My friend Brad Chaffee over at Enemy of Debt is launching a “Manage Your Money” Challenge starting Monday, March 1st. We’re well on our way to being debt free and are psyched to be participating in the challenge. Are you struggling with your budget? Do you have a budget? Sign up for the Challenge now!

This will be a 31 day challenge, that begins on March 1st and ends on March 31st. You may sign up now for your FREE Basic Membership, to familiarize yourself with the program. I have been given a complimentary 12 Month Premium Membership so that I may evaluate and learn the calendar-based budgeting system for myself. I will use this to my advantage, in order to better help you with your questions about the site and the budgeting software.

GOALS

1. Lose the rest of my baby weight, about 20 lbs (note: my “baby” is now a toddler)
2. Make intentional steps to improve my marriage
3. Get 200 Facebook Fans on MY HANDS ARE CLEAN fan page (“Clean Hands, Healthy Baby!”)

WEIGHT

I’ve been sick for weeks and so I have not stuck to my diet or exercise plan. However, I’m finally starting to feel better so perhaps I can get back on track during Week 4.

MARRIAGE

Things are going very well in this department! Our weekly coffee/lunch dates have been wonderful and I’m really learning a lot from The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman(affiliate link). My husband is definitely a “Words of Affirmation” man, and so I’ve been very intentional in complimenting all the things he does around the house. Because folks, I’m one lucky woman ~ Drew does a TON around the house. We spent yesterday and today cleaning and organizing several rooms in our house, and Drew did most of the work since I was busy with my “day job”.

FACEBOOK ~ MY HANDS ARE CLEAN, ARE YOURS?

I’m excited to report that I have over 180 fans already, with a month to go! And it seems like every time someone “Suggests [my fan page] to Friends”, a couple of orders come through. So Facebook is definitely a good market for me. I am starting a CPC (cost per click) ad campaign on FB for the next 5 days as a test, so I’ll update you next week on the success of the campaign. Consequently, I’m going to increase my goal from 200 fans to 500 fans by the end of February. Won’t you be my fan, and suggest my page to your friends??? =)

Thanks for following my progress. How are you doing on your resolutions?

Sooo…..the first week of the challenge is complete and I met about half my goals.  What were they?  Here’s a reminder:

1. Lose the rest of my baby weight, about 20 lbs (note: my “baby” is now a toddler)
2. Make intentional steps to improve my marriage
3. Get 200 Facebook Fans on MY HANDS ARE CLEAN fan page (“Clean Hands, Healthy Baby!”)

Weight Goal: Week 1 – 2000 calories/day and 15 minutes exercise/day

I think I did pretty well on the calorie limit; most days, I wrote down everything I ate and counted calories, fat, carbs, protein, fiber and Weight Watcher points.  And instead of eating 6 cookies at night, I’d only eat 1.  :-)  The exercise goal is another story; I don’t think I did 15 minutes of continuous exercise even one day last week.  I was going to make it all up on Saturday with 2 hours on the Wii, but I was sick and couldn’t.  Oh well, there’s always this week!

Marriage Goal

Complete!  I read the first 2 chapters of The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (affiliate link) and had a lunch date with my husband.

Facebook Fan Goal

Fans increased slightly on “My Hands Are Clean, Are Yours?” FB page, but I’m still under 100.  Williamson AM (local newspaper) wrote a story about me and my “Clean Hands Healthy Baby” signs last week and I did an interview with WKRN News 2 this morning, so I’m well on my way to some great promotion.  I also attended the Social Fresh Conference yesterday in Nashville and got some more great ideas for increasing traffic to my FB page and websites.

To keep up with me on Engaged Marriage’s Improve Yourself Challenge, choose “Improve Yourself Challenge” under Categories or click here.  Thanks for your support!

Dustin over at Engaged Marriage has challenged his readers to set some personal goals for the next 2 months and use him, his blog and his readers as accountability partners.  I have accepted the challenge, and will post updates weekly.  The challenge begins today and goes for 8 weeks.  I have 3 goals:

1. Lose the rest of my baby weight, about 20 lbs (note: my “baby” is now a toddler)
2. Make intentional steps to improve my marriage
3. Get 200 Facebook Fans on MY HANDS ARE CLEAN fan page (“Clean Hands, Healthy Baby!”)

First, here is my plan for weight loss (slow and steady wins the race – and in this case, is actually more likely to stick with it!).  I may not lose all 20 pounds in the 8 weeks, but if I stick with it I should be close!

Week 1 – 2000 calories/day; 15 minutes exercise/day
Week 2 – 2000 calories/day; 15 minutes exercise/day
Week 3 – 1800 calories/day; 20 minutes exercise/day
Week 4 – 1800 calories/day; 25 minutes exercise/day
Week 5 – 1600 calories/day; 30 minutes exercise/day
Week 6 – 1600 calories/day; 35 minutes exercise/day
Week 7 – 1500 calories/day; 40 minutes exercise/day
Week 8 – 1500 calories/day; 45 minutes exercise/day

Second, I’m going to read “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman (2 chapters/week) and have a weekly coffee dates with my husband.

Third, I’m going to shamelessly ask everyone I know to be my fan and invite their friends to be my fan, and so on.  All you have to do is click on MY HANDS ARE CLEAN and then click the fan box.  I don’t post a lot so I promise I won’t overwhelm your FB page!

There you have it.  My goals for 2010.  At least the first 2 months of 2010.  Check back weekly to see my progress!

What are your goals?  I encourage you to join the challenge now. Dustin is giving away lots of great prizes too!

The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together. – Robert C. Dodds

What were some of the highlights in your marriage in 2009? What New Year’s Resolution would be beneficial for your marriage?

Happy New Year!

Two challenges for you today . . .

First one:  Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a number of ESPN “Best of 2009″ lists. I love looking back at the best catches of the year or the best come from behind victories. Highlight videos are always a blast to watch.

In a similar fashion, it’s a good exercise to develop your own “Best of 2009″ marriage highlights. To help you with your highlights, think of these areas:
• Vacation
• Spiritual growth
• Transitions (moves, job, graduation, etc.)
• Communication and conflict resolution
• Hobbies
• Financial or budget related
• Date nights
• Time with friends
• Serving others

As you look back together, spend some time giving God thanks for His goodness, provision and faithfulness in 2009.

Second one:  For many of us January 1 means it’s time for New Year’s resolutions. If that’s one of your traditions, be sure to spend some time setting some goals and resolutions for your marriage. Use the highlights list above to help you set a goal (or two) for your marriage for this new year.

After you set your New Year’s Resolution(s), spend some time praying together – asking God to grant you wisdom, courage and strength as you enter 2010.

Jeff Helton
Marriage and Family Pastor
+ Fellowship Bible Church
+ 50 Fridays Challenge