21 days

I've heard it said that it takes 21 days, or 3 weeks, to create a habit. and yes, there are some habits you WANT to create, all are not bad.

some I've tried in the past, and am trying again -

drinking more water - this has always been so difficult for me. I have a hard time drinking when I'm not thirsty. and especially now, I'm living at 6,000+ feet elevation, about to move to 9,200 feet, so I need even more than before. do you know how much you are suppose to drink? find out here. it's usually much more than you think!

taking care of my teeth - I got the bad teeth in my family. I had no cavities my whole childhood, then at 17 I had a few at once. it's been downhill ever since. I've had braces due to TMJ, oral surgery a couple times, too many cavities, no root canals or anything (which I've heard are sooooo painful!) but enough to make me dislike going to the dentist, ever.

watching what I eat - I've NEVER been good at counting calories, and my nutrition knowledge is limited ... but I'm learning. mostly, my common sense leads me on this one. that said, I still have a big weakness for sweets. sometimes it's multiple times a day that I give in. bad. bad. bad. it has to stop. yes I'm overweight for my height (really, who matches the doctors stats on that one?!) but not overweight enough to look like I REALLY need help. have you seen that commercial where the beautiful lady gets out of a limo for the red carpet, and then faints? it's for diabetes; beautiful on the outside, but on the inside she was messed up. I've been getting that image more and more lately.

becoming a morning person so I can have time with God - I have been getting up when the kids get up. when that happens, I get so swept up in what the boys are doing and getting them ready, that by the end of the day, I realize I've missed having ANY time with God at all. I feel withdrawn, thus my current conviction of self-discipline.

this a-ha came to me while in CA. I saw a mini-van that had the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22-23) printed on the back windshield in different fonts. Self-discipline stood out the most to me, partly because of the font it was in, but mostly because I struggle with it and God wanted me to see it. I saw that van a few times, and if you've ever been in SoCal, you know it's almost difficult to run into anyone twice there.

21 days ... maybe. this time I have conviction, which is stronger than my own willpower any day.
my verse for the day (week, month, year) is Proverbs 14:10
each heart knows its own bitterness
and no one else can share its joy

1 comment:

Morgan said...

Great goals, Katie! I'm with you on the eating right and waking up early. As for eating healthy, I agree, it doesn't take a nutrition degree, but a lot of will power. And, that takes much more work than the degree!!

One site that I've been reading a lot is Laine's Letters. She writes all of these "notes" about completely practical housewife stuff. One thing she does is gets up every morning between 4 and 4:30am to have time in the Word. She said it's completely changed her life. In Proverbs it talks about the wise woman who gets up before it is light. It's definitely been something God has been speaking to me about. It's harder and harder to have that time in the afternoon because the boys have "quiet time" instead of naptime, so before they wake up is definitely the best time for me.