Jen's Glows and Grows

 Well, here we are! We have made it to another year! Praise be to God 💚!! I'm so grateful for every lesson and blessing that 2023 had for me. I'm definitely not the same woman I am now that I was in January. I have gotten better and grown so much! There are certain mindsets and perspectives that have shifted in a good way for me. I still have areas to improve, but I'm thankful for the progress 💚. Today, I want you to reflect back with me over the year. I want to share with you my glows (goals I accomplished and things that went really well) and grows (things I can keep improving and being consistent with). To be honest, some of them could fall into both categories as things that went really well, but I want to do more consistently in the new year. As I share my glows and grows, I hope you are encouraged and inspired 🙏. I hope you know that you are not alone in the challenges you face.

Glows

1. New adventures- From art shows to paint night to hiking to birthday celebrations, family and friend days were fun-filled!! I enjoyed every minute with the people I love and cherish 💜. To my people, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! I'm looking forward to more Family Fun Days and Girls' Days with my people in the new year!!

2. New restaurants- YROC, Food For Thought, Charley's, and Carabba's were a few of the new restaurants I ate at that have delicious food 😊.

3. New connections- I met new people at work and a conference I attended. I also got to meet people in person for the first time that I was in online groups with. What a neat experience that was 💜!

4. New experiences- I learned new things spiritually and professionally. In a weekend in March, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Women's Conference in Virginia Beach. Beautiful scenery and amazing words of wisdom were poured out all weekend 😊! From January to August, I was on an educational journey for my career. I attended Averett University online to receive my gifted education endorsement certification. Gifted education was an area I knew little about and wanted to find out more. I did just that and received my certification in August with a 4.0 GPA! God is so good and helped me all the way as I was teaching full time while taking my classes online 🙏. I also had the opportunity to speak words of encouragement at my workplace, church, and on a conference call line.

5. New outreach opportunities- I was able to help one of my wonderful friends with Operation Christmas Child shoebox missions through the year and that was amazing! I got to help pack shoeboxes with wonderful items while sharing God's love 💖. It doesn't get any better than that!!

6. Health checkups- I stayed consistent with going to the doctor's and dentist in the year. In fact, my most recent dentist appointment (my 6 month cleaning in November, to be exact) was one of the best dentist appointments I had for a long time. Very little scraping 👏! I need to keep doing what I'm doing with flossing, my Colgate Total toothpaste, and electric toothbrush. You see, I had braces when I was in middle school, so my teeth have come a long way! My iron levels are still doing good! I'm also glad I went to the doctor and got my annual checkups. It was in those checkups that I found out I had fibroids. I did get a biopsy of those and that came back normal. Praise God for that! Now, I have been working on regulating and managing the fibroids. I also got an eye exam this summer, which I'm glad I did because I hadn't gotten one for a while. You'll see why I'm glad I went shortly 😉.

7. New table- At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, I became part of the Gifted Advisory Board to represent for my middle school! I'm so grateful to have a seat at a new table and gain experience 😊.

8. Lots of decluttering- In my house, I got the living room, counters, my room and closet, and Momma's room and closet. Your girl has been working hard! I donated lots of items and cleared out spaces. The spaces look so much better!! There's still a lot left in certain spots, but it's come a long way and I'm so grateful for the progress 💖. I'm going to keep working on decluttering in the new year 😉.

Grows

1. More rest- Yes, your girl still needs to work on getting 7-8 hours of sleep consistently. I do my best to put my phone away at a certain time of night, but then there's the book for me. I love to read, but I have to pull myself from the book earlier because I'll sit all night with it if I could. I'll also just want to sit sometimes too long on the couch instead of getting in the bed. I also need to work on taking a few minutes to relax when I get home from work instead of jumping into doing something (clean, organize, etc.) I think timers are going to be my new best friend next year 💖!! I use them in my classroom at work, but I need to start using them more at home, too. 

2. Less overthinking- Yes, I struggle with overthinking. I have to keep working on staying present in the moment and not think worst case scenarios. I do a lot of what-ifs! I told myself though I need to put a positive spin on the what ifs and start asking positive what-if questions, such as "What if it works out?" and "What if I grow from this?" Here's to being more present in the new year 💜!!

3. Even better eyesight- Remember I told you a little earlier that I got an eye exam this summer? Well, I found out at my eye exam that I am nearsighted and deal with astigmatism, which led me to getting glasses for the first time ever in June. It took me a little while to get adjusted to my glasses, but I love them and how classy they make me look 💖! They are helping a lot! I can tell when I take my glasses off for a minute that things are less blurry. I'm going into the new year with a new look 😉!! 

4. Less social media- I'm not on it for long periods (hours on end), but there are times that I find myself scrolling away on my phone or tablet. Next thing I look, 20-30 minutes has passed. It's easy to get caught up, so I'm trying to be more mindful going in the new year. I want to make sure my time on social media is intentional and purposeful when I do get on it 😊. I also want to replace that scrolling with reading a book, checking on a family member or friend, exercise, getting fresh air, or doing nothing (me time to just take a breath). 

5. More travel adventures- I'm thankful for the new places I did go this year and the people I got to see those new places with! I want to keep seeing new places definitely! However, I didn't travel out of the state this year. I want to do so in the new year and the years to come. There was one last goal accomplished before the year that relates to travel. Do you want to guess what that goal was? It was getting my passport. I've been wanting to get it for a long time actually. I stepped out and applied the day before Thanksgiving. My passport arrived in the mail a week before Christmas 😀💖!! One day, I do want to travel to another country, along with other states here in the U.S. 

There you have it, my friends! My glows and grows of 2023!! I thank you for your continued support, prayers, encouragement, and shares. I see you and I appreciate you!! May you have a wonderful 2024 and know great things are up ahead 💖!!