The List

Miranda recently turned me onto this website called The Good Women Project. It's a website devoted to woman's issues, like singleness, image, and sexuality, and looks at them from a Christian perspective. September's topics have been about making the most out of singleness. I've heard about the concept before...using your single years to better yourself and grow closer to God while you only have yourself to worry about. Clearly, I haven't been very good at that. But what I love about this website is that "normal" women write articles about ways they've messed up, lessons they've learned, and challenges they face. This month, more often than not I'll read an article and think to myself "I'm not the only one who feels that way!" It's nice to know that I'm not crazy or weird for the feelings or struggles I have.

A couple of weeks ago, one woman wrote about not wasting the "wait" while being single. She suggested making a list of things you want to accomplish while you're single. That way, you're working towards goals (personal and "fun") rather than focusing on singleness or finding a relationship.

My first thought was "What in the world would I put on a list?? I have no idea what kinds of things I want to work towards!" But after thinking about it for a bit, I've come up with a couple of things. I'll probably add to the list as more come to me, but this is a start.

1. Climb another mountain - I climbed Camelback Mountain about a year ago and it was one of the most fulfilling, exciting things I've ever done. I'd love to do another one!

2. Hike the Grand Canyon - My family is talking about doing this next summer! It's been something I've always wanted to do.

3. Establish a regular "night of reflection" again - When I lived in San Diego for summer project in college, we spent one night a week as a night of reflection. It was a time to get away, forget about the stresses of life, and focus on God. Kind of like an extended quiet time. Last week, one of our pastors preached on approaching work from a state of rest. I'd like to be able to set aside an hour or two a week to forget about schoolwork and spend time reflecting on what God is trying to teach me. Otherwise, I end up working almost every hour I'm not sleeping...not healthy.

4. Buy a new car - This is kind of more of a necessity at the moment, but it would be pretty fulfilling to say that I worked and saved and was able to afford a new car, rather than get another used one to get me by for the time being.

5. Take a vacation - Now that Angela is living in Arizona, this one might not be so hard. But I'm going to make the caveat that it can't be a trip to visit a friend. A real vacation.

That's all I can think of for now. Like I said, if I think of more, I'll add them. These are more specific than the ones in the article online, but I'm the type of person that needs specific direction in order to feel productive. What things would you put on a list?