Happy New Year! I can't believe 2011 is already here. I love celebrating the New Year —not always with parties or confetti—but always in spirit. My heart is gladdened as I think of newness and expectation. Only the Lord knows what the next year of life will bring but it's fun just to let your imagination run for a moment and picture what it will be like!
It's a wonderful time to reflect on the past year too and realize just how blessed you are! The Lord has indeed been faithful to hear our cries, prayers and praises! We've been through a lot in 2010 and we praise the Lord for bringing us through it all and making us both stronger.
But as you reflect on the blessing of the past you are also faced with the moments you wish could have been lived differently or goals that were left unmet. And thats where my "2011 Challenge" comes in. I know that the most common resolutions for the New Year have to deal with weight loss and health. Usually people make resolutions to lose X number of pounds or whatever. And yes, I guess that is part of my plan too . . . but the goal is a little different.
When Chris and I moved to the city, I started walking home from work everyday. Its about 2.75 miles and took me 50 minutes. Now that it's winter, there is more rain and the sun sets much sooner, so a few times a week, I talk myself into walking to work in the morning. Surprisingly, I have fallen in love with walking. Over the past 6 months I have walked 135 miles!
My challenge this year is to be more consistent and walk 700 miles in 2011. Its a very feasible goal; it's actually less than 2 miles everyday and just less than 60 miles every month. The jump from 135 to 700 does seem a bit daunting but if you look at each day as its own then I'm a bit surprised that I only walked 135 miles last year! (I will be keeping better track this year.)
The reason for this goal is to keep me motivated to walk. It's really easy to take the bus or drive everywhere—its definitely faster! But I want to do something that will benefit my health and make me feel better. Not only is it good for my heart and muscles, but the fresh air is great for clearing my mind!
Some of you are probably thinking
"only 700, why not make it 1000; now that would be blog worthy." Well, I thought about it. But I actually want to reach my goal. It would be great if I surpassed it but I have to meet it first! And thinking about how many days it rains, which makes walking way less attractive, and knowing I rarely walk during the weekends I needed to take it down to a more approachable number.
I'll try to keep you updated as the months go by. (And try not to obsess and write a post every day!) I am really excited for this challenge—in fact, I've already walked 2.7 miles when I went to the farmers market today.
I hope you are able to look back at 2010 with joy and awe of all the Lord has done. I'd love to hear about what you're looking forward to in 2011! May it be an amazing year for you all!
Happy New Year! I can't believe 2011 is already here. I love celebrating the New Year —not always with parties or confetti—but always in spirit. My heart is gladdened as I think of newness and expectation. Only the Lord knows what the next year of life will bring but it's fun just to let your imagination run for a moment and picture what it will be like!
It's a wonderful time to reflect on the past year too and realize just how blessed you are! The Lord has indeed been faithful to hear our cries, prayers and praises! We've been through a lot in 2010 and we praise the Lord for bringing us through it all and making us both stronger.
But as you reflect on the blessing of the past you are also faced with the moments you wish could have been lived differently or goals that were left unmet. And thats where my "2011 Challenge" comes in. I know that the most common resolutions for the New Year have to deal with weight loss and health. Usually people make resolutions to lose X number of pounds or whatever. And yes, I guess that is part of my plan too . . . but the goal is a little different.
When Chris and I moved to the city, I started walking home from work everyday. Its about 2.75 miles and took me 50 minutes. Now that it's winter, there is more rain and the sun sets much sooner, so a few times a week, I talk myself into walking to work in the morning. Surprisingly, I have fallen in love with walking. Over the past 6 months I have walked 135 miles!
My challenge this year is to be more consistent and walk 700 miles in 2011. Its a very feasible goal; it's actually less than 2 miles everyday and just less than 60 miles every month. The jump from 135 to 700 does seem a bit daunting but if you look at each day as its own then I'm a bit surprised that I only walked 135 miles last year! (I will be keeping better track this year.)
The reason for this goal is to keep me motivated to walk. It's really easy to take the bus or drive everywhere—its definitely faster! But I want to do something that will benefit my health and make me feel better. Not only is it good for my heart and muscles, but the fresh air is great for clearing my mind!
Some of you are probably thinking
"only 700, why not make it 1000; now that would be blog worthy." Well, I thought about it. But I actually want to reach my goal. It would be great if I surpassed it but I have to meet it first! And thinking about how many days it rains, which makes walking way less attractive, and knowing I rarely walk during the weekends I needed to take it down to a more approachable number.
I'll try to keep you updated as the months go by. (And try not to obsess and write a post every day!) I am really excited for this challenge—in fact, I've already walked 2.7 miles when I went to the farmers market today.
I hope you are able to look back at 2010 with joy and awe of all the Lord has done. I'd love to hear about what you're looking forward to in 2011! May it be an amazing year for you all!
