind of person who once I get started, I can't stop.  This momentum begins when I start cooking so by the time Kelly leaves, I am ready to work...not meet with God, which in my already rushed & tired mind frame, can wait.  But then my entire day has shifted and stress begins to seep.  No bueno.  

On my best days, I am able to wak up earlier than Kelly, meet with God by starting with my "Words" devotional from Mariners Church, journal and then easily transition into a quick encouraging note to whoever God puts on my heart that morning.  

Then, with a new song in my heart and a refreshed spirit, I can whip up two meals.  Once Kelly leaves, I can sit down in my little corner office and start working without the pressure of producing.  I will work straight from 10-6, turn off my computer, put a sirloin in the oven and prepare dinner so that Kelly can come home to richly aromatic home with a huge appetite.  We eat together, go out to a movie and come back to do the "Five A's" before bed.  Yeah, too bad these days exist in my dreams. Honestly, the easiest items are making meals and doing the Five A's.  I think maybe because it's easier for me to serve others with an immediate payoff than to fuel myself and take the time to encourage when it's not a pressing necessity.  

Although I haven't had the best track record thus far of completing all four commitments a day, I know that I am definitely more intentional than I would be without "Project ThreeSixtyFive."  It's nice to have personal goals and I am glad that these four items are not make it or break it things; that I can always pick it back up from where I left off without guilt or shame.  And if I can participate in a mission without being compelled by guilt or discouraged by shame, than I've grown.  And like I'm told, "we strive for progress, not perfection," right? Right.        

No Excuses

Think about something that moves you.  Why does it move you?
Think about that thing, and pray something about it.  Stop and pray right now about it.
Thing about a verse/passage that God is giving you that moves your soul when you read it, recall it, say it that aligns your heart with God's on this thing that moves you and you've prayed about.
Now write that passage on something, like a three by five card, and put it in a space that you look at every day: mirror, stirring wheel, computer monitor.
If it moves you and you're praying about it and your soul is in alignment with God, it ought to be what you spend the most valuable hours of your day doing.

Moves --->  Pray --->  Word Alignment ---> Life Calling --->  No Excuses.

Here is mine:

Hurting People--->Pray--->Romans 12:6-7--->Teacher of God's Love--->No Excuses.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; If service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
Romans 12:6-7

And I when I say No Excuses, I could just as easily say No Fear/Overcome the Fear...

For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love and sound mind in Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:7

 

 

 Would love to have you share yours.

Building Habits

On Sunday mornings I get to spend about an hour and half with a group of High School students discussing a curriculum that my church uses called Rooted.  Each week explores a different aspect of God and what it looks like to follow Him, The students have three quiet times where they read a page or two and answer some questions and journal about what they are reading and learning.  Each week is a new discussion and I love hearing what the students have to say, watching them open up a little bit more and how honest they are about where they are at.  This Sunday morning as we talked about how difficult it is sometimes to find the time to read our Bible's and pray I was reminded of my journey with P365.

I shared with the kids my goal to eat breakfast everyday and how difficult it was for me at first.  I never felt like eating in the mornings because I couldn't really find the time and was never really hungry.
After a few weeks of eating everyday I began to notice that I was waking up hungry.  Now, I want to eat every morning.
I think that praying is the same.  When spending time with God becomes a habit for us, we become hungry for it.  We want to be in his presence because its good for us, its what we were made for.

Besides being a brilliant analogy for the kids in my group, its also a lesson for me.  Maybe my P365 goals don't specifically have to do with prayer or reading, but I am building habits daily that will pour into other areas of my life.  Living generously, and allowing myself to be seen will become as natural as eating breakfast every morning.  I will start to become hungry for these things, because they are good for me, because they are what I was made for.

What habits are you building in 2013?

P365-January Recap

One month into Project 365- does this year already feel like it's flying by to anyone else?

I don't have an accurate update on my progress, mostly because I wasn't thinking clearly enough to track it. Lesson learned for February. I can say that January revealed to me that my three goals are exactly what God intends for me to pursue this year. And I know this because of how much resistance I faced in meeting them.

I certainly know God better than I did one month ago. I learned that even when I avoid him, reject him, scream and yell, pout, close my eyes and plug my ears- I can't avoid his voice, or his love.

I've discovered that any efforts to become myself apart from God are futile. There is no "me" apart from him.

I learned that praying for others not only opened my heart to them, but it opened my heart to God as well.

This month I'm going to be more intentional about a few things on my list. First, I learned from Allison that it helps to plan out who I'll be praying for that week. Second, I discovered a new podcast, Pray As You Go, and I'm a little obsessed with it. My plan is to spend the first 10 minutes of my day listening to each day's prayer, remembering that in all I do in the remaining hours, it's in vain if not spent aimed at knowing God more. Third, I've decided to do something specific on my list of "becoming myself" everyday, and I'll probably need to choose what it will be ahead of time. And finally, I've started a Google doc where I can easily track my progress each day.

At the very least, I'm going to try it this way for a month and see how it goes. The nice thing is I still have 11 months to figure out the best system.

Overall, I'd say January was a win for me with Project 365- I can hardly wait to see all I will have learned when I get to look back on February.

I didn't know

Post full of my ignorance, sadly ignorant in fact...

I over heard my husband in a conversation the other day say that the world is going to be out of oil in the next 100 years.  It went in one ear and out the other at the moment but the more I thought about 100 years, I realized that could be in our daughter's lifetime and for sure in our grand children's lifetime.  I asked him later that evening if what I over heard was correct and he said it was.  I then proceeded to ask what the plan was for the world to respond to this information.  I asked who was writing the plan.  The UN? The World Bank?  Maybe another source that I didn't know about?  He shared that nobody was addressing the issue.  Well, that there are a lot of people that would like to address the issue, but that the largest maker of money in the world right now is oil and the machine of people that represent these companies are only interested in squeezing every last profitable penny out of their trade.

So I asked if the car companies were getting really good at electrical designs.  He asked if I knew where electricity came from.  Clearly not.  I said something extremely clever like, Hoover Dam and Bakersfield windmills.

That conversation continued on, and by conversation I mean that he did all the talking and I just sat on the couch and realized I have been drinking the kool-aid of ignorance that all "those" people want me to be drinking.  If there is some grand plan out there for most of us to not know what is happening, it's working.

Fast forward to a couple days later at Super Bowl Sunday, I was talking to my sister in law about of all of this and she started talking to me about plastic water bottles.  The plastic that holds the water we buy for a dollar or more, is a by-product of the refining process of oil.  All plastic, every single thing that is plastic, is made from a by-product of the oil processing.  So, that will be gone too, in 100 years.  Think about that.  Just stop, look around where you are sitting right now, and take in all that is plastic.  Very nearly everything.  I don't know what you are thinking, but this is mind blowing to me.  The world as we know it, in so much of the world as we know it here, in the states, here in CA, here in orange county, a rather small dot on the globe, I know, nevertheless, this world that I live in will not look anything like it does 150 years from today.  Anyhow, she told me to watch Tapped to know more about it.  I did, I went home after the game and watched it, which I encourage you to do as well.

And that has been what I have been spending brain energy on this last week or so.  Wondering what God thinks about the human condition, from excess to scarcity, and everything in between.

Genesis is not unclear about how we are to lovingly care for this magnificent place.  Think about your part in that.  I only ask that you think about it and do only what you can do.  Influence those around you in truth and grace.  Be the change.

Be. The. Change. 


BE.

THE.

CHANGE.

Pray about everything else.

Guest Post! Michelle's P365

We have a great group of guest posts coming your way over the next few weeks!

Several readers have decided to take on Project ThreeSixtyFives of their own!

Don't miss them.

Here is part one of Michelle's Project!

Three weeks ago, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and saw that a friend had posted an image of a handmade card that she had received as part of something called "Project ThreeSixtyFive."  Allison responded back to my curiosity of what this was all about and as soon as I checked out the website and read the first few posts, I was hooked.  

I started to ponder what commitments I could make for the year that are not only doable but also satisfying. I didn't want to suffer.  That never works.  I often choose resolutions that are near impossible and rarely set me up for success.  

So here they are:

1. Write an encouraging note to someone 
2. Start my day w/ God - no if, and or but
3. Eat at least two meals at home (to practice cooking and save money)
4. Do the "Five A's" w/ Kelly at the end of each day (a marriage tool to catch up with your spouse: you appreciate him/her, apologize for something you did that hurt him/her, ask how you can serve him/her, ask how you can pray for him/her and show affection)

Read about Michelle's successes {and struggles} with her project later this week...

January P365

We are a few days into February, so here is a snapshot of my January and how I stayed committed to the fun we are having here at P365.

35 and Alive is off to a relatively good start.  I've had a bit of that coughing, fever, gross things coming out my nose, not feeling well sickness that is going around, but other than that amazing visual, I am great! 

I'm just going to keep typing and saying 35 and then at some point it will sink and and I will believe it.  Until then, it will still get that ponder look on my face because it's weird for me.  It' snot old, it's not young, it's not anything, but that I am in my mid-thirties and am not sure when that happened exactly.

The Ninja Blender I got for Christmas... I am still using her mad blending skills every morning to make my green machine smoothie.  Almond milk, 2 hand fulls of spinach, a banana, ice, protein scoop, and smidge of peanut butter.  It is so delicious.  A couple times in January, I did go back to my favorite Whole Foods and let them make it for me but only because I was doing my grocery shopping at the same time. 

As far as what I have committed to for this project for this year, here is an update:

ChallengingDrink at least 64oz of water every day.

In the 31 days of January, I did then 22 times.  22/31 is 71%.  Just eeeked out the C- on this one.  But I am stoked anyway because it is 22 more times than I had in all of the last 6 months before that, so Whoo-hoo and Amen!
What I learned is that I love, seriously love, water with lemon in it.  I love it so much that I want to drink it all the time now.  Plus, the addition to my life of my citrus squeezer, I am pounding down the water and am actually happy about it.  So, off to a higher percentage in February, but for January, I'm thrilled.

EasyGive a verbal affirmation to someone in person or do a random act of kindness (RAK) every single day.

This truly does come easy for me.  I give verbal affirmation and do RAK's anyway, but this has been so much fun to be intentional about it.  I'm at 100% for January.  Every day I made a note in my journal of who I affirmed or who I bestowed some kindness that was not asked for and no where near expected. 
A great update to the taking the neighbors trash down... Now my husband and daughter both with take the neighbors trash without even saying anything, like it's just normal behavior, which is so cool.  And, the other day we set our trash out and and the favor has been reciprocated, which is awesome times a million.  So, I say to you, lavish others with sincere words of affirmation and do kind things at every opportunity. 

Fun
My fun will be blogging 2-3 times a week.

I have had a lot of fun blogging, but has also found it a bit challenging.  On the 2 times a week, which would be 10 blogs in January, I wrote 5 times.  Again, not my best, but more than I wrote in the last 6 months, so it's a good start out of the gate.  I want this to be the place I find success this year, so pray with me that I will have the courage to do it.


This is fun and I am grateful for those that are joining in on the challenge.  I have faith in you.

January Update

January has come and gone (finally, does anyone else feel like there were a couple of extra days added in there?) so here is my update on how I did for the first month of P365.

Its funny because the things that I thought would be really difficult turned out to be not as much, but on the other hand what I thought would be super easy proved to be more of a challenge than I anticipated.  I began the month diligently recording the ways that I accomplished my goals every night before I went to bed.  That lasted about two weeks.  I'm not sure exactly why I stopped, I just did so I'm going to have to come up with a better way to keep track.  If you have any brilliant ideas, feel free to shoot them my way.  Because I stopped I don't have any numbers to report but I know how I did so here is my honest assessment of how the month went.

Eat Breakfast: NAILED IT. Before P365 I ate breakfast maybe twice a week so I was expecting to totally fail at this one but you guys, I can honestly say I ate breakfast EVERY day in January!! I had a little help though.  I don't think I would have made it if not for the amazingly delicious scones from the Global Cafe at Mariners Church.  Those things are a life saver.  Seriously.  I also tried making some breakfasty type things that I could freeze and then take out the night before or throw in the microwave in the morning which generally worked except that I would forget that they were in the freezer and end up just stopping at Starbucks in the morning.  Thanks friends that have sent me recipes to help with this.  I'll get it eventually.

Give Something Away:  This is the one that I thought would be soooo easy.  I have so much stuff, surely it wouldn't be difficult to give it all away.  I ran into two problems here.  1. what do I give away?  2. who do I give it to?  Some days were awesome and opportunities just presented themselves. It also helped that there is a place on campus where I work that I can donate things to, but sometimes I would forget or just not know what to give.  I accomplished this goal maybe 5 out of 7 days each week.  So far for February I have tried to be more intentional about what I give with the goal being that by the end of the year, its not something that I will have to think about any more.

Be Thankful: I have loved this. I have expressed my thanks to people in an email, a card, face to face and even began writing lists of things that I am thankful for.  It hasn't been everyday, but pretty darn close and I love the way that it has affected my attitude about life and events and the people and things around me.

Be Vulnerable: Over the last month I've learned a lot about being vulnerable, it looks a lot of different ways and each day I am growing a little more and becoming a little more comfortable with it.  At first I was afraid that it meant that I would be having conversations in which I poured out my heart and cried everyday (I wasn't looking forward to that) but being vulnerable is so much more.  Showing up and allowing myself to be seen everyday looks like asking for and accepting help when its offered; sharing things about myself and thoughts with others instead of just assuming that people don't want to be bothered, and it means being courageous in my conversations and opening up a space for others to be vulnerable with me.

So that's January.  A lot of learning, a lot of challenge and a lot of celebration and we still have 11 more months to go!!

How are you doing with your goals in January?

My P365 January Recap

Well, hello February!

I can't believe we are 1/12 of the way through Project ThreeSixtyFive.

Mostly I can't believe we're only 1/12 of the way through, January seemed forever-long.

At the start of January {probably more accurately, the end of December} I hung six months of a calendar on my closet door. {It was a free download.} I did so with incredible accuracy and beauty, using torn pieces of painter's tape {see photo}. Obviously, the display was not my primary concern.

Most evenings, I would record whether or not I met each of my four project goals for the day. If I had, I wrote the way in which it was met as well. I also wrote the name of each person that received a note to ensure that I don't double-up too often. I missed a few items here and there, but as I look at my count today, I'm really glad I recorded what I did. {It also makes me really excited to see my totals at the end of the year.}

In the spirit of accountability, I thought I'd share about my successes from this month.

So, here we go.

My January P365:
Be Active: 20/31
Be Grateful: 96/31 (I wrote a lot of cards this month)
Be Expressive: 15/31
Be Bold: 26/31

Four Things I Learned:

1. I really like to be active. "Exercising" always equals running in my head, but "being active" is so much more fun than that! Also, I love to ride my bike.

2.  It's easier to write a note each day when I've thought through that week's recipients. There's room for spontaneous notes, but it takes away the 11pm stress of "who in the world could I thank today?!"

3. I already have everything I need to be exactly who God's created me to be. More on this lesson {and how I learned it} later.

4. The more I face my fears, the more fears I can name—it's almost overwhelming.

And, since it's February 2nd, here's how February 1st went: wrote my note, and two blogs, went on a walk and conquered a fear...so, four for four so far this month!

Are you playing along?

How are you doing with your P365? 

Feeling up to the challenge?

It's still not too late to join us!

Praying for a Miracle

This is a hard post for me to write.

Mostly because this is a hard prayer for me to pray.

Praying for strangers, praying for friends' marriages, jobs, finances, kids, even praying for myself- it requires a heart investment, but it doesn't require all that much... hope.

This prayer is a desperate prayer. A 'please don't let me down on this one' prayer. A 'how could you say anything other than yes' prayer. A 'remind me that you ARE, in fact, good' prayer. This is a life or death prayer- literally.

This is a prayer for my friend Stacie. Stacie is one of those people with a big presence. The kind of presence that cements itself in your heart. In fact, you might not even realize how big a place she occupies in your heart until the threat of that presence being removed stares you down.

Stacie is a leader at the church where I grew up. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of women have been inspired and changed by her love for God and her candidness about the ups and downs of her life. And that's just the thing, her story already has so many ups and downs...

After watching her from afar for years, I finally got to know Stacie on a trip to Ukraine. When I watched her with her best friend Shelly, I couldn't help but think, "I bet this is what Laycee and I will be like in 15 years...or at least I hope so." They were ridiculous together; laughing and playing in the snow, with so many inside jokes and magically told stories of family and friendship. The way Stacie told these stories made you feel like that richness of life and relationship was open to you too- to anyone! I remember laughing so hard with Stacie passing out Bibles on the streets of Kiev, unable to ignore the tragically "valley girl" accent that marred our attempts at speaking Ukrainian. "It's a Podarunok!" we'd yell out, "A gift!" Only it came out more like "It's a pedaduck!" That may be my most vivid memory from that trip.

A month ago Stacie was diagnosed with a brain tumor- a terminal one. Even writing the words stirs a pit in my stomach. I know brain tumors. I know something of the spectrum of emotions involved with a diagnosis like this. It's been 4 years since I last needed a miracle like this, a miraculous healing of a brain tumor. But four years ago I didn't pray. I couldn't bring myself to pray, to hope. I was terrified of what it might do to my faith if He didn't meet my need- my need for her to live. Now I'm here again, and while Stacie and I are not as close, the need for that miracle feels just as heavy. But this time, I am praying. I'm on my knees, pleading. Pleading for Stacie, her husband, her kids, her friends, her church.  In every way I know how, I'm asking God to do a miracle.

Will you pray with me? Will you spread Stacie's story? Will you ask for a miracle?