Purposeful in 2014: April

 

In order to help keep myself accountable the goals I set at the beginning of 2014, I’m going to try to post monthly with updates! If you have any updates on your goals or word of the year, I would love to see them!

Don’t forget about my FREE printable of my PURPOSE for 2014 — Glorify God and Enjoy Him Forever!

Goals

• Get up early 15/31 days
• Juicing OR Smoothie OR Salad 15/31 days
• Kettleball Swings 18/31 days
• No Eating Out 10/31 days (I’m not counting my day even if I bought a coffee somewhere, even “just a drink” is “eating out” for this goal)
• Daily Bible in a Year Reading 19/31 days (using this Bible A Chronological Daily Bible)
• Drink More Water 22/31 days
• Exercise 12/31 days (other than kettle ball swings)
• a NEW goal this month — 21/31 DAILY STRETCHING!!

This month I missed at least one week due to a funeral and family time and being in Nashville for TTD. The first half of the month I did so well, though! I had a very hard time getting back to “normal” after that rough week…

Books Read Thus Far in 2014

1. Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine ~I loved this book. I don’t think that ordinarily I would have finished a book on goals, but because I have felt the Lord prompting me to be more disciplined and get more accomplished with my time, this book was EXACTLY what I needed at exactly the right time! God is good! {I wrote a full review and the points that spoke to me the most here.}

2. Fifteen Minutes: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury ~ If you enjoy American Idol or other such shows, you might enjoy this novel where the main character is a contestant on one of these type shows. 🙂 I enjoy Karen Kingsbury’s fiction and they are easy, quick reads that also are faith based. I don’t like that this one includes more romance, and it’s not inappropriate in any way, I just don’t like or need to read a lot of books with romance in them.

3. Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism ~ This book was amazing. I will say upfront that there are a few things in it that I don’t agree with 100% but overall this book is fabulous. If you want to be challenged in how you share Jesus with the world around you, I highly recommend this book! I wrote a really long post about this book here.

4. Chasing God ~ I loved this book. I wrote a lot about it here and had a give away, that is now closed.

5. Being OK with Where You Are  ~ this book by Stacey Thacker (who I love following on I nstagram and was blessed to meet at Allume) is wonderful. In fact, it happened to be what I needed at just this time in my life! It contains great encouragement. It is on kindle and a great read!! I happened to get it when it was free, but I also think it’s worth $4.99.

6. 33 Prayers of Gratitude: Overcoming Negativity Through the Power of Prayer ~ I’m not even linking to this one because I was disappointed in this book. In the first place, this is just a book of simple prayers. That’s it. No expounding on prayer or gratitude. For instance, Day 4 or Prayer 4 just says “Thank, you, Father, for bread and meat. Thank you for the friends we meet. Thank you for our moms and dads. Thank you for the love we have. Thank you for our work and play. Thank you for another day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.” That’s it. Each day is just a different prayer. Now, I do have some prayer books that I love!! But, this one didn’t fully sit right with me. Prayer 5 starts off by saying, “God, Goddess, Divine Spirit of all there is…” I’m not sure I feel comfortable with praying to a Goddess and I’m not all together sure what the author meant. But there is no explanation or such to go with it. Day 18 is a prayer to the Cosmic Mother?? There are also famous “prayers” or poems listed in it from saints and poets. While I enjoy reading this type of material, i was hoping for more with a title that claimed “overcoming negativity through the power of prayer.”

7. The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life ~ I read this book for book club and OH MY HEAVENS. Y’all have got to read this book. When I read Melanie Shankle’s first book, Sparkly Green Earrings, I thought…”this woman has GOT to write more books! Because I need to laugh more often!” Her first book was her memoir on motherhood, this one is her memoir on marriage. Both are amazing and wonderful and will make you laugh out loud.

8. Esther Queen of Persia by Jim Baumgardner. I hope to do a more full post on this book, but if you are in ancient history and get to the point of Esther in your schooling, READ THIS BOOK!! I loved it!! Warning — I would only read this with junior high level and UP. But this book truly opened up the story of Esther to us. I did read it aloud to my kids, but I had to change a little bit of it as I read…if it had only been my girls i probably would not have changed any of it. There is much talk of how the kings of that time had multiple wives, his harem, Esther’s fears of these facts, etc. But I love it because I have a feeling she really did struggle with much of this!!

9. Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters! ~ whew! That title is a mouthful…but this book is FABULOUS. I really and truly think that EVERY MOM in this culture we live in should read this book. SO eye opening and SUCH a great reminder, through every chapter, of what is most important. I have used this book to work on goals of putting my phone down more, checking Facebook less, etc. I encourage you all to read this…even if you don’t blog, even if you don’t work online, this book is for all mom’s with smart phones or who get online throughout your day.