Getting a Dose of Daily Bread

It is the 8^th day into September and I am starting my challenge of the month!  I guess the 8^th day in is a little better than the 21^st right?  As I was thinking about what I could do for this month, I entertained the idea of picking up horseback riding or learning guitar.  Actually, I probably would have picked either of those options over the one I have decided on, but they are not possible at the moment.  So what have I chosen for the month of September you ask? 

This challenge is just that...a challenge and I honestly thought about not putting this on my list at all because I know it’s going to be tough for me to do.  The saddest part is that it shouldn’t be challenging at all, it should be something I am excited to do every day. 

Reading the Bible has always been difficult for me, especially on a daily basis.  It has never seemed exciting to me and I have never known where to start.  I enjoy going to sermons on Sundays and I feel like that is enough for the week.  I can reflect upon it and talk about it until next Sunday right?  However, while I do get a lot out of the sermon on Sunday, it is silly to think that can sustain me for an entire week.  God’s word is our daily bread.  From it, we gain understanding of who God is and what it reveals about God helps us grow.  Now think of it like a true piece of bread, one you can actually consume.  It is ridiculous to think that someone can live off of a single piece of bread for an entire week!  How is it any different with reading my Bible?  One sermon can’t really sustain me for that long.

What I love about my church is that they do not tell us every Sunday to read our Bibles.  What they do instead is deliver messages that apply to our daily lives so when we read the Bible, we already know how to relate it to what we are going though.  I can’t remember what it was about the message I heard today that the lit the fire in me but afterwards I felt like there was no greater challenge I could choose for the month of September!  Hopefully I will get into a routine that goes past this month and I pray that my excitement to learn more about who my God is only strengthens.  I can’t wait to share this journey with you!

Language learning update!

While I am taking on this new challenge, I am continuing my commitment of learning Vietnamese and let me tell you...it is still freaking hard! I can describe a picture to you if there is a boy standing under or is sitting on a plane.  I can also tell you that there are two girls chasing after a boy.  And I am pretty confident I could tell you that a guy and a girl are dancing in the picture...for some reason the verb changes hen two people are dancing as opposed to one person dancing alone.  I feel like I have learned and actually retained a lot but I have a lot more to learn!  I was really encouraged when I talked to one of my best friends the other day, only to have her laugh at my attempt to say, “there is a boy and a dog”!  hahah oh well!

In other news: I plan to run a half marathon in January, a bucket-list item I will be checking off for January but I just wanted to give you a heads up since my training process might pop up in later blogs!

I am learning Vietnamese?

Last month, I let you all in on my plan to challenge myself and honestly, get off my butt and start doing things I said I would do/wanted to do.

It is the 21st of the month and I just started my first challenge...learning Vietnamese.  The fact that I am just now starting my "challenge of the month" is the exact reason I started this blog.  I felt like if I got you involved (if there are actual people reading), I would be more accountable.  

I am happy to say that a teeny, tiny bit of Vietnamese stuck with me!  The few words that I knew really helped during Lesson 1 but I obviously still need a lot of practice.  I am learning Vietnamese through Rosetta Stone and even though it seems overwhelming, I think I am going to enjoy it.  From what it looks like, each lesson is broken into four different sections that allow you to practice the same phrases in new ways.  I went though part 1 and did well enough.  However, as I was going through part 2, I was racking up points...honestly, I had 90 correct and 0 wrong!  I knew I had a perfect score waiting for me at the end and I postponed on taking a picture in order to flaunt it front of all of you.  I mean, wouldn't you be impressed if on day 1, I got a perfect score?   I guess God was not okay with my cockiness because my laptop shut itself down on question 91.  You are probably thinking, "Isn't that so convenient, Erica?  A perfect score that you cannot prove?"  I say, "take it or leave it".  I guess I learned my lesson for next time!  

While I have experienced and learned more about myself in these 27 years, than I ever thought I would, I know there is more I want out of life.  There are so many things I have wanted to do, but out of fear or lack of motivation, I have never done them.  When it finally set in that my 20s were almost over, I created a bucket list of things I wanted to do/accomplish before I turned 30 and conveniently, I am 30 months away from that date.

I want my list to consist of ideas that are going to push me and challenge me or help me give back. The following are a few ideas I have so far: - try out contacts...again (I have before but the thought of it freaked me out), -get back into horseback riding, -take guitar lessons, -learn to drive stick, -go skydiving.  I am open to suggestions as well...

My goal is to check off one thing each month up until my 30th birthday and by writing about it here, whether people follow along or not, I think it will help hold me accountable.  I don't want to look back at my life and regret that I never did something because fear of failure or laziness held me back. So with that, let the journey begin!