A New Year’s Bucket List

January is one of my favorite months. Not only is it a new calendar year (and I love new calendars, planners, pencils, pens, anything to make them pretty), but it is also the month to celebrate my birthday. Birthdays were not celebrated a whole lot when I was growing up, but now I seek to make them a big deal. Why? Because God chose that day out of all other days in the year for you to enter the world. That is definitely reason to celebrate!

And this year, I’m entering the last of a decade. Really the last of being young — wait, no I keep telling myself that 40 is not old — and I want to engage well with my birthday this year. Don’t know what type of dessert will hold 39 candles, but there will be dessert you can rest assured.

So, for this year, 39, not 2016, I wanted to adopt a bucket list item of sorts — do something once a month that won’t cost money — but will engage my whole person in other ways. I have another bucket list that involves mostly traveling with my mister, but this one will be just mine and I wanted to share them with you.

1.  I love snail mail, but honestly I’m still better at texts than letters. So, this year, I want to write 52 letters and actually mail them. That is only one per week and it will be build a sincere habit of encouraging others, sharing my story, sending love through a stamp to others.
2. Date my boys. I want to have one date each month with one of them. That is something special outside of our normal days. That will give me intentional time of spoiling them. It won’t have to be expensive, but it will teach me to treasure them and love them and keep their little blue eyes fixed in my memory. Let them be little.
3. Find 12 new trails. I love to exercise, but stick mostly to the gym. That’s because its easy. This year I want to find 12 new trails around where we live or when we are exploring a new town, to see God’s creation from a new angle.
4. Encourage the elderly. There are many elderly in our communities (whether in your church, neighborhood, or family friends) and they need encouragement. So, once a month, I want to take either baked goods or flowers to one of the elderly families in our lives and love on them. Bring my boys or just sit with them. That will be completely out of my comfort zone, but it will be both a blessing to me and hopefully, Lord willing, to them.
5. Learn something new: brush lettering, watercolor, a new photography skill, improve my cake decorating. It is easy to get in a rut even with hobbies we are good at, but I need to stretch myself and keep improving my game.
6. Bake something new each month. I love to spend time in the kitchen. But, I usually cook the same things but tweak the recipe a bit. I want to learn how to make croissants, crackers, eclairs, etc.

While this bucket list may be specific to me, there are general concepts that you can incorporate into your year. Encourage others. Spend time with those you love the most. Invest in generations (both older and younger). Exercise and enjoy God’s creation. Explore. Be a blessing to others. Try new things.

What’s on your bucket list? Feel free to share with the rest of us at the Ungrind community so we can encourage each other.

You never know what will happen what great things God might have in store for you through this avenues of adventure.