Years ago I heard someone say that 80% of what you write down and see or say every day will come to pass within a year. Or maybe it was two years. I can’t remember. How could you even prove a statistic like that? While I doubt the statistic is possible to prove on a grand scale, I don’t doubt the power of goal setting, even resolution making, or just plain being intentional about how you choose to spend your days in this short life. I do know from scripture and certainly from personal experience that what you speak out loud you give birth to, and when I write things down they sink in much more effectively. Make a plan Stan… if nothing else, it’s a step! And an intentional step, taken in FAITH – well that’s just rare – and a force to be reckoned with!

I think it’s better to focus on the good… list the positive, rather than expend draining energy on what to quit, let go of, or remove from my life. It’s not that those things are unimportant. It just seems to me that when you flood your life with the positive, eventually there’s simply no more room for anything else and the negative naturally gets choked out, kicked out, and forced out. So here’s to living on purpose, evicting the negative and intentionally flooding 2010 with happiness, joy, growth, and lots of amazing memories yet to behold!

TWELVE BOOKS, TWELVE TRIPS, & TWELVE CONCERTS

I don’t know why. Just twelve. In no particular order and totally subject to change.

12 BOOKS: because I LOVE to learn 🙂

1. Loving Our Kids on Purpose – Danny Silk – – CHECK!! Phenomenal!
2. Boundaries – Cloud/Townsend – – on Chapter 5 now
3. Revolution in World Missions – Yohannan
4. Crazy Love – Francis Chan
5. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – Donald Miller
6. Hard Sayings of Paul – by Manfred T. Brauch (re-read)
7. Celebration of Spiritual Disciplines – Richard Foster (finally)
8. Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis (re-read)
9 thru 12 pending… suggestions welcome!

**And a given- the bible daily…. b/c it’s the very breath of God and I would suffocate without it. This year I’m starting off in the Old Testament but in a different way. I’m only reading a chapter a day to give me time to take notes on each chapter. HOPEFULLY this will help me actually RETAIN what I read better – b/c too often I read it one day and can’t even remember who it was I was reading about the next!!

12 CONCERTS: b/c I LOVE music, especially LIVE 🙂

1. Black Eyed Peas w/ sisters, got my ticket!
2. Derek Webb w/ Sarah in Chicago
3. Mos Def w/ Sarah in Chicago
4. Needtobreathe – Diamond Ballroom
5. Citizen Cope – Diamond Ballroom
6. Something @ The House of Blues in Dallas
7. Something @ Superpages Ctr in Dallas
8. Something @ the Zoo Amphitheater (b/c I love these venues)
9. Ray Lamontagne – O puhlease let him be somewhere this year that I can finally see him!
10. Austin City Limits maybe, never been!
11. Charlie Hall – I told Mr. Chall it’s been a minute, I need my fix. Kimber said, “Go see him in New York”…. Hmmmm… now there’s a thought.
12. Pending…I wish I could say GaGa, but I can’t fit London in this year, so we’ll just see!

I’m going to be like Sarah this year… that chic wins free tickets to concerts constantly and I NEVER do!! I decided this might be partially due to the fact that she actually takes the time to enter to win music freebies and I should probably try that once in a while.

12 TRIPS: b/c ImstaGO!!

1. AFRICA – finally. And I will finally hold those beautiful babies until someone drags me away
2. Turner Falls w/ Jace (short trips count)
3. Robber’s Cave w/ the girls
4. Austin – maybe for Austin City Limits, and I’d love to visit peeps there!
5. California – Disneyland w/ Jace & finally see my childhood bestie Brandi!
6. Houston – maybe I’ll catch a concert @ the Houston House of Blues, but I definitely want to go see Cara and ck out Olsteen
7. Vegas to see my aunt
8. Dallas – that’s a given. Cole & I plan to grace a Rangers/Yankees game this summer (because we make the Yankees hat more famous than a Yankee can), as well as at least a couple trips back to the Cowboys Stadium, 6 Flags, & of course grandma’s. Lots of peeps to see there too!
9-12 Wherever else the yellow brick road leads!

WRITING

…to blog in the midst of a thing so as not to forget the thing.

When I go see Sarah I will officially choose a blog home. iweb, blogspot, or wordpress. If you have suggestions or input on which you like best and why, I’m all ears! I will absolutely pursue more discipline in this area, hopefully once a week at least. Blogs are such a great way for people to connect through experiences, learning from one another even from thousands of miles away. For me, it’s a form of expression that is powerful for the processing of thoughts, weeding out confusion, threading emotions with intellect in a way that somehow breeds accountability for my own life and reminds me to stop, take a breath, and mark moments of clarity along the way. Through writing, we have the unique and priceless opportunity to bare witness to each other’s lives and that’s something I want to be a part of. Writings are like a stamp we get to put on our memories, like a little blue “link” we can click on to better explain what’s going on internally, and, I think, a strand of heritage we can leave for our children that surpasses even the gift of a photo because it goes deeper than the smile and into the mind and heart of a person. And best of all, a blog can poke a hole in our brains and drain some of those thoughts when our minds get too full! Maybe that’s just me… but once a good gob of those thoughts are freed and poured onto a page, I honestly find it a little liberating… a feeling of release and personal permission to move forward, on to the next life lesson.
So yeah, I’m gonna’ write more this year. A lot more.

12 OTHER TO DO’S THIS YEAR

1. Drive the speed limit. More often.
b/c it saves me bookoos in $. Oh and it’s the law.

2. Read the user manual for my SLR camera.
b/c I’m clueless.

3. Call grandma every week or two.
b/c I like her.

4. Join the 5 o’clock club. Or maybe 6am.
b/c that’s the only way to be certain I get a workout and quiet time in,
and I need both daily.

5. Use less toilet paper.
b/c it’s friendly.

6. Dance w/ Jace every time she asks, even when I’m worn out.
b/c I like it as much as she does. 🙂

7. Take better care of my skin.
b/c Mary Kay misses me and my 60 yr old décolletage will thank me.

8. Have dinner parties.
b /c I like my friends. And more so food.

9. Finish that dang FAFSA.
b/c a master’s is going to be expensive.

10.Keep cash on hand more often.
b/c there seem to be more homeless on the corners than ever lately.

11.Take my grandma sailing.
b/c she said she’s always wanted to.

12.Fall in love with Oklahoma City. Yes you heard right. Or read right.
b/c….
I used to hate it here. Then I became impartial. Last year I found myself falling in like. Don’t get it twisted. I’m a Texas girl through and through. Not many things in life make me happier than a trip back to Dallas. But this is where I live. Whether I like it or not, this is home. And it’s growing on me.

Years ago I read a blog entitled OKC Pedestrian, by OKCherbivore (one of Chall’s bandmates). It made enough mention of the local cool spots that I began to think I’ve been missing out as an OKC resident and wanted to experience those places for myself. Oklahoma City has some of the best restaurant booths I’ve ever graced, and restaurant food and especially atmospheres. I can actually say that some of the OKC eateries and venues truly contend with even the most unique ambiance Dallas has to offer. The arts districts are thick with character, and I’m getting strangely close to being able to say, as with Dallas, there is always something to do here.

All of that being said, I’ve decided to embrace this city. Maybe it’s just me, but I catch myself asking “what I’m doing” and “what’s on my mind” and refer to life in facebook lingo probably too often. Sooooo, naturally, my first thought was to at least become a “fan” of downtown OKC. I could start by being honest because this is true for me (although to be fair, I love ALL downtowns), and I planned to begin by taking an intentional step – to click a simple link – thereby proclaiming my intentions to be counted among OKC residents that actually think this place is pretty cool. Fail. To my dismay, there was no group. No page. I can become a fan of spinny chairs, texting faux pas, pirates, Bo Bo’s Chicken, and the Disklike button… but not downtown OKC???? I was already determined this would be my first step toward #12 on my 12 to-do’s. So, I did what any facebook freak would do. After creating a page for downtown, I. became. a fan. 🙂 You gotta start somewhere right? I actually have some fun ideas for this, but there is actually the possibility that I could at some point, on some days, get enough fb in my life. For now, as a fan of downtown OKC, I’ll use the opportunity to hunt down some fun stuff to do, find some unique things to get out and see, and allow the Texan in me to make a little room for the Okie. Anyway, I can’t possibly go to Dallas every weekend. But don’t expect to see me in the OU stands anytime soon. I have my limits.

And finally… relationships…
It would be an understatement to say I am blessed with great friends – God has truly connected me with some beautiful people that I can honestly say I could confide freely in, call for anything, and will hold close for the rest of my life. Pretty Amazing.
That being said, I know that this year is going to bring change… and with that new relationships.
I am eager to meet new people and praying God will set me in opportune times and places to be connected with extraordinary people living extraordinary lives, inspiring me to be and do the same! By the end of this year, I hope to be surrounded in fellowship with people I can learn and grow from in ways I never have before.

So there it is… my 2010 to be in twelves. I think I’ll post this somewhere as a reminder. Because sometimes life gets so busy… that it gets in the way of living. And we have places to go, people to see, things to do!! So 2010, in the words of BEP, Let’s get it started HAH!!!!!

LYRICS FOR TODAY:
The rest is still unwritten…

QUOTE FOR TODAY:
The devil doesn’t have a problem with dreamers but he hates people who actually DO things. BE A DOER!!
RT @prodigaljohn

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY:
(always keeping in mind)
Man makes his plans, but the Lord directs His path. Proverbs 16:9

P.S. And then there’s Jacey… sooooo much more there… but that’s a whole-nother blog…

P.S.S. So what’s on your agenda for 2010? Books? Trips? Make a plan Stan!