Improve Yourself Challenge: Week 3 Update
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
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?
Improve Yourself! 2010 Challenge from Engaged Marriage
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!
What were some of the highlights in your marriage in 2009? (Week 11)
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
Give Thanks in all Circumstances
This will probably be my only post this week ~ between my “day job,”my new business and the holidays, this week is pretty packed. But I’ll do my best to stay in touch!
As we near Thanksgiving, we all begin thinking about what we are thankful for…our family, our friends, our jobs, our warm homes filled with love… But what about the other things that have happened this year that weren’t so warm and fuzzy? Have you ever stopped to think about 2009’s trials and tribulations and give thanks for those?
C.S. Lewis said, “We ought to give thanks for all fortune; if it is “good” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.”
I had a ROUGH year this year. I was laid off from my job in January (3 months after giving birth to my second child) and fell into a deep depression. My marriage struggled (and that’s an understatement), my children suffered, and I finally sought both marriage counseling and psychiatric help. Nothing really worked.
So finally, I turned to God for help. The passage we discussed at the first church service I attended was this: “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18) It was like the pastor was speaking directly to me; that God was telling me to have faith. And so I did.
I rallied. We put our kids back in daycare so I could focus on finding a job. I learned new things and “marketed” myself to potential employers with intensity. “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest – if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) And in God’s faithfulness, I landed a job in a month’s time.
If it weren’t for 6 months of complete hell, I wouldn’t have found my way back to God. And so I am THANKFUL for God’s faithfulness and love, even when I wasn’t faithful or obedient. I wasn’t sure I would get out alive; and now here I am, much happier than I was at this time last year. Because now I understand that when God takes something from your grasp, He is not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
And yet, I have some “warm and fuzzy” things to be thankful for too:
- A stronger, happier marriage (see “A Total Money Makeover Saved My Marriage”)
- Two beautiful daughters, growing strong in God’s grace
- A new personal goal to be generous with my time, talent and treasure
- A new business (I’m a “mompreneur”!) which will help me attain my goal ~ 10% of all sales will go to different charities throughout the year (November = Operation Shower)
But most of all, I am thankful for the struggle I endured during the first 6-7 months of 2009. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
May God bless you this holiday season!
Creating Goals to Obtain my Vision
Dave Ramsey writes: “Goals are the building blocks of vision, vision in work clothes.”
Here are my goals, in order of what must happen first:
- We must be debt-free, with the exception of our mortgage (debt snowball must be complete).
- We have to finish our emergency fund (6 months expenses).
- We have to begin saving for retirement (15% gross income).
- We have to begin saving for our daughters’ college education (this is the MOST important step for me).
- We have to save enough money for a down payment on the shop (house in Franklin), renovations on the house, equipment and inventory. I can only imagine this will be a minimum of $100k.
As you can tell, I’m pretty far away from my vision right now. If we continue to pay roughly the same amount down on our debt every month, it will take us 2 years. We can accelerate that greatly by selling our Durango and picking up odd jobs for extra money (which we’re already doing). Examples of odd jobs range from marketing contract work to landscaping projects.
I also recently developed a product, my Clean Hands sign, that I’m hoping will be a catalyst for reaching my goals – and vision – a little quicker. In adherence to my values (being generous with my time, talent and treasure), I’m pledging to donate 10% of all sales to a charity, which will change periodically. In November and December, I’m donating to Operation Shower.
If you like my vision and want to help me reach my goals, there are a few things you can do to help:
- Forward the link to my blog to your friends.
- Buy a sign for a new mom or mom-to-be.
- If you know of anyone looking to make a vehicle purchase, send them the link to our Craig’s List ad.
- If you live in Middle TN and are looking for someone to do some work around your house (my husband is pretty darn handy), or your company needs some marketing assistance (on a contract/outsource basis), give us a shout!
We’re seeking out every opportunity to reach our goals and obtain our vision. Do you have a vision? What are your goals? I encourage you to write them down and begin working towards them.
My Vision for the Future
Right now, I’m reading “More Than Enough” by Dave Ramsey. I just finished chapter 3 on Vision and I’m going to pause (before the next chapter) and do what he suggests: write down my vision. And I’m going to share it with you.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
(Proverbs 29:18)
I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, to own my own business, be my own boss. But I never knew what type of business until now. In this first post, I’m going to share my vision. In the next couple of days, I’ll share with you the goals I need to accomplish first to reach my vision.
Dave Ramsey writes: “Vision that is rooted in values is the only vision that will last.”
It’s only recently that I realized the pure joy in being generous with my time, talent and treasure. And there lies the value system in which I’m basing my vision on. Right now, we’re focusing on getting out of debt, so we’re not able to be as generous financially as I’d like. But we give when we can and instead I focus my energy on being generous with the other two and am looking forward to the day when my family can regularly be generous in every way.
Here it is, in black and white. There’s no turning back now!
I want to start a gift shop. But not just any gift shop. I want to purchase a quaint old home near the square in downtown Franklin. Yes, there will be a room or two full of cute, handmade gifts to purchase (preferably by local artisans including myself ~ and let me state for the record I use the term “artisan” loosely when referring to myself). I also want to host a custom embroidery business within the shop. This is how I’ll finance what I REALLY want to do…
I will have one room set up like a comfy living space, with big overstuffed couches and chairs, books and magazines to read, and coffee and fresh baked goodies. This will be a gathering place for women to get together for fellowship with one another. I would love to offer Faithful Provisions classes and Financial Peace University(among others), and will open the space to any group that wants to meet or gather informally. I want the room next door to be a playroom, for my kids and others who stop in. And I will have free “childcare” available during classes so parents don’t have to struggle to attend a function that will improve their family life.
I want to be a financial counselor and work with local couples (and singles) to obtain the same financial peace that my family will have been blessed with. My hope is to make this my ministry to the Franklin community.
Finally, I want this to be a family business, and I want a nice kitchen in the back so that on “late” nights, I can cook dinner at the shop and when we close, my family can still sit down to a nice meal together. This will also be where all the fresh baked goodies come from. 
So there you have it. I have a vision for how I can be an intentional wife, mom and member of the Middle Tennessee community by being generous with my time, talent and treasure. But there are MANY smaller goals that I have to reach before this vision becomes reality.
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