Challenging Myself

Last week, I had the opportunity to have lunch with a dear friend and coworker. As usual, she opened my eyes to a few new things in my spiritual walk that I was not yet aware of. I personally find it interesting that so many times in my spiritual walk, I can stare right as something and not see it. I will ever be grateful for my friend’s influence and encouragement as I continue on my journey.

One thing that got my attention several weeks back, was my lack of time in prayer and scripture. I stepped back and looked at my life, and tried to figure out a way that I would force myself to slow down and make time everyday for my Lord and Savior. A year or so ago, I tried to stick to Scripture writing, but it was not a good fit for where I was in my life. I thought about starting it again, and was going to wait until the first of February, but decided I wanted to establish a routine and there really is no time like the present to jump in. I found a monthly plan on Pinterist, absolutely love that site, and I started writing. The very first day was confirmation from a previous discussion I had and it gave me the encouragement to continue. The second day, a question I had been asking myself over and over again, was answered! What a wonderful God I serve!

Today I pulled up a plan for February so I can seamlessly continue with my scripture challenge. It has been just over a week, but I have made time everyday and been wonderfully rewarded. Sometimes life gets busy, too busy, and the most important things get pushed to the back burner before I even realize it. It has been wonderful to spend those precious few minutes everyday with Him lately. I turn off the tablet, push aside the phone, go into my bedroom in the quiet and open my mind to what He has to show me in the passage for the day.

Yesterday, Pastor Jim talked of the impact drug addiction is having on our country, state and city. Many are coming together this week and joining in prayer over specific topics related to this. I will be spending time praying over that specifically this evening, and reading the scripture that is paired with it. I know God has big plans for His people, including me. Everyday my job is to seek Him and His will so I know what I am to do next.

My friend and I spoke of appointing our days, and that is something I am going to strive to do, with my new Bullet Journal and a refreshed challenge for myself, I hope to make progress to my goal. I can only hope that sharing my journey with you encourages you as you continue on your own journey.

My Journal, It Arrived!

I have been super excited about starting to bullet journal! I ordered a Leuchttrum 1917 A5 dotted journal. It is a wonderful size! I love using the dotted pages for guidance and freedom at the same time. So far I have only started with laying out a few pages to start journaling in next week.

There are several things I really like about this particular journal. The cream colored pages instead of stark white, I absolutely love! I also really like the fact that it has included index pages and that the pages are numbered for easy reference. As I mentioned before, I am really enjoying using the dotted pages to make the layout easier and even. I am mildly OCD and I like neat, clean and EVEN pages. I am still learning and experimenting with colors and doodles, but I like the minimalist look, again, neat and tidy.

This is my second full week using my journal and I am surprised at what it has already helped me accomplish! I have made phone calls I have been putting off, marked things religiously off my to do list that never ends even kept track of all my atppointments! I have started tracking habits, and it encourages me to do things, like take my vitamins and spend time daily in prayer and scripture. It helps keep me accountable even if it is only to myself to continue to grow and improve.

I tried to upload pictures, but I was unsuccessful today. I will post again soon with the pictures of my journal as well as my first few pages, for anyone who is like me and trying this for the first time.

There are still a few things I would like to try, like incorporating shopping lists, and other collection pages for things like Gardening, sewing projects and chickens/eggs. This is a learning process for me and everyday I am learning more about how to best use this system to make myself the most productive. I hope I encourage you if you are wanting to try this for yourself! Feel free to leave me a comment or a picture of your favorite layout or page in your bullet journal!

Setting February Goals

January is better than half over, and I cannot believe it is already there! February will be here before I know it, and since I did not make any resolutions this year, I am setting some goals for February.  A new month feels like a fresh slate.

Jim is off until he is cleared from the vet, which I hope is sometime next month. Until then, I have 2 other horses to start conditioning and tuning to be prepared for when the season starts, and I am hoping to start with them the first week of Februrary. I am very much looking forward to seeing how they come along this season! I have to start somewhere and the best way is to just start riding and see how they do.

I want to start focusing again on my spiritual walk, I have been slipping, and now is not the time for that. I plan to challenge myself to write scripture everyday in February which will keep me focused on it, and with any luck improve my handwriting. When I did that before, it gave me a chance to reflect further on the scripture and mull it over in my mind. I enjoy that time, reflecting on scripture. I learn more and retain more and that is exactly what I should be doing more.

Spring is coming and there are things to do on the farm to prepare for the coming of new arrivals! I am planning to incubate and hatch eggs! As well as I have a mare due. I will be relieved when she has foaled out and that is one less thing off my mind, but I am so excited to have a foal coming.  I have neve hatched out chicks before and I cannot wait to set the incubator up! I am looking forward to trying something new.

There are a few loose ends to tie up on the lean to and the haybarn to start on. I am glad to have both of those projects moved to the in-progress list! A few little things and the lean to is totally done, and the haybarn is a spring project, but it will make life so much easier on the farm.

I also plan to build a pen for the meat birds this spring as the one I used last year did not have enough air circulation for the larger meat birds. A small project ideally, but a project regardless. Hopefully I have better luck with them this year. So much to look forward to!

Wednesday

I cannot believe it is Wednesday aleady! The temperatures here in Ohio have fallen once again and brought more wintry precipitation with them! This weekend is supposed to be nicer though and I am looking forward to the relief from the colder temperatures, even if it will be temporary this time.

The stomach bug that has been going around, struck me Saturday and I have been down more than I would like to admit. Farm work does not stop though, and over the weekend that was all I did, feeding and chores. But everyone stayed happy and healthy in the barn and henhouse.

I have 2 hens that have moved into the barn and roose at night between 2 of the oldest pasturemates. Ironically, these 2 particular horses do not always get along. I find it odd that is the wall the hens have chosen, but there has been no deterring them. Believe me, I tried! So I let them roost in the barn, between the horses they are as safe as can be, and they have left me an egg almost everyday.

If the weather breaks for the weekend as I am hoping it does, I plan to get the last piece of tin on the roof of the lean to, that just leaves gutter to hang and 2 gates to install inside. I will be relieved to mark that off the list.

The next outdoor project will be putting up a hay barn, and I have started making arrangements for beginning that project. That has been exciting and nerve racking at the same time! But one step at a time, I will make progress, taking it one day at a time.

I am planning a riding\conditioning schedule that I am hoping to start soon, hopefully around the beginning of February, if the weather cooperates even a little bit. I cannot wait to see how the horses progress when we start our preseason workouts.

My new journal should be here as soon as tomorrow and I cannot wait to start it! Several ideas to share with you in later posts on that, but I am about to bust with excitement over it! I am hoping that implementing its use helps me grow and keep myself on track of reaching my goals.

Hopefully your week is going as well, if not better, than mine!

Practice Week

Tuesday I set up a bullet journal layout in p listedreparation for the expensive one I ordered. I am glad I did! I have already found a couple things I plan to change. Luckily, it was in an old composition book that I had started to use for something else, so no harm, no foul.

I found a weekly spread that listed the days of the week  in a horizontal line with areas for tasks and goals off to the left…. I have too many things that I want to list in this section to limit them to the smaller spaces. So I am going to lay out next week with the days of the week on the left page and my tasks and goals on the right page. My new journal has shipped and I am counting down until it gets here! The weekly layout that I tried was from pageflutter, I will try to figure out how to upload a pic to show what I tried and what I am going to change. But I must say, she is a much better artist than I am! I am going to play with some headers and such the next couple days, hopefully I can find something simple that I like.

All of this talk about bullet journals, has helped me shift my focus already. I have been more mindful the past couple days of the habits I have chosen to track, and that is the first step to positive change. Several projects are on the horizon and I am excited to have a place to keep all of the notes and lists for them, where I only have one things or notebook or place to look for the information I have been careful to collect.

You could probably tell from my recent posts how excited I am, but I am eager to see if this technique helps me keep track of everything because I have been forgetting more and more lately.

Thanks for sticking out with me as I learn by trial and error how to make this work for me and in turn hopefully it helps you find something that works for you!

Finalizing Research

I think I have read almost every blog out there on Bullet Journaling, and I have looked at too many pictures of layouts to count. All of that has led me to selecting a few layouts to start with for a journal of my own. My journal is officially on its way and I am counting down the days already!

Sunday I decided to get a jump start, and I got a few different types of pens to add to my box of colored pencils. I selected a black gel pen, and also fine point permanent markers. We will see how they do and I will be glad to share with you my evaluation of their performance in my personal journal. I see all these cute doodles and sketches in the hundreds of pictures I have seen, and I am excited to try my own, but I am nervous that I will not compare in any shape way or form to those beautiful pieces of art that I have seen. I am initially going to stick to simple headers and clear consistent handwriting.

Even though it is suggested not to, I am planning on keeping a riding log separately from my bullet journal, if for no other reason than I want to specifically record my daily work outs with each horse. I plan for these entries to be lengthy and I do not want to take away from the goal of my bullet journal keeping me on track. Right now I plan to make a space in a habit tracker to remind me to record my workouts with the horses.

I am planning to start a practice bullet journal next week, just to make sure it is going to work out as well as I hope, then start in my new journal February 1st. I am hoping it keeps me organized as I enter into my busy season when the weather breaks in the spring. There will be many more ducks to keep in a row during the spring and summer. My biggest hope is that this journal helps me keep everything together.

Hopefully you stay tuned and join me on my bullet journal journey, there will be many adventures on the way! Maybe it will encourage you enough to start your own! Either way, I am looking forward to this new adventure.

Snowy Ohio Morning

If you have seen a recent weather report, you know Ohio got some pretty nasty weather this morning. Fortunately for me, it is my day off and I have enjoyed not having to travel this morning. The nice thing is the temperatures are quite a bit warmer, so I did not have as much worry this morning about letthing the animals out.

The weather limited my outside work today, so that means charging ahead with inside stuff that needs attention. I started with more journalling research and I have nailed down seveal layouts that I like, thank you Pinterist! I am excited for my new journal to arrive and equally as excited to share my experiences with it! My goal is to be more organized and have a central place to keep track of all the things I need to remember. We will see how well that goes.

After I was feeling pretty good about the layouts that I have chosen and made notes of them so that I can replicate them when my journal gets here, I turned my attention to the next thing I wanted to accomplish this morning. Miss L’s riding journal turned out well enough that I decided I would like to make one for Miss M! I have been working this morning on revising and customizing the pages for Miss M as well as adding pages that she will use to keep track of her shows and performances. I cannot wait to finish it and give it to her!

Several exciting things coming up soon and I hope to cherish each moment and keep track of everything that I need to remember. This morning I also talked to the vet and now have a game plan for when the Big buckskin foals, which is oddly a big relief. I have worried more about this baby than any other before and it is sheer peace of mind to have spoken with my vet and gotten the reasssurance that I am doing the right things for her. Everything is falling into place, and I am getting ready to start my next series of projects.

Last week, I talked to Mr.J about a storage cabinet made from the shutters I picked up at a flea market, and I am itching to get started on that! I will upload pictures of the progress, but that is something else I am very excited about. I absolutely love refurbishing old things and the cabinet will be a wonderful new addition to my bedroom.

I am going to save the other projects for later posts, just to keep you all in suspense! Have a happy Monday!

Back In Action

It seems like forever since I have blogged! Never fear, I did not forget, life has just been busy and then even busier with the holidays. But, with the start of a new year, I have set several new goals and I cannot wait to share them with you!

I have been researching the past few days, about a bullet journal, and I bought supplies tonight to get started! I was going to bind it myself (I experimented with this for a Christmas gift) but decided I would start with something prebound. I selected a flat laying journal, with brown paper pages. They are unlined so that I can make each page whatever I decide. Stay tuned for updates on that!

I bound my first book (after watching an amazing YouTube video) and after doing one, I decided to do a second. I may write a blog about how I did that. I was looking online for a Riding Lesson Journal I could purchase for  a Christmas gift, but I could not find what I wanted. So my mom helped me design my own pages and print them properly for my journal, then I was able to sew them into the cover.

Hopefully you made it through the holidays easily and enjoyed time with your family and friends! I know we did here. The brutal temperatures the past couple weeks have kept me busy, just keeping animals fed and watered. In the next couple days, I will be updating you about the newest additions! For Christmas, my Mom, brought home 15 chicks, which are set up in our living room where they are nice and toasty in this way colder than normal Ohio winter.

Several things set in motion on the farm, I cannot wait to tell you about it all. New adventures on the horizon, and new goals for 2018 to grow my horsemanship and help my horses perform better. Hopefully I keep my motivation and determination as 2018 progresses.