{January Reflections}

As 2015 came to a close, I wrote a post that 2016 is the year of seeking balance and self-care in my life. In order to do that I want to spend time focusing on different aspects of life (spiritual, physical, emotional, mental) each month by setting small goals. At the end of each month I will reflect on how that goal went and what goals I would like to focus on for the next month. 


My goals for January were to:

Read 2x Books. I read 4 books! I was so happy about this. I've tried to priortize reading during my lunch break at work and read in the evenings before bed. I am also trying to mix up what I read so that my brain is challenged. Here are the books I read:

• Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
  This was an engaging whodunnit novel. I had new guesses throughout the book and was surprised by the ending. I picked up the book any chance I could and just flew through it.
• Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full: Gospel Meditations for Busy Moms by Gloria Furman
  While I liked this book, I won't lie, it was sometimes theologically over my head and more dense than what I was looking for.
• Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling
  I laughed a few times, but I enjoyed her first book more than this one.
• Simplify: 10 Practices to Unclutter your Soul by Bill Hybels
  I really enjoyed this book. The writing was not too lofty for me and it gave me much to reflect on. There are definite areas in my own spiritual life that need uncluttering.

Complete a 21 Day sugar detox. I did not do this and I am okay with it. Well, more like I did not do a formal sugar detox. I did however strive to keep most sugar out of my diet in January. I stuck to clean eating. Paul and I also logged our food into our Lose It app so we could get a better idea of what and how much we were eating. I am happy with how I ate in January and happy that it was not an all or nothing approach. While doing a strict diet for a short amount of time works really well for me, I struggle to maintain for long periods of time. That being said, I will do a Whole30  at some point this year. But, for now I want to keep seeking out moderation.

Work out 12 times. I worked out 18 times in January!! I am so happy about this. For me what has worked is finding a manageable routine and setting up accountability. My schedule does not currently allow for a gym workout or anything very time consuming. So I have been doing a Fit in 15 series through iFit. I have fully embraced the home workout. For the accountability piece, a college friend of mine who is a Beachbody coach, set-up a Facebook group for people who are working on their fitness and who desire to motivate one another. I was so encouraged by seeing what others are doing, the affirmation, and the regular check-ins. If there is one thing I have learned over the years, I do best with accountability.

Here are two other thing I did in January that I did not set as a goal, but were really rewarding. I purged and cleaned our pantry! I gave away several large items to my local Buy Nothing group, I threw out some things and reorganized. Now my pantry is not a source of dread. I am very pleased!

The second thing that is a work in progress is setting up a time to read my Bible. Typically the first thing I do in the morning is look at Facebook, and I'll do this for around 15 minutes before I get out of bed. I already have time set up to do something other than Facebook, and now I am using it. I am now devoting those 15 minutes to something that fills me up rather than numbing my brain, and really my heart. 

February will be a crazy month for us as we are taking a big trip in the middle of the month, so I want to keep my goals fairly simple. 

For February, my mini goals are:

• Read 2x Books
• Take a trip
• Work out 12 times

I hope everyone had a rewarding January!