New Year Challenge

I love the first day of January because it is a clean slate. A brand new year lays out in front, ready to be lived and loved and experienced. It makes me want to clean my house so that everything is crisp and ready for a fresh start. Today however I am not bustling about cleaning because I have decided to enjoy  my last day off work for the holidays. So instead I've been mentally considering what areas need a good purging and reorganizing. I found a cool pin on pinterest about "21 days of organizing" that I think I will try. (look out medicine cabinets- I'll deal with you in an hour) 

All the thoughts of organizing and cleaning gave me an idea. It's not even my idea- it's an exercise from Seven that coincides nicely with my current urge to purge. As I considered trying this idea, it occurred to me maybe some of you would like to try it with me- a group adventure of sorts. Here's the plan: for the month of January we all commit to purge items from our home on a daily basis. In Seven, Jen Hatmaker eliminated seven items daily for one month. I am taking that challenge. So for the math challenged, such as myself, that is 217 items by January 31. But perhaps you are already fairly minimalist, and you could commit to three items a day. It really doesn't matter how many items- just that you challenge yourself to reduce excess stuff. No area of your home is off limits- garage, attic, drawers, under beds, closets, cabinets- and if I'm going to get rid of 217 items I will need to go through each of them!

So, what will you do with all those items? Glad you asked! You can obviously throw some things away or recycle, as well as donate to Goodwill or others ministries in your town. OR if you live in middle TN you could donate them to me. Because in early spring I will have a giant yard sale to raise money for Kyler's mission trip to Nicaragua in late May.

I will be posting a picture weekly to show you the 49 items collected that week. I'd love, love to hear from any of you that are taking the challenge with me. Leave me a comment telling me you're in and what your daily purge goal will be. Let's start our January's with a tangible commitment to reduce the waste in our lives and the "stuff" that traps us in materialism and commercialism.

This is my pantry which looks pretty organized, but I've already found three items to purge!

Happy New Year!

There has been so much relaxing and eating and movie watching going on in my life over the past week I have been unwilling to break away to get back to blogging. I delight in the holiday season because I am off work, my kids are off school and we spend a large amount of time having fun together. The break from structure and schedule does my spirit good!

I've been trying to decide if I should attempt to recap 2012 month by month, or in picture form, but I really feel overwhelmed at that thought. There is always so much life packed into 365 days- how do you condense it to 12 events or pictures? I'm grateful for the fullness in my life- all the places we go, people we love, missions we engage in- but it makes a recap nearly impossible.

So instead I will share a few of the defining moments of this year for me......

my mother in law's surgery and recovery during May and June- exhausting but good time of pulling together as a family- so thankful she is recovering and better

reading the book Seven- humbling and challenging

Kyler getting his first job- aware that my first born is almost gone, less mothering to do-more praying

Klynt's journey with physical therapy after his elbow surgery- exhausting but some good bonding

the Habakkuk series at City Church- paradigm shift, learning to remember and wait

speaking at the LCG conference- God using me in a new way, giving me new opportunities

taking Emma to get her ears pierced- mother-daughter relationship really growing this year

beginning my Women's Group- creating deeper relationships for me as we all grow in our relationship with God

creating Millinery and blogging- a new adventure, writing- allowing me to be creative

2012. A challenging year for me on a spiritual level. I have learned a tremendous amount this year about the way the Gospel applies to every area of my life. I have enjoyed new friendships and been thankful for long standing relationships who are willing to continue to love me and point me to Jesus. I am grateful for my marriage, my children and my parents- all four of them (I have set a goal that none of them will have surgery next year!) I am aware of how quickly time passes, and am thankful for ways God has been teaching me to not waste that gift.

Happy New Year friends! Looking forward to sharing my 2013 journey with you!