Making Changes

So every January first we hear the same things, "I'm going to lose 20 ponds," "I'm going to stop cussing/smoking/drinking/playing WOW/etc," "I'm going to church more," "I will have a nest egg by the end of the year." But do any of these ever happen after January thirtieth? Maybe the reason we can't keep these up is stress, or hectic lifestyles, kids, boredom, or maybe because we can't make these huge changes alone.

Here is what Austin and I have started, and maybe you all can help us keep this up, as a buddy system! First off, we are broke, and have stopped eating out - currently, we have eaten out twice in over two weeks. (Once a week is considerably better than what we were doing, and both of these were for other people coming into town.) Next we joined the nearby rec center, and have started walking/lifting weights/playing racquetball or something athletic about three times per week. Lastly, Austin has a new mindset that we sleep TOO MUCH! He wants to ween himself off sleep and do more with his awake time - no disagreement here. So this week we have instated a new regimen: from 10-11:30pm we will have read/study time together. This has three main, and huge, benefits:

1)  Spending time together

2) Studying to better our selves spiritually

3) Makes Austin stay up later than 9

We are very excited to keep this up not only for our physical health, but for our spiritual growth, better efficiency at work, deeper relationship with each other, getting in a routine before we talk about kids, and about 1000 other things. Here's my call to you: do the same - publish what your goals are; also - support us in any way you can, whether that be eating at houses instead of starbucks, encouraging us to continue our education, building up Austin's confidence for working out, or simply wanting to hang out with a more positive attitude. 

Let me know what you will try to do for the next eleven months, and what I can do to help you succeed in 2009!