Never Stop Starting...

The phrase "never stop starting" was wisdom given to me from a very good friend and mentor. It rings incredibly true for me, and I'm guessing for others as well. I tend to have extremist tendencies and if a goal of mine is ruined, well, then that's the end of the world and the whole house falls apart. I say the house falls apart because this comes up mainly in the world of housework. My home is either perfectly spotless, or slowly falls apart until it's pretty bad. (Yes, I have a toddler, but at times it's unreasonably bad.)

I'm guessing you can spell out what "never stop starting" means, but in case you're having a hard time with it, let me tell you: Never stop starting doing things, never stop starting pursuing your goals and dreams, never stop starting living your life, reading books, etc. The list can say whatever you want it to say. Don't give up. You will possibly ruin your New Years Resolution of eating no sweets or desserts on February 14 when someone gives you chocolate -- or when you see all the delicious chocolate at the store and buy some for yourself.  But don't let that get you down! You can just as easily start the next day....though I am now more for setting reasonable goals that you might actually stick with. 

Ah, Bible reading has been a big one for me. Growing up, I always had the resolution at the new year to read the whole Bible in a year. When I would miss a day, which didn't always take too long to happen, then I would feel incredibly discouraged -- I had failed myself. The missed day of reading would turn into a week which turned into a month and so on and so forth until I found myself back at the new year only to start with the same overwhelming goal again. Needless to say, I still have not read the entire Bible, but I am working on it. My pace is slow and steady, and I do still miss days, but they don't bother me as much. Never stop starting reading your Bible. You will finish it eventually and God will reveal things to you over time. You don't have to be a seminary student to read it, and you might get things out of context, but God can guide you and reveal things to you in your reading. Just pray that He would. 

Feel free to comment some of the things you've had problems sticking with, goals you haven't met because you don't meet them and then you quit. I'd be interested to know, if you're willing to share.

Never stop starting! 

I broke my own Facebook rule...

And for very good reason!

We haven't announced it to too many people yet, but we are moving to La Crosse, Wisconsin in the timeframe of 5-11 months. It's such a large frame because we do not want to move there in the dead of winter, in early winter, or in late winter. I, personally (being an Oklahoma girl from birth) do not want to experience a Northern winter any sooner than I have to.

About a week ago today or tomorrow, I received a support letter in the mail from my very good friend Ashley Engebretsen. She, too, is going to living in La Crosse, Wisconsin this August. *Ahhh!!!!* She and her husband are being transferred from a small town in North Dakota to the beautiful city of La Crosse. I am so excited. My heart was bursting with joy, and I had to contact her IMMEDIATELY! I had to share with her how we were going to be reunited, living in the same city, and both of us there with the thought of that being our home long-term. I am going to have a friend in La Crosse. Not just any friend, either. She and I became close during our years at college together. We'd see each other weekly, bake cookies together, study together, go on jogs together...I'm so thankful we get a chance to be involved in each others' lives again.

So, what did I do? How did I try to contact her? I went to Facebook (which is when I broke my rule) and tried to find her. Turns out, she deactivated her Facebook for many of the reasons I stated in my first post on the matter. Well, since I had broken my rule, I kept breaking it. --This is kind of an aside, but after reading this interesting article from a man who left the internet for a year, I didn't feel too badly about it. My two weeks of only going on Wednesdays and Saturdays helped me out more than I thought it would. Plus, I got rid of about 200 friends and am working on deleting more. Not having 1000 "friends" means my homepage doesn't update as often with people I don't really care about, but who are doing fascinating things. This is a step in the right direction. I'd thought of doing that for a while but I didn't want to waste my time with deleting people. If you've used this excuse, don't. Just do it, take the time to delete that person you met at the caf your freshman year of college, back in the two-thousands when EVERYONE friended EVERYONE for who knows why. (Why did we do that?....)

I've gotten a much better hold on my social media use, and I've been able to talk about the good and the bad of it with some friends and family since the first post. It really can be both good and bad, like many things.

OH, and to finish the story of my dear friend Ashley. I eventually contacted her by........drumroll, please?...........calling her on the good old cell phone. Yes, I kind of have a talking-on-the-phone-phobia, but it was totally worth it. I got to hear a little bit about her life, more than what I get in the monthly newsletter. It was wonderful to hear her voice.

I'm definitely going to miss Oklahoma and being closer to my family and dear friends that I've made while living in Norman. But we believe this is a good choice for us. Anthony grew up in La Crosse, and it is where his parents currently reside.

Adventures are to be had!