those pesky little things we call "new year's resolutions"...

...i do not seem to be capable of making it through the first of january without starting to make some resolutions for the following year...just as many others do.

my preacher encouraged sunday to make a resolution to grow. i think that this is a fabulous way of thinking about a resolution. we should look at each year as a time to refocus things and learn from past experiences. in essence, use the good, the bad, and the ugly from our previous life and...grow.

he encouraged us to remain positive about our life, the church, and other people. this provides me a good base for my new year's resolutions. so to follow -- the areas that i would like to grow in for 2007:

daily devotional time
i seem to fail at this every time i try...so yet again i'm going to set a goal of having personal time in prayer and study during the week. i'm not going to say every day...my purpose is to grow...so i'll start at one to two times per week. i think i'm going to start with the book of esther. this is my favorite book in the old testament and i've recently gotten intrigued by the story again. i think i'll try to flip between old and new testament, following esther up with james. my "growth" plan is to get into the Bible...hopefully this will start the ball rolling for some deeper devotion/prayer time.

finances
i've been struggling with this for awhile now and i think it's time to get things in order. this coming year is going to be rough with my roommate getting married and needing to find a new place to live. expenses will abound from places i never knew existed for all the moving and deposits, not to mention the little bits of cleaning and fixing-up i need to do on my current apartment before i turn in my keys.

i think one way i'd like to help my pocket book and the environment all at the same time is by reducing the amount i drive. i have been using the metrolink here in st. louis for quite awhile now, but would like to break-away from my car altogether and start walking to the bus stop and riding both ways. this is not always the most time convenient; however, i would like to do it when possible.

another thing i would like to do more of in 2007 is cooking. i eat out way too much and spend more money that i should on fast food. it will be both healthier and cheaper to cook my meals in the evenings.

other changes in my spending habits will have to come slowly over time. i tend to splurge when i don't have the money to do so. i need to monitor my funds more closely and keep a better record of my spending such that i'm not taken by suprise when a check from august 2003 clears.

health and fitness
well, we all know i've been on a health/fitness kick since the tail end of 2005. i'm very pleased with what i've accomplished; however i know i need to keep up the hard work or i will be back to where i started from in no time. over the holidays i definitely started to feel that tight pants feeling that i so loathe. it's time to get up and get going where the gym is concerned. i belong to a wonderful gym -- can't let that membership go to waste!

also, i'm making 2007 my year to run my first full marathon. i plan to run one in the fall. i will again run the st. louis half marathon and then take a short month off for relaxation and then begin an 18 week training schedule to a full marathon. i'm so excited by the prospect of this but i know it's going to be very difficult.

be a better girlfriend
i'm still struggling with being my own person and yet being a member of a "team". i'm not the most patient or loving person at times to steve and need to get my head in the game! he's a great guy and sometimes i'm just plain dirty mean to him. my brother tells me that i need to be better to him because i'll never find another guy who will put up with my crap as well as steve does. :) that may very well be the truth!

well, there they are...my areas for growth this new year. let's see how well i do...i resolve to grow.