New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year to you all!  Hope 2011 brings along lots of blessings and good times.  And for those who haven't gotten to know God yet, I hope you will do so soon =)

I've had a pretty lazy day today.  Slept quite late last night, well in the early hours of the morning, I think around 3am after coming back fromm Aaron's place.  We played Risk towards the end of the night played through the countdown.  We counted down together, we wished each other a Happy New Year then refocussed back on the game.  Lol!  I haven't played Risk for two years or so and it took a few rounds to get warmed up again.  However it was fun and I received lots of tips from veterans Aaron and Vince.  At the end of the game another two players felt too tired to play as they had work next day so they waved the white flag and we abandoned game.  At that point I was on my assault and was told I was on a good run to win.  It was fun to see but I know I didn't do it all on my own as I received good advice and also some good throwing of the dice (thank You God!).  Before I left Aaron's place I was shown how the game Axis & Allies works.  Pretty complicated at the start but I started to understand it better and may join in for a game one day =)

Devotional time

Got up at 10am, did my devotions and the first devotional passage of the year rerived from Ephesians 5:10 "and find out what pleases the Lord".   I found this to be particularly apt for me as I shared in my previous post that I want to enter into this year doing what is pleasing to God and to live a life that makes Him proud.  The sharing passage that followed on from this verse reminded us that the Ephesians did not have the New Testament put together back then.  They only had one or two scattered letters in some churches which guided them on how to please God.  They learnt how to please God mainly through 'trial and error'.  Whereas today, we have the whole Bible that shows us God's heart and what he wants from us and guides us on how to live to please Him.  So therefore we should treasure these moments of spending time with Him and seeking Him every day and only then will we get to know Him more.  =)  When we spend time with God we know His will and we will avoid grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)

For the rest of the day I had lunch, then went down to clean the inside of my car.  Dusted it and cleaned the foot mats and hoovered the car.  Cleaned all the windows and topped up the necessary fluids etc.  Also unclogged my windscreen washer jets as well.  Ended up moving some of them too far up and too far down and sprayed all over the place when testing them out.  Lol!  I think I have corrected them now.  Haha!  Then I went back home to clean the handheld hoover and did some ironing.  After that was done I managed to finally sit down and show mum my pictures and videos from Dublin.  Relived some good times =)  Then I felt very tired and went to bed for a nap.  Bad idea.  Was only meant to be one hour from 8-9pm but when I woke up it was 10:20pm and Cat was already home from work.  My alarm didn't go off for some reason.  Then I checked my phone and I had it set for 09:00 instead of 21:00.  Nooooo!!!  =P

New Year Goals

Anyway here I am blogging before I get ready for bed.  Just want to share some points of the things I want to do this year.  Set myself some goals and hope I can achieve them.

Dieting
I will avoid sugary stuff as much as possible.  No more carbonated drinks, not even 'fresh orange and lemonade' and no more Appletiser.  I used to order Appletiser each time I'm eat out, but that has to stop now.  Choose fruit juice, tea or just water =)  Too much sugar is not good for the body.  I will get enough sugars from fruit, veg and even protein shakes.  Haha!  No chocolate and no more sweets.  Had my last chocolate truffle last night at Aaron's place.

Work/Save
I want to work hard and save hard this year.  I know in the past year there were times I was complaining when I was so busy doing driving lessons and been on the road for like 13-14hrs in total working under the blistering sun.  I had so looked forward to a break then.  However, when this winter freeze came along I was left stranded at home sitting on my ass paying rent and getting nothing out of it.  So it made me think, I should treasure every hour of work I can get in the three seasons of the year.  Cos when winter arrives I should not expect the same level of busy-ness.  That is the season to take a well-deserved break, just like in the past week in Dublin.  It's nice =)  I will need to save hard for a few reasons: potential trip to Singapore/Hong Kong in December, bad weather again next winter, and ultimately to save enough capital for a good deposit in hope of moving out one day =)  So no more unncessary expenditure from now on.  Will try to live on a budget as best as I can now.  Made my final purchase two nights ago.  Before the VAT increase.  Now awaiting delivery.  Will share once it arrives =)

Sleep
Definitely need to sleep more, especially on the morning when I want to get up around 6:15am to go to the gym before work.  Gym between 7-9am weekday mornings are the only times I can go to the gym cos I usually work during the day.  So sacrifices need to be made and that would mean I need to crawl out of bed each morning and head to the gym for an early workout.  Not so bad once you're in the car, but it's just the initial waking up and actually getting up that is the greatest hurdle.  So I need to try to get to bed by midnight every night with no exceptions.  Ok, maybe it'll be ok on Saturday nights as I don't need to get up so early on Sunday mornings.  But generally I should be in bed midnight latest which is still pushing it because I would then average six hours of sleep, assuming I fall asleep right away.  Lol!  So this new "change" will mean I set myself a time of 10pm when I need to head home if I'm out.  I need to watch what I'm doing now, where I spend my time.  Need to be disciplined.  It also means if I finish work 9pm I should just head home and do my admin and get to bed.  Hmm... might be difficult to do but it's a must.  Body will need time to recharge, especially after my workouts.  Sleep is under-rated.

Training
I want to try different training styles at the gym.  Try new routines and continue to improve my physique.  Each month I will focus on two areas of my body work on which means I will make sure they are worked on as part of every workout that I do along with other muscle groups of course.  For the month of January I would like to target my shoulders and my abs.  I want stronger and bigger shoulders and I want to tuck in my gut and make those abdominal muscles more visible.  Cutting out sugar and fats will help with that too.  I find my middle and rear deltoids are under-developed compared to my front detoids to will pay particular attention to working them. 

Fearless for God
This year I want to "step off the boat" for God.  I want to overcome fears and be bigger and bolder for God.  Especially in terms of serving.  I feel there are certain things that need to be done within the EM and beyond but certain fears have held me back from putting my hand up and taking on the role.  I find myself shying away from certain things.  However, at the recent Christmas party I was very much inspired by somebody who stepped up to a challenge.  It was something unexpected but he didn't show fear.  He might have been nervous but he certainly handled things pretty well from what I could see.  And so if he could do it, assumingly without knowing God for long, then why can't I?  I have known God for longer and know He will deliver me through these challenges, help me over certain hurdles big or small.  So why don't I push myself and be fearless for God?  Yep, I want to be fearless for God.  Maybe not fearless in other stuff, but in terms of serving I should be more up to for saying, "Yes I'll do it!"  =)