Happy July!

We’re officially halfway through the year. Life goes by so darn fast, doesn’t it?!

Well I’ve been thinking about how I want to grow at this point in my life. There are two key areas that I want to see my own personal growth in.

1. Spiritual Health: I’ve definitely grown spiritually over the last few years. My walk with Christ has strengthened. My love for His word, His church, and His people has grown tremendously. Yet, I feel that I’ve reached a bit of a plateau. I want to know God more deeply and discern His voice more clearly. There are also some things that I am believing Him for (namely a husband and some kids) so I want to grow in my faith.
2. Physical Health: I’ve been out of control in my physical health basically for a year. I know! SMH. ? I had a few back to back trips last year (Haiti, Arizona, Dallas, Washington, DC, back to Dallas). For some reason traveling is synonymous with eat what you want for me. And then there was Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then two trips to San Diego this year. A trip to New Jersey. My sister’s graduation. And then Mexico. Basically a lot of excuses to eat like a slob, which I took full advantage of. Now I am gassy. I have GERD for the first time in my life. I’m constantly belching. (TMI I know). I went to the doctor and he looks at my chart. “You’ve gained weight. You need to lose it.” So, a girl has got to get her life back.

I also want to see my blog and business grow. I completed the first draft of my upcoming book which I’m really excited about. Now that the book is complete I have the time to focus on my blog again. I want to give it a good jump start.

So in thinking of the ways I want to grow (particularly this month) I have been thinking about the daily disciplines I want to adopt to support my growth. Here’s my plan of action:

Daily Disciplines:

1. Read the bible everyday. I talk to God nearly everyday, but I don’t open His book everyday. I have to spend more time with Him if I want to grow in Him.
2. Walk the dog at least once a day everyday. I don’t walk my dog everyday. A lot of times I simply open the back door for her. This will be good for me and her. She actually gained 3lbs since last year!!! And that kind of weight gain on a dog is no bueno. ?Plus, she likes going for walks.
3. Drink at least 64 ounces of water everyday. Again, not a habit I currently have. Some days are better than others.
4. Eat healthy. Minimize carbs. I haven’t defined any hard and fast rules here in terms of cheat days. Maybe I should (I already cheated today). But in general, as much as possible I will stick to meat and veggies. No bread, pasta, potatoes, sweets, grains or beans.
5. Blog once a day.

I will definitely be giving myself some grace. I realize I could skip a day here or there. The blogging once a day in particular scares me. But that’s what daily discipline is all about.

Weekly Disciplines:

1. Exercise at least 3 times a week. My days are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This will be either in the comfort of my home or at ILoveKickBoxing.com. It helps to decide which days I’ll be exercising so that I don’t have contemplate whether I should work out today or tomorrow and then working out on neither.
2. Participate in church services Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. My church has Monday night bible study, Wednesday night mid-week service and of course Sunday services. Now, I said participate in. I might not necessarily go to the church three times a week. I will watch services live online when I do not attend in person. I’ll attend in person on Sundays for sure and perhaps one other service per week.

And that is my plan to grow my health, my spirituality, and my blog everyday for the month of July. Is there something you want to grow in your life this month? What daily disciplines (and weekly disciplines) do you need to adopt to facilitate your growth?

Join Me!

I’ve said before I believe the small day to day actions we take consistently will have the biggest impact on our life. Join me on this 31 Day personal challenge if you want to develop habits and daily disciplines that can transform your life. If you want to participate simply follow along here on the blog or on Facebook. Feel free to check in daily by emailing me, commenting on the blog post, or commenting on my social media.

My Day 1 Check – In

Read the bible everyday – ☑

Walk the dog at least once a day – ☑

Drink at least 64 ounces of water everyday – ⚠️ Not quite there yet but will be by end of day!

Blog once a day – ☑ Check out the blog I published earlier today about How to Be A Successful Black Woman.

Eat healthy – ❌ I started out pretty decent, but then I saw a Guava Cheesecake. Exotic flavors are my weakness.

Exercise on Saturday – ☑

Here’s a Day 1 picture of my current physique. I’ll plan to take a picture everyday so I can watch my body change. Again, will give myself grace if I miss a day here or there.

Alright, Day 1 went fairly well. See you tomorrow!