THIS IS LATE; I KNOW.
Life got busy in a really good way, and I never got around to posting the second part of my 2017 goals. I actually jumped in headfirst on accomplishing my goals the past week and it didn't give me a lot of time to write this blog post, but I have a few minutes to spare before I grabbed the little Flores humans from Mom's Day Out, so here goes!
GOAL FOUR: Become more financially responsible
WHY: Because I desire to be a better stewards of the money God has given me so, I can better serve His kingdom. Also, I know that when I am financially stressed, I am not the best version of myself. I want to make sure my children are able to live a life that is a direct reflection of the good financial decisions I am making now. Even though I love using Mint.com to keep me on budget, I have realized that nothing works better for me than the envelope system. I first heard it from Dave Ramsey, and as I'm recommitting to Nancy Ray's #ContentmentChallenge I plan to get my envelopes back in my wallet.
GOAL FIVE: Relaunch Code Blue Mentoring, Inc.
WHY: This is a program that my eldest sister and I started in 2007. It was birthed after a friendship between me and one of her former students blossomed into quite the sisterhood. She became really attached to me, and I was honored she wanted to be around me so much. I was a sophomore in college, and as the year progressed, I got extremely busy and eventually had to cut back on how much time we spent together. A few months into her sophomore year of high school, she found out she was pregnant. I was the first person she called. She was 15 and about to have twins. (...whew.) Yes, I know it wasn't my fault, but I have always felt like if I'd been able to spend more time with her, then maybe it wouldn't have happened. Well, we now run a program to help mentor as many young girls as we can in hopes of keeping them focused on their education, gifts and talents while they are in middle and high school. The program has fallen off the past few years for several reasons, but all of those are easy to fix and I'm ready to get back to my girls!
GOAL SIX: Fall back crazy in love with Jesus.
WHY: Well, this should be pretty obvious. It's no secret that I love God. But there was a time in my life when I absolutely craved spending time with Him. I would grab my Bible and a colorful pen, and spend hours at a coffeeshop reading through some of my favorite stories. Honestly, I think my divorce hit the intimate part of my relationship with God really hard. I'd gotten so used to spending most of my "quiet time" in prayer for my marriage that all of my time sounded like wails of desperation from the Book of Psalms. The loving embrace I used to feel when I read God's Word was replaced with just trying to find a moment of peace from the turmoil going on in my heart. I don't want to be in that place any longer. I long to long for Him. ...And I will.
GOAL SEVEN: Respect my temple.
WHY: Take care of your body. I know these goals are supposed to be about me, but for real...take care of your bodies, y'all. As a Christian, I fully believe that my body is a temple for God's Spirit; therefore, I shouldn't treat it like trash. I already drink my Greens (click the SHOP link above to order yours with my 40% discount!), and take the best plant-based supplements I've ever tried, but I have also decided to make it a point to exercise more as well. I'm a Holy Yoga instructor, but I want to exercise outside of the classes I teach. I asked a friend to hold me accountable in training for my first half-marathon, so that has given me an actual reason to be at the gym as soon as the nursery opens. LOL.
So, and new goals you guys want to share? I'd love to hear what's on your list, and please let me know if I can be praying for you.
xoxo,
Ashley Danielle