A Few Good Decisions

Christmas is a month from today, and while our decorating game is strong, other parts of the game are floundering rather significantly right now. (I'm looking at you, shopping!) 

 Next year...next year!...I'm going to figure out a shopping game that works well for me in married life. I used to be absolutely proactive about shopping early and wrapping early, but once we got married at the start of December, I've never gotten back on a good shopping plan. Next year will be my year.

We probably all have things we plan to do better next year, but today I think we should celebrate good decisions we made this year! (We all have them. I promise.)

Here are some of my/our favorite decisions from 2020.

* Typing my journals. I've been keeping a journal since Christmas of 1993, which means I have been journaling for almost TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS, people! What in the world!?!? Anyway. I started journaling in a cute little cat journal that Mom gave me for Christmas that year, and for lo these many years, I handwrote every single entry. This year I started typing those entries, and it has been such a gift for me. I write more, because my hand doesn't get tired and the output of words can keep up with my brain! So glad I switched over.

* Getting back on the meal planning train. It's been almost exactly a year since I returned to the working world full time, leaving behind the work-at-home-wife life. When I started at the church, I struggled to keep up with meal planning like I'd done so meticulously for years. Not being home throughout the day to cook threw me for a loop and I couldn't recover. Then quarantine came, and it became hard to plan because you never knew what ingredients would be absent from the shelves any given week. Then we moved. I began to think I'd never figure out meal planning again. But in the last six weeks I made it a priority, and we are both loving it. We love having a plan, we love having healthy foods in the house again, and we love the measure of consistency it gives us.

* Trying a sugar detox. It's been seven weeks now since I made the choice to try a five day sugar detox. I wasn't sure I could do it at all. I definitely wasn't sure I could survive it with any sanity. But I did (both) and it was one of the best choices I made all year. I feel so much better in ways I didn't even realize I felt bad! It also jump-started our return to meal planning and cleaner eating, and both of us are glad I did it!

* Investing in Daily Grace Bible Studies. I first learned about The Daily Grace Company when one of my friends tagged me on Instagram about a writing job they had open. Fun fact: I actually applied for three jobs with them this year (two writing jobs and an editing position) and God closed all those doors. I was really sad about each closed door - and still am if I let myself think about it too long - but I trust that He had his reasons and of course I dearly love where Ryan and I ended up, so it's okay! Anyway, it was through that job tag that I learned about the company and started purchasing their Bible studies. I've done five of them this year and have learned so much I never knew before. I'm excited to get more of them and continue learning.

* Buying an RV. We've been dreaming about this for four years, and this was our year. We had no idea it would be, of course, but isn't that kind of the theme of 2020 for everything for everyone? We looked at hundreds of RVs online (not even close to kidding) and prayed so so hard before we made our purchase. We had to buy an older one that wasn't super pretty in order to stay in our budget, but we sure have loved making her our own. I can't believe how wildly different she looks already and she's not even done. We are thrilled to have her and excited about our future with her.

* Being brave enough to try a whole new life. We've prayed our whole marriage for a chance to work together, and every attempt has been gently closed by God. Some of those closed doors were heartbreaking, but we just kept praying and waiting for His timing. We never imagined working in social work. We never imagined moving north - only south. We never imagined living in an apartment in a tiny town. And we surely never imagined moving in the middle of a global pandemic. (But then again, we didn't imagine a pandemic!) We were met with many raised eyebrows when we shared our news, and much about this line of work was scary to consider. But we were confident in God's leading and did our part to follow. Some days are hard and most are long, but we are so glad we said yes.

So. So. Glad. 

And speaking of our work...I have a little request for you! Gateway Woods entered a contest called Pitch for Pins - to win a disc golf course on campus. Guess what?! Our (and by "our" I mean Gateway Woods...Ryan and I were not involved in the entry!) video entry made it into the top five! Voting is open just for about four more days, and if you would have a second to vote, it would be so amazing! (You don't have to enter your email or buy anything or do anything other than literally click a button.) Go here and scroll down to see the entry video...and then at the very bottom there is a list for voting. Our entry is "Emily Fischer and Gateway Woods."

For the record, since the middle of March, the Gateway Woods campus has been closed to visitors, which means all the family, friends, and host of community people who can normally come on campus to interact...can't. To have something like this for residents to do literally in their own backyard would be amazing! 

So those are some good decisions I/we made this year. How about you? What can you celebrate today?