What You Believe, Manifests.

Last year at this time I decided to come up with a personal manifesto rather than a "resolution." 

My 2015 Manifesto was the following: 

Be intentional

Guard your heart

Believe

Be You

Laugh & Love

Be brave  & Passionate

Pray

Find Thanks

The list above actually played itself out for me. I became more intentional about my time, my words, my actions and my faith. I learned through some situations that guarding my heart from certain people was necessary for my well being. I became disciplined in my prayer and in that saw my belief increase. "Ask and it shall be given" (Matthew 7:7) became a daily prayer of mine and just like always God showed up and showed me how BIG He really is. I learned to be myself and not play small to those around me. What you see is what you get with me and I'm choosing to "sugar coat" things less. I learned to embrace all sides of myself more than ever. As always, I struggled to find thanks in everything, but the blessings always outweigh the struggles. 

For 2016, I came up with a new list to add to the previous list and am SO EXCITED about it.

I want to be better at seeking WISDOM this year because wisdom is probably the most worthy treasure a person can have. 

I want to find PEACE in the midst of whatever chaos life brings. I want to make time for more peaceful things in my life and more time for me to just breathe. 

I want to DO LIFE BIG. There's this great song on one of my Apple Music playlists that talks about doing life big and so that's my plan. To do some big things that I've never done before. 

I want to LOVE EXTRAVAGANTLY ANYWAY. I added the "anyway" because I have learned to love those in my circle extravagantly, but I want to be intentional about doing that even when I'm unsure if some in my circle may choose to walk away.  

I want to OPEN ARM PRAISE. Not just praise and be full of thanks, but I want to completely surrender to each moment and praise God for all of it. 

I want to GIVE ABUNDANTLY. This goes along with the loving extravagantly. I want to be a better giver and be able to not just give but give above and beyond what I would normally would. 

I want to FIGHT WITH PRAYER. It seems that the easy way these days is to fight with words or with silence, but I want to fight with the strongest weapons I have - my prayers. I want to pray intentionally in all situations, but especially those situations that I cannot control. 

Lastly, I want to SLAY MY GIANTS. I posted a few days ago " Fear helps you settle. Don't retreat when you see a giant in your path." I don't want to allow fear of those big wounds and potholes in my path to keep me from living fully the way God intended. I don't want to retreat, push people away or isolate myself just because something looks too hard for me to overcome. 

2016 is going to be an epic year for me and my family and we hope the same for you!

2015 Manifesto

Manifesto comes from the latin word "manifestus" which means obvious or to make public. 

I've been on quite a journey the last few years and the older I get the more I feel like I need to learn which is quite the opposite of what I thought at 25. {who's with me?}

My 2015 Manifesto is quite obvious to all of us, but very few can follow through. I feel as though I've been, personally, learning these things here and there for the last few years, but for 2015 

I've decided they will be my target goal for every breath that I take. I think that part of what led me here was the "detox" I've been going through since October. 

Right after my mom died I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with grief, sadness, sorrow, responsibility. . . In addition to that, I was overwhelmed by the new role of making decisions for my dad and guiding my brother. Something about those moments led me to take a Facebook detox. Don't get me wrong I've always been a fan of social media and think it's a wonderful way to connect, but I also think it's a horrible way to consume a lot of time and take away joy from seeing what everyone else is "doing." 

It's been a few months and I've practiced the habit of posting very few updates, very few comments, and being less "like" happy. I've been more intentional of the way I'm spending my time. I left some groups that weren't enhancing my experience and turned off all notifications for all groups and pages. I muted some people from my timeline and deleted others completely. 

That detox taught me that I am in control of my time. I must be intentional about even something as trivial as social media. And if I should be intentional about something so menial, then I should REALLY be intentional about the things that truly matter to me: relationships, reading, writing, finances, family, health, connecting with God. 

It taught me that in order to guard my heart I need to guard what I see and hear. And let's be honest. Much of what we see or hear on Facebook or other social media outlets isn't always the BEST for us. {Is it bad? Maybe not. Is it good? Maybe. But is it the BEST?} 

It taught me to be who I am despite what the world says I should be. It taught me that if I spent less time wasted I would have more time to spend on the things that bring me passion. It has taught me that I probably need to speak less in order to HEAR HIM more. 

If I am wise about my intent I will pray more, love more, believe more and find my thankfulness even on the worst days. 

So, here's my public declaration for 2015. What about you? Do you have goals you're working toward for the new year? Do you write them down? Would love to hear how you'll be shaping your next level, so comment or email me!