Goodbye 2013 and my Word of the Year 2014.

I don't know about you, but this year has been..crazy. My life has changed in every possible way! Looking back, I can see that all my struggles for this year have been the Grace of God, and have made me a better person. But, when they were happening..I seriously thought my world was ending.
In the year 2013:

• I found out I was pregnant!
• Due to said pregnancy, I gained a little thing called hyperemesis..and non stop sickness, multiple hospital stays, and I lost 25 pounds.
• I was deemed "unreliable" and stepped down from my newly acquired position at work.
• I got to fulfill one of my hearts desires-becoming a stay at home wife and soon to be mom <3
• My husband got laid off work shortly after, and I learned that valuable lesson of frugality very quickly.

Through all those things, especially my sickness I have never felt the Love of God so deep. ( I'll share my full testimony later). So, this year I made a choice to focus on one word and let that word define my year. I did take this quite seriously, and prayed about it. The word that resonated with me the most was the word "renovate".

 “Though outwardly we are wasting away,” wrote the apostle Paul, “inwardly we are being renewed (or renovated) day by day.”  

That is my focus for 2014. To let God renovate me. To let the Word, worship, and prayer become who I am. To focus on being healthy and let my body be renovated. To completely renovate my relationship with my husband. To renovate my home life, and my finances. 

I am so ready to get started with 2014 :)

Ready to let God have your year? Link up over at One Word 365, comment and let me know your word, and if there is any way I can be an encouragement to you, let me know!

A New Approach to Resolutions.

Today I wanted to share with you a whole new approach to the ole' New Years Resolution thing. Enter One Word 365.

One Word 365 is a more..streamlined version of a resolution. Instead of choosing those different resolutions that generally (if your like me!) get pushed to the back burner, you focus on one word for the entire year. Your word can be anything. It just needs to have some personal meaning for you! That one word will in a way shape your year from choices you make, to things you want to learn,how you treat others, etc. I am going to think long and hard and give this a shot! I am hoping that it will absolutely wreck me as a person, and I can come out of 2014 a better person!

Interested?
Head over to One Word 365, link up, get some word ideas and prepare to make 2014 ahhhmazing :)

Thrifty New Years Resolution Resources!

Good Morning from cold, snowy Iowa!
It is that time of the year again. Resolution time. Where we start our years with nothing but the best intentions to make 2014 our best year ever. I am a random person, so I tend to have about 20 resolutions going at once..needless to say they only stick for about a week or so! This year, I am hoping to hone in on a few specific things and make a lasting change. I also can go a little overboard spending money on apps for my phone, healthy food, books, cds, and a lot of other things that I think will help me reach my goals. So, I did some research this year and I found a lot of free (or nearly free) resources that can help us all get a little closer to our goals. I actually found so many it was hard to narrow it down, but here are my absolute favorites.

Finances:
Mvelopes Online Budgeting System 

We all want to save a little bit of money here and there. A budget can be very helpful to a lot of us. This is a great website I found, that reminds me of Dave Ramsey's cash envelope system. You link your online banking account with the website, and create your own budget based on paydays, bills, and personal needs. You decide on a specific monthly or periodic amount to place in each "envelope". Just like you would withdraw cash from your bank account to place in an envelope, you can choose how you would like to fund each envelope. The system automatically does it for you, so it does make the system easy to use. It is easily customizable, and you are able to see how much you have left in each envelope. I think this is a system that you have to work with quite a bit. I am still trying to get myself set up with what works for hubby and I, so I will let you know how that goes. SO far, so good.


Spiritual Life:
 Bible.com (Formerly known as YouVersion) 
Where do I even begin? This is seriously one of the BEST resources out there. Not only do you get almost every version of the Bible imaginable, but you can get reading plans. You are able to use this with your computer OR your phone, which is nice if you want on the go inspiration. For those of you wanting to read your Bible in one year, they have quite a few plans for that. They also feature videos, and topical reading plans as well. This resource has helped me greatly increase my time in the Word, which is always a great thing :)

She Reads Truth
SRT is a community of women, taking on the Word together on a daily basis. This is a companion to Bible.com in a way, because the plans are featured on there! Every day, they feature the current days devotional on the site, and you are free to share your ideas and comments with the other ladies. This is such an encouragement as it is geared towards women. It also is just fun to be reading a plan with other women from around the world.


Fitness:
SparkPeople 
SparkPeople is a free community of people all with the same goal-becoming healthier. SparkPeople features free diet plans, customized to your daily caloric needs, and other various health factors. The site gives you nutrition and fitness trackers, recipes, and free exercise videos! I currently use the pregnancy version of this called BabyFit, which is pretty much the same idea, except for pregos ;) I give this site HIGH respect, because it focuses on creating healthy habits and lifestyle change, which is the only way to get lasting results. The plans are also very doable, and fit in with whatever life pace you have.


There are many other resources out there, but these are just a few that I found to be the best! Whatever your resolutions are, I wish you the best of luck! :)