Thirty Days Hath September

With a little over 3 months left in our term, I am finding myself tempted to lose focus on the here and now.  I am really tempted to just collapse on the couch after dinner every night because the required stuff is enough.  But, I know there are some things I could accomplish during those evening hours.  So, in an attempt to keep some focus and use that time profitably, I've set three goals for September and I thought I would share them here, for my own accountability.  They aren't too lofty and in a different season, they might seem just plain lame.  But, they are challenging enough for me at this point.  So, without further ado, here they are:

1. Language review at least 4 times a week.  Because, I should, I just should.
2. 750 minutes of exercise-this may seem like a random number, but I did give some thought to it.   It's enough that it will take some focused effort on my part, but should be doable.  I'm just gonna tell you, I've never loved exercise and I think it's a million times harder to get motivated in Africa.  There are a lot of things stacked against you.  Like tonight, I literally was going to put my shoes on and the electricity went out, making a video a difficult option.  Even if I had done it on my laptop, it would have been by candlelight, without any kind of fan or AC.  The sun was already down, so walking outside our compound was not an option.  I figured out a way to get 30 miserable minutes in, but it was not according to my plan.  I've gotta get it on though... I'm not getting any younger and I'd like my ticker to stay strong.  If Jesus doesn't come back first, I'd like to hold some grandbabies someday.  Not to mention, what woman doesn't want to lose 10 or 30 or 50 pounds? Furthermore, I'm pretty confident America won't be doing me any favors in the self-control department, might as well get a head start on damage control now. 
3. Some sort of blog post every day.  It's not for you, it's for me. Writing is good for my mental health and when I'm blogging I tend to see the beauty around me more.  If you wanna read it, that's great.  If you're just not that interested in the details of my world, I'm surely not surprised. 

Maybe putting them out there for all of you to see will give me a smidgeon of the accountability that is tough to find when you live in West Africa without weekly staff meetings or Sunday School classes. You'll be able to judge for yourself how well I keep up with goal # 3, but I'll have to let you know in 30 days how I did on the other two!