Three… Two… One… Happy New Year!!!
Can it really be time to start another year? It surely is, which means it is time for some New Year’s resolutions! Let me go ahead and get that portion of this post completed. This year I want to:
Lose some weight. Be more punctual. Devote more time to prayer and Bible study. Organize my home. And begin each day by asking God to give me a sweet spirit (more on this in a future post).
Resolutions (i.e., nothing but good ideas until I create a plan and follow it)… check.
Bye Bye Year of Experiences… or Maybe Not!
Last year at PreEngaged, our theme was Experiencing (and, therefore, I underwent the Year of Experiences with support, and perhaps a little prodding, from Eric). I set out to have two new experiences each month. During the process, I learned a lot about myself and some life lessons.
- If you want to experience life, you have to go out and seize it. You will fall into a few experiences in your lifetime, but if you want to conquer fears, feel the excitement of pushing your limits, and expand your comfort zone, you simply have to be intentional.
- I have spent so much of my life being afraid.
- Most of what scares me is not worthy of my fright. That snake was more afraid of me than I was of him. That horse was well trained and did not throw me. The sea bands did work and I did not fly off the side of the mountain when I went snow tubing. People really do not care if I look like a fool when I try something new. (And even if they do, what difference does that make to my life?)
- No matter what you have done in your life, there is always more to see… drink in… savor… experience! Keep looking for new adventures and expanding your horizons!
Even though the Year of Experiences is formally behind us, I plan to keep on living, conquering fears, saying YES to life, and reaching for those experiences still awaiting me. Thankfully, I can do all this and more thanks to our new theme in 2016:
Blessings!
(And, therefore, we will embark on a Year of Blessings!)
How can our relationship be blessed? How can we be a blessing to those around us? How can we be a blessing to each other? How can we bless the heart of God? How can we focus our attention outside of our problems in order to shower the world with the same blessings we have been given?
Throughout this Year of Blessings, I will be spending much of my time looking for ways I can be a blessing and ways we can bring blessings to our relationships.
As I mentioned briefly in my posts last year, I have come to a point in my life where I am noticing the effects of a life lived solely for one’s self. As I spend most of my days at home, working alone, I have somewhat lost touch with the outside world. When I was working full time for a university, I was always thinking of someone else, even if only because my job required it. Working from home seemed like an incredible opportunity – and it is – but, I failed to create a game plan for making sure my world did not shrink to the size of my four walls.
As we burst into 2016, I hope to shift my focus from “What will make me happy today?” to “Who can I bless today?” – a question Eric has encouraged me to ask myself each morning. I am interested and excited to see how turning my eyes outside of my comfortable bubble will challenge and expand my thinking. Will it all be pleasant? Surely not. The Year of Experiences carried its fair share of pain and disappointment. However, I came out of it more confident and less fearful – that is a success. In 2016, I hope to emerge more selfless and less discontent (i.e., another success to come).
Will You Also Devote 2016 to Being a Blessing?
What is the theme of your 2016? Have you chosen one yet? If not, jump on board with us (and comment in the posts!) and devote your year to being a blessing to those around you. We will not always see it in the moment, but the blessings we pour out will find their way back to our hearts.
At the end of the year, our pockets may be emptier and our eyelids may be heavier, but our hearts (if we give for healthy motivations) will be far lighter than they are right now.
Bless Each Other Intentionally
Whether your theme for the year is blessing others or something else entirely, I would encourage you to create a SMART plan (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time based) for blessing your sweetie this year. If we do not have time to bless our special someone’s heart, we are absolutely too busy.
- I will text my sweetie each morning as I am walking in to work and encourage him or her.
- I will scale back two hours each week from my most time consuming hobby and spend that time doing <insert sweetheart’s favorite hobby here> with him or her.
- I will spend at least four hours each month helping him or her complete a personal goal.
I am excited and somewhat nervous (but mostly excited) about our new Year of Blessings! I wonder how God is going to use us all to spread His love this year?!
Happy New Year and happy blessing!!!
(And to be a blessing to us, we’d love it if you shared our site with friends and family so we can bless them too!)
{Eric’s note: We are also planning on blessing those who read and follow us! Make sure to sign up for our free course and newsletter (right below) to get plugged in!}
How will you bless the socks off your sweetheart, family, friends, and neighbors this year?