2015 Goals // Part Two // Victories & Challenges

2014 was an incredible year for me. It was a year filled with friends weddings, and dance parties, and moving into my own apartment. But 2014 was also really hard. It was the year I survived my first tax season, the year I didn't finish the CPA exam, the year that I found myself wondering "why does God seem so distant?"

For me, listing out my victories and challenges was difficult. I really struggled to not just sit around and beat myself up over all the things I should have done better (hello perfectionist). But, that's not the point of making these two lists. The point is the end result, the list of lessons learned over the last year. And while 2014 held many ups and downs for me, it really was a life-shaping year. I feel like 2014, at it's core, was the year I finally sat down and said this is the woman I want to be, these are the things I want others to say about me. 

• Prayer 
• Dance parties - all the time. 
• Saying yes to spending time with the people who matter most to me
• Finding a church home and building my community there 
• Celebrating a whole year as a "big girl" with a job I love
• Volunteering with high schoolers 
• Celebrating big moments in big ways
• Planning outfits for the week on Sundays so that there is less stress throughout the week
• Adopting a greyhound
• Launching this blog
• Listening to worship music more throughout the day
• Setting phone dates with friends 
• Being grateful

• Over-committing; being afraid to say "no" because I might miss out on the fun
• Making a budget and then ignoring it
• Making my God small
• Believing the lie that Instagram is real life
• Comparison
• Not taking time to do things I love
• Feeling attached to my phone
• Ignoring my body telling me to slow down; ignoring the fact that I was sick
• Pushing myself too hard; being too hard on myself; having unreal expectations for where my life "should" be
• Binge watching netflix when I should be sleeping; social media/pinterest when I should be sleeping; keeping my phone within arms reach when I should be sleeping 
• Drinking more diet coke and less water 
• Putting off going to the grocery store/doing laundry/cleaning the apartment 
• Accumulating more stuff

• Prayer is powerful.
• God is never as far away as I feel like He is. 
• I love my job, and it's a great job, but it is not (and should not become) my whole life.
• It is so important to take care of myself, physically and mentally - I've got to fill my cup up. I cannot pour into others if my own cup is empty! 
• Words are powerful and impactful and make my heart flutter. 
• PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE - STOP LOOKING AT THE COMPUTER - TURN OFF THE TV
• Comparison and perfectionism are stealing my joy. 
• Grace, unmerited and unearned favor, changes everything.