What are yours?

Looking Back On 2020

My New Years’ resolution for 2020 was to have faith. Boy, was my faith tested this year. I think as a society, we collectively had to learn to have faith. Back in March, when things were changing so rapidly and we were all just getting used to this new way of life, we had to have faith in God to get us through and trust in those He gave authority to. I am so grateful to all of our public servants, who have done their best to lead us through unprecedented and extremely difficult times.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8–10

Ephesians says that we are saved through faith. In Latin, we paid a lot of attention to prepositions, and “through” demonstrates the power that faith has in our lives. Here, through would mean “ by means of.” So, you have been saved by means of faith. Having faith allows us to be saved by God because we allow Him to work on us, in our lives, and with ease.

When I decided to come to San Francisco, I kept thinking of Lot’s wife. If you don’t know the story of Lot, he lived in the city of Sodom, which was full of sin (Genesis 19). He felt the Lord was going to destroy the city and he flees with his family. However, when the Lord destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah, Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

Some argue that her look back was an indication of her secret longing for a sinful life. But what if it was not so much a longing for something — but a fear of loss? Lot’s family was evacuating, which meant that they were leaving everything they had. Their home, possessions, and life. Is Lot’s wife’s reaction more about her unwillingness to lose or her lack of faith in future life prospects?

Here’s what Jesus had to say:

“‘It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ‘It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no-one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no-one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:28–33‬ ‭

Looking Forward to 2021

With the dawn of a new year, I’m so excited to share my 2021 Intention: Consistency. If you know me, you know that I can be a little sporadic. I recognize that I feel a lot better when I stick to my routines and that the structure they provide me with, alongside the otherwise unstructured life I live, supports my success.

I also have three goals for the year. When making your own, it’s important for your goals to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-framed)!

1) Start making money!

After thinking about it for a year (since I really started this), I have enrolled in a course to help me with my blog! Up until now, I’ve been experimenting on my own and have learned so much. However, I’m excited to learn how to generate profits!

2) Reimplement weight training once a week.

Since gyms closed, I have kind of neglected weight training in my movement routine. I know that working with weights gives me more energy and I want to start this up again!

3) Be strict with myself about my bedtime.

As I’ve gotten older, sleep has become more of an issue. I miss the days when it simply wasn’t. However, I find that an early bedtime helps me get the rest I need to function optimally (since I wake up sooo early regardless). I plan to start enforcing my bedtime so I can feel better.

Share your 2021 Intention + Goals with me in the comments! Wishing all a fabulous New Year! Blessings in 2021!