2014.

This has become a tradition for me, creating fun monthly goals and exciting long term goals. Last year, although I didn't complete every goal, I still did complete most of them and by the end of the year I felt very accomplished and blessed. Maybe this could be your New Years Tradition too?

        2014 Long Term Goals

1  .    Memorize Psalm 119

2  .    Pray for the persecuted church

3  .    Be more intentional

4  .    Create better dietary habits

5  .    Be held accountable

           Monthly Goals

·          January – Find a mentor at Covenant

·         February – Make a snow angel

March – Donate 10-12 inches of my hair

·         April – Leave a note in a library book

·         May – Go Krispy Kreme dumpster diving

·         July – Watch a 4^th of July fireworks display

·         August – Create dorm decoration with my roomie(s)

·         September – Go hiking, tubing, (and)or swimming

·         October – Buy a pumpkin from a real pumpkin patch

·         November – Write a thank-you note to someone I love

·         December – Go ice skating

Bucket List - Build a Tree House

              When I was a little girl I would continually ask my parents to build me a tree house. And what was their reply? We don’t have a tree big enough. So now, I’ve made the decision that I want to make a tree house for my kids when I’m older. A place they can go with friends, a quiet place to do homework, somewhere sit and think in, and even a place I can reminisce in.

              Maybe its too early to start planning these kind of things, but still, its always a good thing to have in mind. So one day... hopefully, one day... I'll make a huge tree house for my kids. And in that house, I'll be a kid again. Happy. Innocent. And Free.

Bucket List - Dance in the Rain

                 I've seen the movies, I've read the books, and I've heard the stories... it would be amazing to dance in the rain. I've never been afraid of rain. When others run for cover, I've always inwardly wanted to stay out and jump through puddles enjoying the water as it hits my face and gathers on my eyelashes. To roll up my jeans, tie back my hair, and soak up the sweet natural waters from above... that would be pure bliss. Rain is simply perfect for everything. You can cry through it, dance with it, kiss in it, sleep to it, and sing in it. But whether you're crying, dancing, kissing, sleeping, or singing... rain keeps its constant down pour. It harmonizes with your every move. Its rain. The thing I'd like to dance in... sometime before I kick the bucket.

Bucket List - Climb a Water Tower

             Yes, the idea of climbing a water tower has always excited me. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who feels this way. I mean, imagine climbing up, up, up and way into the sparkling blue. The victory you feel when you've reached the top and you can see the entire countryside from the peak of the tower. The exhilaration that pumps through your veins when you've realized that you made it. Now, I've never experienced this, but it just sounds so riveting. Of course, this is against the law unless you know the owner of the water tower. So basically, I either have to become besties with a water tower owner or become a criminal in order to complete my bucket list. O well, one can dream...

Bucket List - Live Foreign

5. Live in a Foreign Country (for at least a month)

               Whether it be living in a third world country with missionaries, or back-packing through Europe, living in a foreign land has always been a dream of mine. Experiencing new cultures and cuisines, learning new languages, viewing new art and architecture, all come with the adventure of living in a new place. I've traveled to many places, yet one day in Venice or Rome can not even touch on the beauty of the land. You need weeks, if not even months, to soak up the history and beauty of these kinds of places. Even one week in Haiti did not seem like enough time to encounter the fascinating customs and people of it's country. I did not feel like my work was quite finished there when I left the country. I knew God may have more in store for me and Haiti.
               So, this is why I've decided that sometime in my life, I'd like to live foreign. I absolutely love America, but new cultures excite me! I don't think we should go through life stuck in a box. It would be nice to get out and explore the world and the people that live there. There are at least 6,500 languages in all the world and therefore so many ways to communicate. Now while living abroad, it might also be nice to learn a language in this case. Whatever the case, I'm sure that an experience living in a different nation will have a lasting effect on how you view the world and its people.

               This will be my last article about my bucket list so here is the recap below with links to the other pages about my bucket list:

1. See an up-close aurora

2. Take a vacation to Iceland

3. Go sky diving or bungee jumping

4. Go on a hot-air balloon ride

5. Live in a Foreign Country (for at least a month)

Bucket List - Go Ballooning

4. Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride

                  Gliding through the sky in a basket attached to a balloon... in a way, it reminds me of the movie Up. The idea. How surreal it must be to see the houses below you shrink as you sail higher into the great blue, all the while attached to a giant colored balloon. When I do finally go "ballooning"  I have two specifications for the trip:
      1. I'm going to choose an exotic place to fly in. I don't want to simply settle for floating above cornfields and rural towns, but instead I'd like a place full of mountain tops and rivers, waterfalls and ravines... maybe somewhere like New Zealand or Hawaii. 
      2. I'm not going alone. I mean, imagine with me, you're soaring up, up, up, and away into the clouds, over the crests of mountain tops and the plummeting rage of waterfalls, and yet you have no one to share the experience with. Such a downer. Therefore, I'm taking someone with me. Whether its my best friend, sister, or the love of my life, this experience would not be the same it it were not with someone you love.

Bucket List - Fall Through the Sky

3. Go Sky-Diving or Bungee Jumping
       Now, the idea of sky-diving has not always horrified me. When I was a child, I'd always thought the idea of sailing through air and landing gracefully in a field sounded like such an exciting experience. As I grew older, I became more aware. Now when I think of sky-diving, I visualize myself falling through the sky and pulling my parachute too early. Let's just say things have changed. 

             You may be wondering, "If it horrifies you so much, why is it on your bucket list?" Well, to that I say... I'm really not sure. Maybe I think that although it seems beyond scary, its just something you have to experience in life. Maybe its the fact that many other people have it on their bucket list, so I probably need it on mine too. There could also be the reason that I've always wanted to be that person who's really daring, possibly I just want to prove to myself I'm not chicken. In any circumstance, I'm sure the first time you sky-dive it must be exhilarating or people wouldn't love it so much. I mean, think about it, you're falling through the sky watching the land below you get closer and closer... falling, falling, falling, and then... POOF. Your parachute opens and you're on the ground. The whole experience seems a little over-whelming. I think I'll take my time getting to this one on my bucket list.

Bucket List - Visit Iceland

2. Take a Vacation to Iceland

           Yes, as random as it may sound, I absolutely love Iceland. I've never been there before, but in all the pictures I've seen, it just seems amazing. It looks kind of like Ireland, but with a twist of Canadian weather, and of course, it also has auroras! (how perfect!) Anyways, for all you out there reading this here are 5 interesting facts about Iceland.


1. Iceland has the highest literary rate in the world
2. Iceland is located about half-way between New York and Moscow
3. Iceland is know to be the 4th happiest country in the world (I'd fit in there!)
4. Life expectancy is 81.3 years for woman and 76 years for men, one of the highest life expectancies in the world!
5. Icelandic language has been virtually unchanged in the last 1000 years 

              Think me weird, but I just feel that this country has been a bit forgotten. Maybe that's why I love it so much. For some reason, I have always had a heart for things that are forgotten, concealed from the world. Iceland's kind of like a hidden treasure. It may be overlooked but I'm sure when you visit it, its quite beautiful. Life is sometimes like that. There's times in life where the most beautiful things are veiled from our view. Our life may seem to have no "sparkle" (I know mine feels like that sometimes) yet God made our life beautiful, even when it seems to be unseen at times. God works in the unseen.

Bucket List - See an Aurora

              I hope everyone reading this has started a "bucket list", a list of things to do before you die. If not, you may be a bit behind for a blog reader, but don't worry, you still have plenty of time! Anyways, I obviously have started a "bucket list" and through the next few posts I'll be explaining some of the things on my list. Now, I'm not going to bore you with the basics... (such as getting married, having kids, etc...) but I'll give you some insight into my mind and some unique things I'd like to do before I die. So let me get started.

1. See an up-close Aurora

                Now I'm not quite sure if any of you really know what an aurora is. It has also had the common name of "northern lights". Aurorae are absolutely breathtaking. The idea of colors moving and inter-twining in the night sky has always sent shivers down my spine. In a way, its kind of like a rainbow, of course, without rain and continually changing and sculpting in the velvet night. Although I've never experienced this beauty up close, it has always been something to catch my eye in pictures and in books. "Fascinated" does not even express how these "celestial bodies" make me feel. 

                 What a beautiful creation on God's part! Its amazing how the sun can penetrate the north and south poles of the earth and through small photons and the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, such a beautiful creation can be brought about. Reds and Oranges, Greens and Blues, filling the night sky; Our world's splendor at its finest. All glory to God.