Amber - Let's Try it Again

I want to a do over of last week because I don't feel I got it good enough.  Also from one study I read it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a habit but it could take up to 8 months for that habit to stick.  The 21 days is more like it takes you 21 days to get used to doing something new.  The average in that study was 66 days.  I've never measured my own habit timeline so I don't know where I fall in there.  So what I've decided is that I need to successfully do the habit for 21 days, this doesn't mean I'm expecting perfection but that if I mess up a couple or even a few if I still feel I've been successful at the end then it will pass the 21 days.  After that I'll stop hyper focusing on it but I will still keep track of it.  Every time I can move a goal past the 21 days then I can add new goals.  At the end of 70 days (rounded up from 66 so it will be an even 10 weeks) I'll evaluate and if I feel it is a habit then I'm going to consider it done and stop tracking it.  The exception to this is going to be my scripture study, since the goal is to study to share it here on the blog then I can't take it off without dropping or changing the goal.

As a reminder here are this weeks goals

1. Scripture study thought

2. Sleep schedule with a morning wake up time of 6 with a routine and an evening routine which includes no electronics after 9:30 with an alarm and a bedtime of 10.

3. Phone stays out of my room.

4. No eating after 6pm.

5. Just for fun a report of any craft/sewing I get done.

If successful this week then I can move the thought off of hyper focus and maybe the sleep schedule to track only.  Then I can add one or two other goals.

Weight 177.4 (though I weighed an hour or so after breakfast so I'm not sure how accurate it is)

Monday:

*In Alma 30 Korihor claims that no man can know of things to come and that you cannot know of things which you don't see.  Of course is incorrect but I also thought how often do we see things that we think we know but are not true.  Especially when it comes to people and relationships.  Seeing what someone is doing doesn't mean you have the whole picture, in fact it pretty much never does.  It is only God who knows all these things and that makes him the judge.  It is only by relying on him and his knowledge that we are able to see what is truth and what is not.  This comes through the spirit and not through the eyes.  I am grateful for a loving Father who is God who is all knowing and all loving.

• I woke up late again, 7:30 and it was in the middle of a dream where I was a talking military can and then I was the cat's owner and then back and forth.  It ended with us taking a class on patio furniture and how you want heavy patio furniture made of things like metal or concrete on lower apartment levels so that it can't fall and really light patio furniture like wicker or plastic on high levels so that if it does fall then it won't kill anyone below.  Needless to say I didn't get in a routine.
• Today might be a bit of a failure.  I had my phone in my room most of the day and even laid down to sleep, I was going to use it as an alarm since my alarm clock had lost power and had to be reset.  However I had that nagging as I was saying my prayer so I moved it out.
• Failed here to, was eating until about 10.
• Didn't get to bed until 12:30 and didn't do my routine, I was on the computer/phone most of the evening looking at makeup and making buying lists.  There have been a lot of sales lately and I've spent way too much time focused on makeup.  Though on the plus side I've found some eyeshadow that my eyes have been able to tolerate.  I bought one color and it hasn't itched at all so I'm excited to try some others and see if that is the same for any of the proffered colors.  I've always wanted to try wearing more eyeshadow and would watch makeup tutorials sadly because I knew my eyes would just itch so I never tried them.

Tuesday:

*Same chapter towards the end after Korihor is struck dumb.  Here Korihor admits he was wrong and that he was deceived and begs Alma to remove the curse.  However Alma says that if he did that then Korihor would continue to deceive people.  I assume Alma has received revelation on that and so knows.  This is the point when I turned it to myself and wondered how I would react if my weaknesses or challenges were taken away.  I love candy and I would eat it voraciously except that it hurts my teeth when I eat too much and now it sends me to the bathroom.  If I didn't have those issues I would still be eating a lot.  That is a simple one but I have other things that I would love taken away, I would like to think that I would still do what is right, that I would turn to the Lord but I'm not sure.  I am grateful for those challenges that keep me turning to the Lord.

• Got up at 7 but that was too late to do my full routine because grandma and grandpa were already up and I was cooking breakfast.  I'll just have to go to bed on time tonight.
• My phone stayed out of my room except when I was talking on it.
• I didn't eat after 6 and I felt good, I also did a short body code session and I felt really good afterwards.
• The alarms worked so I got off the computer and did almost all of my evening routine before I went to bed at 10!

Wednesday:

*Come Follow Me mentions a couple of things.  One is that anything that teaches against or offers a counterfeit for parts of the gospel is also considered Anti-Christ.  Then it suggests making a list of all of Korihor's teachings found in Alma 30.  This I did and then I went back over them and put them in a way that I'd heard before in my life.  Over half of them I had heard someone say before.  I love being able to find things in the scriptures that directly apply to today.

• I made it up by 6 today.  My body is groggy I'm going to have to get used to getting up again.  Also I feel better today.
• Alas the feel good didn't last so long today. I got fairly depressed towards the end of the day.  I was working all day long going from thing to thing and then I was running out of time to do any of the things I wanted to do and that sent me off the edge a little.  So at the end of the day and watched youtube on my bed until late.
• I completely forgot about not eating and was snacking until 7 before I realized it.  Then being depressed and already having broke this one I just kept snacking.
• I did actually sew something.  My purse has lots of pockets which I love but it has a large somewhat baggy pocket in the main compartment with no closure.  I keep lots of small items in their but it's so big that I'm always fishing around for things.  I can deal with that but when I put my wallet back in the purse it fits into the pocket but since the pocket has so much stuff in it then it sticks out the top of the purse.  I tried making it a wallet pocket but that made it hard to get to the other stuff and I'd find myself taking the wallet out so I could reach around the pocket.  Finally I decided it needed to be two pockets so yesterday I sat on the couch with Grandma and hand sewed a line down the center of the pocket and now that's fixed.
• I stayed up late I think I was on the phone until almost 1.  Then I kicked the phone out and was unable to fall asleep for a while and I didn't sleep that great when I did.

Thursday:

* I read Alma 31 and really liked the last verse.  It says all of the blessings the Lord gave them, providing for them so they weren't hungry or thirsty and all their afflictions were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.  These sound like really great things to me, but then it says it came because of the prayer of Alma specifically because he prayed in faith.  I would like to be able to pray with such faith that I would receive such blessings from God.  There have been times in my life that I have felt like that has happened but they are not so regular.  I really think I need to start focusing on my prayers and on having faith.

• Due to my later night I woke up at 7 and snoozed until 8, no morning routine.
• Did better today, phone stayed out of my room
• I ate ice cream after 6 but that was the only thing so better than yesterday.
• I finally got back to some pockets, I sewed the second pocket into my favorite pair of pants.  So happy to have pockets in my pants, I've been delighted every time I wear one of my fixed pants.
• I went to bed at 11, no evening routine.

Friday:

* Alma 31:5 has a lot of really insightful references about the word of God.  Rom 10:17 says faith comes by hearing the word of God.  There is the key to having faith so study the scriptures.  Jonah 3:5 gives my favorite example of this.  The people of Ninevah were considered very wicked and Jonah was afraid to preach to them.  However as soon as they heard they immediately repented, when the king of Ninevah heard what was happening he got up from his throne and dressed in sackcloth and sat in ashes.   This immediate recognition and show of humility has always been inspiring for me.  Heb 4:12 has a part that I'd not though about.  It says that the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  I see this in my life when I read the scriptures, they have helped me realize what my own desires are, where I'm lacking and where I'm doing well.

• Grandpa woke me up at 7 because he needed something for grandma.  I needed to get up and going though so we could go on a trip so I did.  However I didn't have time for the routine.
• Phone was in my room for almost an hour before I kicked it out.
• I ate ice cream after 6.
• I got off the computer at 9 but then got on my phone later until 10:15, didn't sleep until almost 11.

Saturday:

* I made a list of the things about the Zoramites prayer vs Alma's prayer in the same chapter.

Zoramites

-They lifted their arms to heaven and spoke with a loud voice

-Their prayer was full of gratitude for how special they were and better off than others, sounded very prideful.

-Looked down on others for not believing as they did.

-Never spoke about God until the next week.

Alma

-He lifted his voice to heaven

-His prayer was full of requests for help to overcome weaknesses and challenges, sounded very humble.

-Prayed for strength to help those who believed differently from him.

-Didn't think about what to eat or drink or wear but went out to speak of God.

• I woke at 6 to the alarm but didn't immediately get up so I missed some of my routine.
• Alas I'm not doing well with this goal.  I was on my phone until I fell asleep.
• Again more treats after 6, this one is difficult especially when Grandpa cooks extra things at night and offers you some.
• I got off of my computer around 10:30.  Saturday is the hardest for me to go to bed so after that I was on my phone until after 11 when I fell asleep.

Sunday:

* I read a talk mentioned in Come Follow Me by Julie B Beck called "Teaching the Doctrine of the Family".  It was given in 2011 and that's been a few years ago but I see the things she talks about happening right now.

• I woke at 8:30 and I can tell you I didn't sleep well at all.  My blankets and sheets were all over and I was too hot when I woke.  I forgot to open the window also that phone!  I never sleep good with my phone in the room especially if it near my head and it was right next to me on the nightstand.
• No phone in my room.
• Still eating after 6.
• I was on the computer until just before 10:30 which is when I went to bed.

So I don't know that I really did anything different from last week.  In fact it seems a little worse.  Time for a new post.