Reflections and Projections: A Look Back and Ahead

I don’t want this to be another typical New Year’s Day blog, full of resolutions forgotten by February or empty promises I make to myself. I also don’t want this to be a long diatribe year-in-review of 2013, either.

So, instead, I think I am just going to use this post as a sort of mental scrapbook for all the awesome things Lee and I were able to share in 2013, and as a wish-list of what we want to do in 2014. The central theme: gratitude. Yes, Lee and I had some tough moments last year, but they all pail in comparison to the plethora of blessings we were given.

So as we look forward to the year ahead, most of us with the clean-slate optimism of “this is my year to be great”, keep in mind the following:

• You ARE great.
• There is no such thing as perfection. All we can hope to do is be better today than we were yesterday.
• “Be happy in the moment. That’s enough. Each moment is all we need. Not more.” – Mother Teresa

2013 Gratitude List

My Kids	Natalie’s continued success with club and middle school soccer Daniel’s participation in Odyssey of the Mind and Math Bowl Daniel attending Camp Gilead and Busch Gardens Camp Chaperoning Natalie to Howl O’Scream Kids spending the week with us over the summer and then again while their mom was traveling Cheering on Wiregrass High School girls basketball with Natalie Their overall good health and well being
Church / Faith	Continued involvement with tutoring/mentoring at BTW Elementary Participating in Growth Groups Being a part of the First Impressions ministry team Participating in our church’s Home Rehab project Being re-baptised Attending Wild at Heart Bootcamp in Colorado Taking part in our Christmas Is Near celebration
Music Concerts	Grace Potter Zac Brown Band The Rock Boat XIII Sister Hazel Funshine Fest TOAD the Wet Sprocket >> Thanks again, Jose Sarah Mac Band Imagine Dragons Michael Franti and Spearhead NEEDTOBREATHE Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Friends	My 40th birthday celebration Beer nights with the guys Weddings (Patricia & Adam, Tracey & Matt, Leslie Ann & Graham, Stacey & Sanjay) Leigh S. moving back to Florida Dinner nights (Jeff & Ellen, George & Ashley, Stephen & Lindsey, Warren & Gwen, Mark & Renee, Alyson & Tom, Jamie & Jamey, Jeff & Lindsey) Super Bowl and college football parties East coast trips to Casa de Smith
Lee	Lee attending the Women of Faith conference Continued participation in Brandon Christian Writers Rays ALDS game Project Baffroom Trips to Dothan for Peanut Festival and family reunion Getting a new car Binge-watching Breaking Bad

I am probably overlooking several events and people, and for that I am sorry. I guess it’s a good problem to have when your life is so full of blessings that it’s hard to keep track of them all.

As for 2014, Lee and I have some very lofty financial and lifestyle goals. We want to reduce debt by sticking to a strict budget, and also lose weight by trying the Fast Metabolism Diet. Both will take a serious amount of discipline and determination, but they work hand-in-hand given we spent about three times as much going out to dinner in 2013 than we did on groceries.

We also plan/hope to take Lee’s nephew to Cancun when he graduates from high school in May, and then travel back to Mexico in the late summer to visit my family in Puebla and spread my father’s ashes in his hometown. It will be 10 years in September that my father passed away.

Personally, I want to ensure one post to my blog per day. That’s not to say I will be writing every day. Rather, I want to make sure I add something – be it a written post, a photo, a funny YouTube video: something – to my blog every day.

Through it all, Lee and I know that God will direct us where He wants us to go. I know my faith walk saw amazing growth in 2013, and I pray that it continues to expand in this new year. I wish you all the best with your goals, dreams, and ambitions for this year.

“For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37