Live Brave: One Little Word

February has been a unexpectedly difficult month and has found me struggling to hold onto my one little word and at times even my positive outlook on life. I won’t bore you with all the details, that is perhaps for another time, but it has definitely been an uphill challenge. My original plan for my One Little Word updates was to do individual, intention specific posts and while I will hopefully be able to pick this up from this month, February I am going to do a catch all post as my laptop broken down for most of February.

Here were my intentions for February and how I have done against each of them:

Intention to feel more financially secure – Create a very low level budget and set up an ongoing process to follow it each month.

My budget has been created and simply now needs to be maintained and tweaked as necessary. I think that this is going to be an ongoing intention and I will probably only see how successful it is after a few months of using it.

Intention to connect more to God – Complete the spiritual assessment and create an action in one area to work on.

Unfortunately I didn’t complete my spiritual assessment and therefore wasn’t able to create actions to work on based on that assessment. This is something that I still would like to do, however I think that this will go on the back shelf for now.

Intention to get God’s word into my heart – memorize February's Word Warrior verse.

I would love to say that I memorized this months verse but that would be a lie. I started the month off with the best intentions, however this is one thing that fell by the way side with everything else that took place. I have also decided to branch out a little with my memory verses and if the Word Warrior ones don't feel right for me and my life then I am going to find another one which does...which is actually the case for March, which I will share with you later this month.

Intention to improve my physical fitness – Go to the gym 8 times in February.

I didn't quite make the 8 sessions this month, however I did complete 7 sessions and considering I had been sick for a week I think the 7 sessions are great. I am loving the aqua aerobics and boxing classes but have not been that enticed with the aerobic combat class. I don’t feel any stronger yet, but I am proud of myself for going along and pushing myself in those classes.

Intention to change my body and my health – Focus on what I am eating to help me lose 6.5lbs

My weight loss intention was not as successful as the gym sessions unfortunately. I had hoped to lose the 6.5 lbs however I only managed 2.5 lbs. While I didn't achieve the loss I wanted, I still find myself lighter at the end of this month than what I was last month. I can report thought that despite the small weight loss, my overall eating this month has been pretty good. I'm eating more whole foods and less processed junk, drinking more water and getting the rest that I need.

Intention to create and learn – Complete my One Little Word project for February and my first assignment.

I really enjoyed the prompts for February and loved the reflection cards I created for the year ahead. One thing that I learnt this month was that I need to do the reflections at the very beginning of the month, rather than a few weeks into the next month. The second part to the months prompts were to create activity cards and come up with 12 actions for the year. I only got to decide on 4 actions so will need to spend a bit more time to come up with the rest.

As far as the first assignment went for February, I am pleased to share that I feel that it went well. I wrote it three times but the end product felt right. Now its just waiting to see what my tutor thinks!

Intention to live a life of gratitude - Complete my gratitude journal for February.

I absolutely love my gratitude journal. Its something that I think I will be continuing with for years to come. Here are a few pictures of my journal during February.

Intention to comfort my soul – Spend some time considering and writing two journal prompts.

My soul has needed a lot of comforting this month and on the one hand I feel like I haven't done sch a great job in comforting it, but then on the other hand I feel like I have taken small steps to do just that. One of the things that I have started doing is keeping the Sabbath and this simple decision has really changed my life. I love Sundays and so look forward to them. My Sabbath helps me to get through the weeks.

Hopefully this new month will be less challenging than last month enabling me to make more progress in what I want to achieve.

Here are my intentions for March:

Intention to complete home projects – Have a look for inspiration and ideas for my garden. Decide on the desired end result.
Intention to connect more to God – Do a daily devotional.
Intention to get God’s word into my heart – memorize a new bible verse.
Intention to improve my physical fitness – Sign up to a race.
Intention to change my body and my health – Focus on clean eating throughout the month and take part in Lent.
Intention to create and learn – Complete my One Little Word project for March and my second TMA.
Intention to comfort my soul – Create a personal mission statement following journal prompts.
Intention to live a life of gratitude - Complete my gratitude journal for March.

As some of you may know my One Little Word for 2014 is Intention. If you missed my initial post about it you can catch up here. One of my intentions for this year is to exercise 3 times a week and eat well to change my body and health for the better.

I want to keep myself accountable to this one in particular as its one of my bigger intentions and one that I really seem to struggle with. So, how am I doing so far with this?

Exercise wise I haven't been able to keep to the 3 workout sessions per week, however what I have done is found myself a gym with a bunch of classes that I like the look of, and have signed up. Membership begins the 1st of February. One of the ways that I plan to ensure that I do my 3 sessions a week is to book them into my calendar at the start of each week, as if they were appointments or work meetings. Hopefully next month I will be able to report back on all the new classes that I have been a part of.

As far as the eating has gone this month its been a tough month. The first ten days of the year I decided to commit to a ten day detox in which I avoided dairy, wheat, sugar, sweeteners and all processed foods. The toughest part of that for me was having no milk in my tea. By the end of the ten days the only thing I could think of was a decent cup of tea!

Last week my mom and I joined Slimming World. Essentially its a weight loss club, but the way that you eat with this plan is far more a lifestyle plan than a short term weight loss plan. Its all about clean eating while minimizing processed foods and sugars. Food wise its been a good week for me and the scales show it. First weigh in and I have lost three and a half pounds. Its a good start and definitely a step in the right direction.

All in all, so far I think the steps that I have taken are helping me get to where I want to go. I found this quote and picture on Google a while ago and came across it again last night. I really feel that this quote and sentiment is meant for me. So, I am taking hold of it with both my hands and reminding myself about it day in and day out.

I love the new beginning that January brings and I always look forward to the picking of my One Little Word to help me set my new goals. This year however, I have decided to do this a little differently. Instead of setting myself some goals, I want to set myself some intentions for different areas of my life. I don't want to be able to just tick off a list of actions at the end of the year, I want to see and feel growth in myself and in my life.

In order to see the growth that I would like by the end of this year I decided that I was going to take part in Ali Edwards One Little Word Project. I am hoping that my word will help me connect and commit to the changes that I want to make. A word that will motivate and inspire me.

And my word for 2014 is Intention.

This year I don't want life to pass me by, to just "happen" to me. I want to live it with intention. I want to be intentional about how I spend my time, how I treat my body, how I live my faith, how I interact with others and how I look after my soul. I want to live my life with purpose and direction.

While looking through some quotes to match my intention I found this,

"Today is the day I made myself the promise to live more from Intention and less from habit. "

Here are my intentions for 2014:

Intentionally use my finances to save up for a much needed, debt free, holiday in 2015.

2015 is the first year in six years where I haven’t been studying towards my degree and to celebrate that I want to go on a once in a life time holiday. I want to go to Vietnam, which as you can expect is going to cost a small fortune. As I want to do this holiday debt free, that means I have to put together a rather aggressive savings plan which is where my intention to use my finances to save up for a debt free holiday comes into play. I am looking to save up about £2000 which means that I need to put away about £100 a month over the next twenty months. It’s going to be tough and will mean some sacrifices in other areas but that is OK.

Intentionally finish what I start.

My mom has pointed out a few times to me that I am not good at finishing what I start… and in my defence it’s because I love trying new things. What I need to remember though is that sometimes, this behaviour creeps into areas of my life which have bigger consequences for me. Like following a particular healthy eating plan, or continuously exercising, or regularly going to church or finishing a craft project. This year I want to make a commitment to myself that before I say yes to something new, that I am going to consider what I already have going on and realistically decide if I can finish what I already have committed to as well as the new thing. I want to see things through to the end.

Intentionally exercise 3 times a week and eat well to change my body and health for the better.

This is another big one for me and will probably be one of the ones that I need to really push myself on this year. I am not an exercise fan but I am working on changing my body and my health which requires me to do the best that I can for the body that I have been given. Right now I don’t have access to a gym but by the end of the month I will have. So my intention for January is to get signed up and then intentionally exercise 3 times a week there after. The other half of this is the food and I am planning on eating clean food and watching what I put into my body.

Intentionally avoid comparison between myself and others.

Comparison is deadly for all of us, but it especially deadly for me as I find myself doing it more often than I should. This one is going to be difficult as these thoughts so quickly pop into my head. I am going to have to be vigilant. Be on the look out for them. And when I find myself in that comparison trap, I need to remind myself that I am loved, that I have enough and that there is a specific plan just for me.

Intentionally find a church to make my home.

This year I really want to find a church, settle in and make some friends. I am going to have to be very intentional about this as in the past few years I have found it way too easy to run in and straight out of church, avoiding all the social events and keeping to myself.

Intentionally set aside time each month to create and nurture my soul and body.

When life gets busy and work becomes a mad house the first thing that goes out the window for me is my creative time.

Intentionally get God's word into my heart by memorising a new bible verse each month.

Mandisa challenged us to become word warriors by learning a new bible verse each month. I think that this is a great way to build my relationship with my heavenly father and to get His word into my heart.

Intentionally live a life of gratitude

Being grateful for what I have is very important to me and so this year I want to intentionally find something to be grateful for each day. To help me do this I am going to use my Gratitude journal to record all the blessings in my life as I make my way through this year.

As has been the general practice for a few years now, with the beginning of a New Year brings a new word for that year. You can read all about One Little Word here if you haven't come across it before, but basically it's a word that you choose that encapsulates how you want to live or what you want to focus on during the year ahead.

If you hadn't yet guessed, my word for 2013 is Grace. Grace is defined as:

1. a: unmerited favour

b: a virtue coming from God

c: God's gift to me

2013 has some big things that are happening in it and I know that the only way that I am going to come out of this year achieving and doing what I need to do is by God's Grace. Grace to pick me up when I am low, Grace to help me in my weaknesses. Because I know that I can not face this year on my own or in my own strength - or lack there of. I need God and I need his Grace - so this is the story behind my word for this year.

Not that a word isn't enough, but I also wanted a bible verse to go along with my word. This isn't a normal tradition for me, however I know that when things get tough I will need a reminder of this - and 2 Corinthians 12:9 seemed like the perfect verse.

To get my heart, mind, soul and spirit in the right place for this year ahead, I am going to be doing a daily 12 hour fast for the first week, starting today. The thing that I love about the fasting is that you can choose what you want to fast from - it doesn't always have to be food. It can be anything that has meaning to you. That being said, I am however going to fast from food. I am looking forward to making this sacrifice, to have it hopefully bring me closer in my relationship with God.

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