Dare #14 - Do Something NEW

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Time to mix up the year a little. We are heading into the 5th month....definitely time to get out of any ruts you may have fallen into in the past couple of months.

So the dares this month are really up to you, although I will make some suggestions and share my plans.

I have been thinking about trying a few new things, so that's what we are focussing on in the May dares. Call me crazy that at 8 months pregnant I have decided to make some changes, but maybe it is a form of nesting? And in all honesty, most of the things I want to try don't require to much effort or energy, just time really.

So jump on board with me and dare to do things differently or NEW this month. Choose 1 thing and do it for 30 days to make a new habit. Check out Matt Cutts' great TED talk here. Take just 3 minutes of your time to see what he did and be inspired to have a go.

Or choose a few little things ('small and sustainable') and implement the changes throughout the month...maybe try a new recipe every week of May?

My list is quite long, so I will stagger these ideas in terms of when I do them and also when I share them. But here's my first 4:

DO:
1. Read the Bible EVERY day - I get so distracted in the normal day that by the end, I often find that I have not talked to God, or more importantly, listened to Him. So a more concerted effort is needed. Surely helps, as evidenced by a change in my mood yesterday after reading just 1 chapter of James. I was reminded that I need to dwell in His grace and share it, something I wasn't doing. I realised again that all that I need, He can provide...so I prayed for a clean heart, patience, a right attitude and a voice that matches that. And then whack! Look at James 4:17 - If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them. That was me in a nutshell, until I had a chat with God. So more listening needed in May.

2. Declutter our stuff by removing 2 or 3 items/day - I don't think our place is a mess but it could certainly do with a bit of 'thinning of the unnecessary'. So if I don't love it or use it, I am going to try and get rid of it. Freebies anyone??

3. Exercise for 15 minutes/day...obviously there won't be too much strenuous cardio exercise going on here (although a walk to the letter box sure gets the heart rate up and the lungs stretched at the moment), but a little walk or swim each day is surely do-able.

DON'T:
4. Facebook before breakfast or after 8.30pm. Sadly, I can be a bit obsessive about FB, so limiting my times on it will be helpful. Just so long as I don't start getting up super early so breakfast time moves into the 5s or 6s!

Anyway, enough about me...what about you? Who is in? What are you going to do? Doesn't matter if you miss starting on May 1 because May has 31 days! So spend today planning, make a list and then prioritise. What is the one or 3 or 7 NEW things you could realistically implement throughout May? Then...go to it! Change yourself....challenge yourself and maybe along the way you might even bless others!

Blessings -
Kirsty

Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have. - Anon.