2015 Goals

In 2015 my biggest goal is the take the time to do what I enjoy. This includes spending much needed time with Zach, cooking dinners, journaling, art, blogging, etc. The last half of 2014 was so jam packed with school and work that I hardly had time to do anything that I wanted to. Now that I have some time off from having a job, I want to take full advantage!

I also want to be more obedient in reading the Bible. My prayer life is not so bad, but the only time I would have to read the Bible would be right before bed, and I wasn't very awake and focused at that time. I want to set a goal to read and study everyday after dinner during our relaxing time.

Journaling has always been something that I've really enjoyed doing, but I rarely stick with it for a good amount of time. It's something about new journals that I love that makes me somehow acquire about 15 half-used up ones! I'd like to work on actually filling a couple completely this year! 

As for living a healthier lifestyle, I want to exercise more (especially yoga) and be more aware of the things that I'm eating. I know that I won't be going to the gym everyday, and that's not my goal. But I'd like to set at least 2 days a week where I go and do yoga and workout. 

With Zach deploying soon, we are going to have A LOT of extra money coming in. All of his income is untaxed and he also gets a lot of bonuses for being deployed. I want to save this money up for our wedding that we can hopefully have soon after he gets back! I also want to have a bigger emergency fund.

Those are my goals for 2015! What are yours?

Blogtember Challenge Day Five: Passion

Things I'm passionate about:

My marriage, my faith, art, creativity, making lists, organizing, animal medicine, exploring new places, trying new things.

Blogtember Challenge Day Three: When I Grow Up

 

When I was younger and thinking about when I would be grown up I never thought that I would get married at 23. In fact, I was totally against getting married so "young." But then.. life changed. And love changed. And God changed my thoughts and my desires and my dreams. 

Not too long ago I was on my path to being a veterinarian and settling with my thoughts about not getting married before 28 (Ha!). And then I realized that being a vet wasn't for me, but being a veterinary technician was. And that marrying the person I already knew I wanted to be with forever wasn't all that crazy. In fact, it was wonderful and exciting! So here I am now, in Colorado, 1300 miles away from my previous home, married to my husband at 24, and in the best veterinary technician school I could dream of. No way I could of planned all of that, but this is what God has planned for me right now. And I'm still not grown up.

So now when I think about what I want to be when I grow up (or grow older..) I want to be an awesome wife to my husband, have a Godly marriage, and be a fun mom. I want us to be that couple that opens their home up to anyone and everyone and knows how to have a good time with friends and family. I want to be the couple that is strong in their marriage because God is the center of it. I don't know where I'll be, but I know I want to be a woman that trust's where God wants me to be. 

July Goals

I'm a little late on my goals, but I must say this month is already flying by!

I'm already in my second week of school! This summer is going so fast, which makes me sad. Unlike Virginia, Fall actually begins in September! I must say though, July has been a great month so far. Zach and I are in a new season in our marriage. A couple weeks ago we realized something very important; We've been married for 8 months, but we haven't really been working on our marriage. We've kind of just been going with the flow. But then a couple weeks ago when we hit a bump in the road, we realized some things needed to change! We don't get in arguments very often, and when we do we know how to solve them, we really just learned more about how important the little things are in order to make us grow closer together. We had a relationship with God separately, but not together. We didn't pray together very often or read the bible together. Sometimes we would get home from school/work and just watch TV or do our own thing separately. And to save money we haven't gone on many date nights. After a big change of heart and a convicting talk with Zach's dad, we've made some changes.

• Every night before we go to sleep we read our new devotional and pray together. We got the "Devotions for Couples" by Patrick Morley. This devotional is great because each day it goes through a different subject that is important to talk about and deal with in marriage. So far it's already instructed us both make a list for each other's prayer needs so that we pray for each other everyday. We also made a list of things that we can do to make each other happy and feel wanted. This devotional has definitely brought us closer and helped us talk about subjects we may not have thought about before. Praying together also brings you closer to someone than ever before!
• We've also been spending better quality time together. This means playing board games, taking a walk with the dogs, having date nights, or watching a movie cuddled up together with no electronics! This has also been great for helping us both feel loved.
• We've been more intentional about doing things that the other likes, being loving and positive towards each other, and making each other feel important.

Again, some things that we've already been doing, but we are being more intentional and serious about them. His mom gave us some great advice. She said, "No marriage is the best it can be without both people continually growing together toward God. As you grow towards God, you naturally grow together. It's like a triangle- you both are the sides and as you move up you are getting closer to the top of the point of the triangle, which is both towards God, and as a bonus you grow closer together."

So we have found ourselves in a brand new season, and we are both loving the changes and how much closer we are getting. 

Now to the July goals! June was a great month, but I definitely didn't get everything done that I wanted, time is just going too fast! In June I wanted to:

Start Lord, Teach Me to Pray: I started this study and am still working my way through it, I love it!

Finish my first quarter with a 4.0: I did this too! My friends and I had the top grades in all of our classes

Have an amazing camping trip in Yellowstone: This happened! It was SO fun. Here's my post!

Do the incline: This didn't happen, unfortunately. We didn't have a free weekend :/

Go to a farmer's market: This didn't happen, either. Last month I started my new job and worked a lot of Saturdays since I was out of school. Luckily, now I will only be working 1 Saturday a month, so this is going on the July goals!

Start and stick to a running schedule: HA. HAHAHA. Yeah.... didn't happen. However, I'm doing The Color Run in August, so I better whoop my butt into shape soon!

July Goals

1. Continue praying for Zach's specific needs everyday.

2. Continue having our quiet time together every night.

3. Go to a farmer's market.

4. Have an awesome weekend at the AVMA Veterinary Convention.

5. Plan a zip-lining event for my birthday.

6. Make a home cleaning list to go through before the fall.

7. Do something creative!

What are some goals you have for this month? OR, what are some ways that you strengthen your marriage/relationship?

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

This past weekend I got my new study, Lord, Teach Me to Pray. I saw the study over at Bloom and knew that I needed to read this one! I pray often, but in all honesty there are plenty of days that I "forget" or "don't think about it." This study is really helping me realize that the relationship between me and God is ALL about communication, ahem.. PRAYER. It's helping me realize that communication with God should be a number one priority, topping my current priorities like school or taking care of my family. I'm learning and digging deeper into the word already, and I'm only on day 3! So I highly suggest this book and hope that you can get a lot out of it as well!

I love how interactive this study is. Kay tells us about the ways she marks scripture in her bible to help her study it. Such as different ways for marking prayer, The Word, and more. She tells us to underline key words in certain verses to really understand them better, and it helps! She guides you through certain verses, and then asks questions in the book regarding what you read in order for you to understand and dig deeper into the word. 

I ordered this book for only $10 on amazon, so I hope that you will buy a copy as well and start learning the importance and power of prayer! 

Obedience

Earlier today I was putting all of the letters from when Zach was in basic training into a display box for the office. I ended up reading a few and came across something that his mom (my mom-in-law!) wrote to him. She said "Obedience to God brings blessings, and disobedience brings curses." That quote stuck with me all throughout the day and I just had to share, because it is so true. Some of the best blessings that have come my way have happened when I was truly obedient. Having quiet time, praying, and studying the word are all so important and this quote really motivates me to be 100% obedient.

Scripture Journal

I got my scripture journal inspiration from this blog. I also kept 35 blank pages at the end for my bible studies, maps, etc. 

The Story

"Our goal was to make the Bible read smoothly and easily, so that you can read it just like you'd read a novel. But The Story you're reading isn't any ordinary story. You are reading a story that has the power to change who you are, what you think and how you view life. You are exposing yourself to deep, transforming truth. So sit back and enjoy the truest, greatest story ever written."

I've been working on reading the Bible in chronological order for a while now, and just bought

The Story on my kindle. This book takes you through the stories of the bible in chronological order, 

but gives an easier read like a novel. This book is great for familiarizing yourself with the stories so that

going through the Bible will be a little easier to understand! 

Shiloh Shelter

Help this inspiring 15 year old save innocent baby girls in India!

God is really amazing me right now!

I don't want to go into too much detail, because some things should remain personal,

but God is working in my life right now in ways that I have never seen. 

While Zach has been in basic training I have been so persistent in prayer. Praying

over and over multiple times a day for myself, Zach, and our relationship. I am

absolutely overwhelmed by how much God is doing in our lives and in our

relationship right now. He is wiping out every single road block, stressor, or burden

that has ever been in our relationship and He is working so thoroughly in both of us. 

Zach and I are only able to communicate through letters right now, and it always takes

him much longer to receive mine that it does for me to receive his. And it's just

amazing to see how everything that has been on my heart, Zach has been praying for

before he ever knew it was on my heart. And how everything that has been on Zach's heart,

I have been praying for. It's like God is communicating to both of us about each other

without us even knowing it, and then in the letters we are able to see it. And on top of

that, every single prayer that the two of us have prayed has been answered. Immediately. 

Every single one. And there have been a lot!  I don't even have the words to describe how

much God is overwhelming us, growing us, teaching us, and working in us. 

Totally and completely amazed. 

Never lose trust