16 Jan 2014

2014 Goals: Reading, Writing, & Blogging

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2014 Goals

Here is the last of my 2014 Goals. I think all of the above go together. i look forward to a year of more prayers for the journey, a prayer book for new moms, reading more books, and doing more blogging.

Prayers for the Journey: a free e-book that is for all wives (or women who are praying for a future husband) that takes you through a book of the Bible and prayers and journaling space. Here is the one from Ephesians and I have LOVED hearing feedback from y’all who have used it! I should have Nehemiah back from the editor by the end of the month. The ones on tap for this year are: Colossians, James, 1 Peter and 1 John.

Bigger Writing Projects: 365 Prayer Journal for new moms. And a journey through the OT and Knowing God. Most of the book will be done when I finish the Bible readings for the year, then I’ll go back and expand my findings – to make a devotional for y’all!

Blogging: I want to blog at least 5 days a week, use Social Media like Influenster, Instagram, Twitter, FB, and Pinterest. I want to get to know the ladies of AR Women Bloggers. I would love to attend a Blogging conference – sponsored by someone because we don’t have the funds to pay for it.

Reading: I get much inspiration for the above by reading. And I think all of these are tied together by this one discipline. I read blogs, books, the Bible, mags, etc. And they: the photos, the quotes, the stories – all inspire the above. I want to read at least 10 pages a day and pick out a few blogs to go back to and read some of there tutorial pages. Some I’m looking forward to are Naptime Diaries, Willow Bird Baking, and Adventures in Cooking. One of the books I want to read in 2014 on writing is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Any other blogs I need to be reading? Any Prayers for the Journey books of the Bible you want me to tackle? Any blog topics you’d like to see written?

8 Jan 2014

2014 Goals: Photography

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2014 Photography Goals

Such a great habit. As we’ve recently taken photographs and have realized how expensive they are – I definitely want to improve this hobby for a few reasons:
1. Watching my boys grow. I love seeing all the pictures even from last year. They are such precious creations and it is a joy to watch them grow.
2. Capture families, food, and God’s creation. I love taking photos of love and families. Whether engaged couples, families big or small, new or many generations old, babies who have just entered the word. I also love taking pictures of the food I make. It is a fun creative outlet to plate food. I also love taking photos of God’s creation. It is amazing to see a sunset and capture dew drops on rose petals.

Here are a few ways I’m going to do this:
1. Hopefully get people who will want me to photograph them.
2. Make a light box. This is a joint task with my husband.
3. Read my camera manual.
4. Read a food styling and photography book that my parents got me several years ago for Christmas.
5. Take photos.
6. Continue to read other photographer’s blog. One new one I enjoy is Amanda Lackey.
7. Hang out with other photographers.
8. Live life.

7 Jan 2014

2014 Goal: Encourage

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Encouragement Project 2014

Bubbles. Sprinkles. Confetti. Cards. Pink. Balloons. Flowers.
I read a blog from a friend of mine that focuses a LOT on showing kindness, being encouraging, etc. – it is uplifting and encourages me to share kindness with other people.
Scripture tells us to show kindness to strangers, be hospitable, share encouraging words, and show the love of Christ to the world. How do we do that?
The past two years have had a lot of discouragement in them for me. So, as I embark on 2014, I want to be the one who encourages others. I received the above card from a sweet friend of mine for my birthday – but why do we need to just tell people encouraging things on their birthday? Why can’t we be an encouragement to others every day of the year?
Here is what I’m not saying: Never speak the hard truth to others. I am not saying live in fairy tale land. But, here is what I’m saying: Go above and beyond to be an encourager instead of the discourager.
1. Encourage your husband. Instead of harping on the one thing he doesn’t do for you – encourage him in all the other ways that he serves you and your family.
2. Encourage your children. Even if they are young, encourage them in ways they show kindness to their siblings, or how they exhibit a godly characteristic.
3. Encourage your neighbor, friend, or someone in your church. For me, snail mail is so important. I love sending cards and letters and little care packages to friends. This goes for any age person!
4. Encourage strangers. Pay for the car behind you in the Starbucks line. Be kind to the cashier or salesperson – many folks who shop aren’t nice.
5.  Encourage bloggers.  If you read blogs, one of the best ways to encourage the bloggers to keep doing what they love is by seeing comments.  So, tell them how much you enjoyed their blog!

 

In a world that offers much discouragement, be the encourager in your world. How creative can you be in sharing encouragement?

2 Jan 2014

2014 Goals in Cooking

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2014 New Years Cooking Goals

This is the beginning of my series of posts about my 2014 goals and what I intend to do.  These are in no particular order, but will be coming in the next few days.

Cooking is something I have to do.  We can’t afford to eat out all the time, either from a monetary standpoint or from a healthy standpoint.  So, might as well cook, right?  And what better way to explore creativity and serving my family together.

1.  Cook more creatively.  That means making up my own recipes and jotting them down in my new Tasty Smash Journal given to me as a Christmas present from a creative friend.

2.  Cook through all the recipes on Jenna’s site.  This is by far my favorite cooking blog – so this will give me something to strive for: sort of like Julie and Julia

3.  Take more photos.  I’ll be talking about this in the photography goal post, but know that you will see a lot more food photos coming! 🙂