Goals: Not Just for New Years

The Struggle is Real

For much of my life I have struggled with low self-esteem. There are many things that have contributed to how I saw myself, but what it all comes down to is that I wasn't seeing myself the way God sees me. The enemy sure knows how to push our buttons and distract us from truth. 

The truths that I was forgetting are that God doesn't make mistakes, that He knit me together fearfully and wonderfully in my mother's womb, that I was created for a purpose, and that He says I'm beautiful. A friend gave me a verse in college that really did help in my journey to seeing myself through God's eyes. Psalm 45:11 says "Let the King be enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." I have literally written this on my bathroom wall as a reminder that God finds me beautiful and I am to honor Him in that. I tell myself regularly, and have come to believe it!

But the struggle is still real. I know that there are ways that I can honor God with my body. I am a temple of the Holy Spirit, and I know that He's bought me with a price and deserves my best.

A Healthier Life

I've decided that I want to set some goals for myself to live a healthier life. Healthier in every way: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I am tired of being fat. Sick of skipping my quiet times with God. And I don't want to put myself on the back burner forever. The airlines know what I often forget, I need to help myself in order to be able to help others. The second greatest commandment is to love others as I love myself, but if I don't love and take care of myself at all then that's how I will treat others. And that's not good. There must be balance. 

So I thought of 7 categories that need growth and improvement right away. Hopefully in working on all 7 I can find some more balance in my life. The categories ended up being: 

1. Chores (I need to be more faithful to my family and help out regularly), 
2. Work (having three jobs I really need to balance my time and energy), 
3. Food (really, I just need to eat less - my ultimate goal is to lose 50 pounds), 
4. Bible (I must be more faithful about spending time in the Word and journaling), 
5. Mind (I want to improve my thinking - reading more and taking my thoughts captive to Christ), 
6. Body (I have family history of arthritis so I want to proactively work to keep my joints healthy, and I want to be flexible and in shape), 
7. Sleep (with how busy I am it's easy to get warn out and get sick - sleep will keep me going).

And being the teacher that I am, I decided to make a visual way to track these goals. I color coded each category, used 3x5 note cards, printed out my tracking sheets, and then sticky tacked them it all to the back of my closet door. This way I can keep track and stay motivated by my goals. 

This is something that I want to do for myself, for my family, my future family, and ultimately for God! If you are my friend and know me, please help keep me accountable. I can't do it alone. God is with me, but friends are also nice. And if you want to join me in this journey, let me know! We can reach our goals together!

God bless you!

#ministrylifeprobs

Late night theological talks.
Early morning rides to school.
Hanging out with young teens and all their silliness.
Funny inside jokes and fun memories.
Trips and camps.
Weekly connecting with students and showing them love.
Behavior problems and discipline.
Slang and strange sayings.
Paperwork, planning, and preparation.
Fundraising.

There are so many things that come with being in youth minsitry. It really is a whole different world, a whole different life than most know or experience. I have definitely had a call on my life to be in youth ministry, and I am SO blessed to be!

Lately, though, there have been aspects that I've needed to really step up my game in. Working with Lane County Youth for Christ I am esentially a local missionary. My paycheck is from the donations of generous people who support what God is doing in the Fern Ridge area through the ministry of Campus Life. I have been challenged (and I know it's needed) to get more people supporting me financially so that I don't have the stress of worrying about bills. Asking for money is NEVER easy, but I have to remember that if I don't even try then I could be stealing from others the blessing of giving. It's about correcting and directing my mindset.

If you are reading this and want to be a part of what God is doing by supporting financially, please feel fee to click here and do so. If you have any questions about the ministry or want to know more you can go to the Lane County YFC website. It takes all of us doing our part, but I know that ultimately it is God who works through each of us in what we can do. Together we can reach the youth for Christ.

And for your viewing pleasure, this is the goofy pic that we took for the office and that is on the website.

God bless you all,
Mandy