11 for 2011

11 resolutions for 2011. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. And I've heard the statistics on how these things usually turn out.

Here I am anyway, writing a resolution post. I think it is only human to be inspired, to hope, to grow. 

This has actually been a long time coming. It's been a process. Many of these are things I have been thinking about over the past 6 months or so.  I think it started with reading a book called Breathe, by Keri Wyatt Kent, which centers on the idea of creating space for God in a busy life and was capped off on Sunday by a teaching. In between, I've done a lot of thinking through the ups and downs of life, the successes and the failures.

I'm aiming high and hoping praying that some of these actually stick - at first glance, some of these are your run of the mill New Year's resolutions, but I think what I'm really after is a shift in my thinking, perspective and values.

People over stuff. Things that have lasting value vs. things that are fleeting. The person I want to be, not the person I just say I am. Being a good steward of the resources God has blessed me with.

The main thing, I believe, is to have a plan. I have already made good strides towards #8 {exercise} through a combination of accountability and a friendly side bet and lots of planning...each week I think through the days and try to figure out when I can fit a workout in, what it will be, where it will be, etc. I now own exercise clothes, DVD's, equipment. My social time during the week is with friends who share my same goal.

I am working out plans for some of the others and you might hear about them later (or see them on my picture blog). These are my 11 for 2011. What are yours?

1. Drink more water. 

2. Try to enjoy cooking. 

3. Be more intentional with my time. 

4. Invest in my home team, our families, my marriage. 

5. Spend less time on Facebook. 

6. Wake up by 7am each day. 

7. Read every day to my kids. 

8. Exercise, someway, somehow. 

9. Surround myself with less stuff. Simplify. 

10. Keep a prayer journal. 

11. Practice gratitude.