Hello Beautiful Friends,

I am not the person who says, “new year, new me”, DO NOT worry haha.

I am really thinking about my New Year’s Resolutions this year because I have never been very devoted to keeping them in the past, but this year I want to succeed at mine. I also hope that this list inspires you to keep your resolutions!

1. Have a more intimate relationship with God

I have a close relationship with The Lord right now, but there is always room to improve. I want to get better at casting my worries on the Lord and truly putting Him above all things in my life. I also want to dissect the Bible and understand all that the Scripture has to offer us. Then, I want to spread that Word with everyone I know and become wiser doing so.

2. Pray more

Pray daily for more than a few minutes. Pray for my future husband/write him multiple more letters. Use my daily inspiration reflections every day and reflect on how it applies to my life. Reflect in general and better my love for Christ.

3. Work out more

I eat too many cookies for a girl who does not work out every day. I am in no way unhealthy, but I want to get toned and be a healthier version of myself. Plus, the bikinibod season is almost upon us and I am training to run a relay for a marathon! In OKC every year, we hold the Memorial Marathon and this year my goal is to run in the relay with my best friends. Wish me luck!

4. Study more

So I ended this last semester with a 4.0, but I can honestly tell you that I did not study very hard (by this, I mean I crammed). I want to improve my study ethic and become really good at long term studying. I also want to stop procrastinating on assignments until the day before it is due.

5. More effort into dressing cuter

This is to motivate myself into actually putting more effort into my outfits (i.e. not wearing leggings and a t-shirt to everything). I want to actually try once or twice a week to not wear leggings/a t shirt. I also want to get better at styling my hair.

6. Listening more than I talk

This is a concept that I have been pondering for a while. I love to talk, it’s my favorite thing to do! But I need to listen more, and by listen I mean genuinely listen (not the half-listening-and-waiting-to-say-something mindset that everyone does). I feel like this will benefit me by listening to others and truly trying to understand them as a person. This will add a deeper level on listening and I am excited.

7. Creating more authentic friendships

I really want to start investing in people beyond the surface level. I want to challenge myself to talk to people and ask deeper, more meaningful questions. I want to lead people closer to Christ and love people. My goal with having more authentic friendships is to strengthen bonds and become closer to the people that I care about. This is important to me because everyday we encounter the same surface level question of "how are you?" and we always say back "Oh wonderful, how are you?" and then you both walk away. People mean well when they ask that, but I want to be more intentional and actually mean what I ask and want to listen.

8. Travel More

I love traveling! It is one of my all time favorite things to do. It's on my bucket list to travel all over the world and one day I will be able to say I did it. I love adventures and I love spontaneous trips! My goal this year is take weekend trips to visit friends, day trips to new and exotic places, camping more, being outdoors, hiking, and really seeing the Lord's creation in person. I think the Lord gave us this beautiful world to explore, and in that exploration we can see even more of Him.

I am very determined to achieve these Resolutions! I think this list will make me the best version of myself and I pray that it’s an amazing year!

Love, your friend,

Lexi Barry