A Month For Recharging

I've been a bit off kilter for the last couple of months. The summer, all the guests and volunteers, the return from the U.S and getting back into the Africa groove, plus a few different disappointments has thrown me off my game a bit.

The thing is I have known for a few weeks now soem of the things that were missing: I haven't been exercising. My devotions slipped away to the misguided need for 'just a few more minutes of sleep'. And (as I'm sure you've noticed) I haven't been writing as much as I used to.

Mary and her daughters from Owlhaven have started a challenge for October. It's called 31 Days to Focus and Refresh. 

The plan is to spend 31 minutes per day doing something that refreshes you or limiting yourself to only 31 minutes on something else so you can focus on the important stuff.

So, my game plan is:

31 minutes of devotions/meditation

 I've missed my quiet time. It will take a bit of effort to get this done in the morning. The day seems to start off so quickly and also, if I haven't gotten my solid 8 hours of sleep I can feel groggy and not quite ready to sit still and meditate on God's Word and my journal. However, I know it will be worth it and give me the strength I need to face each day.

31 minutes of exercise 

The days I do yoga I'll get more time in, but I will do no less than 31 minutes so that I can get the energy back that I need. Losing some weight would be a nice side effect too.

31 minutes of writing

I'm going to spend 31 minutes each day at the writing process. Some of this might turn into blog posts, or I'll work on my memoirs (doesn't that sound pretentious! LOL) or I'll journal. But, the important thing will be that I will turn on the faucet and let the words flow each day. This will really aid me in getting my head back where it should be.

Only 31 minutes of FB time in the morning before work.  

I easily lose my focus through the day by checking Facebook all the time. I love Facebook for its ability to keep me in touch with my friends and family around the world. But, I can get my family/friends time in, and pass over the cutesy pictures and slogans and memes that eat up my time and keep me from the important stuff.

Today was Day One. I worked out with Zumba on the Wii Fit. I'm still learning all the steps, but I got my heart rate up. Later I danced with the kids at Just Dance for some extra time. Yeah!

I also began reading and journaling from Lysa Terkeurst's book Unglued. It has already begun speaking to me and refreshing my parched soul. So good!

And, I wrote. Can't tell you what yet. But, I was happy with it. :)

I'll let you know how things go through the month and if I'm sticking to my goals.

I'll get to wake up to this every morning. Hooray for early starts to the day!

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