The Detox List

Due to being sick over the weekend, we haven’t finalized our financial goals, but I thought I’d go ahead and post the rest of the list. My husband has his own list which I’m not posting today.

Health:

• I’m going to continue on my weight loss plan. I can’t boast of any dramatic results so far, but I think I’m implementing some good habits.
• I’m going to do 1-2 weeks of the “Cabbage Soup Diet,” not for purposes of losing weight, but to cleanse my system. I’ll modify it a little bit to include my oatmeal three times a week, and to add protein in case of low blood sugar.
• Get back on track with my weekly meal planning. I’ve been a little lax lately.
• (Kel, you might want to skip this line) No coffee or candy. I picked the perfect month to drop the candy, huh? And yes, no coffee. But just for the month.

Spiritual:

• Daily quiet time. Truthfully, I haven’t done a consistent daily quiet time in years. It helps that my small group Bible study is doing a Kay Arthur study right now.
• Weekly Scripture memory. This week: 2 Tim 2:20-21
• Spend time in confession, asking God to reveal patterns of sin in my life.

Mental:

• Limit amount of TV per day, and turn off TV when I’m not actively watching it.
• Carefully monitor the media (tv, blogs, music, etc) that I’m allowing to come in, especially when it’s just in the background going unchecked.

Calendar:

• Stick with our goal of spending at least two nights per week in our home.
• Manage the number of large projects that I take on and learn to say no. I know this one is hard to measure but just being very intentional and conscious will be an improvement. It’s unrealistic to think I’m not going to do anything. I just don’t want to pile on too many things at once.

Environment:

• We need to take a look at where we can reduce our environmental impact. So I hope we have a list at the end of the month.
• Finish cleaning out our house. We made a good run at the attic this weekend, and it’s almost complete. The garage will come shortly after that.

Relationships:

• We want to closely evaluate our parenting to remove any toxic parenting we’re using.
• I want to not raise my voice at my daughter once this month but use more effective techniques.
• I also need to be more consistent in addressing her behavior. I give her too many chances to choose to obey.
• I hope to talk with our neighbors about doing some sort of spring neighborhood dinner.
• I will ask myself every morning what I can do to be Jesus to my husband today.

Financial:

• We’re still working this one out, but instead of doing our yearly budget, I think we’re going to take a different approach. Each month we’ll target 1-2 areas we want to address and try to reduce them by a certain percentage.
• We’re not going out to eat alone (me with my daughter, my husband).

Well, that’s about it. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes! I’m trying to journal about it almost every day. If anyone else does some detoxing in your life (even if it’s just in one area!) be sure to let me know about it.