Week 1: Bread and Water

Hello to anyone to will be reading this blog during this year! I am excited to be writing this first post, and honestly a little nervous. Why I am nervous, I really have no idea other than I am committing myself to doing something every day for the next year. Let me explain...

Let's start with a little background info on me: My name is Amanda, and I live in Blue Island, IL. I work for The Salvation Army as the Program Director, and I am also the youth director there. I have a heart for reaching out to teens and talking to them about God. I love God with all my heart and do my best to live that out. I have two younger sisters, a mom, and a dad whom I am blessed to have in my life. I also have the most beautiful niece and goddaughter, and they bring such joy to my life! My friends are a huge part of my life, and God has blessed me with some pretty amazing ones. I am 23, single, and I have my whole life ahead of me....

Now, do you ever feel like life is just kind of passing you by? Maybe it's just me, but I have a feeling there are others who feel this way from time to time. My life is, and always has been, pretty busy. I sometimes work long hours, do my best to keep in touch with friends, travel to Indiana frequently to see my family, keep busy with church events and activities, participate in a women's small group, attempt to keep my house clean.....you get the point. Life can be busy not just for me, but for most people in general.

Here's the thing: I don't want to live my life surrounded by such busyness that I don't take the time to have some fun, go on some adventures, and live a full life. I believe that God wants a deep, meaningful realtionship with each one of us. I believe that He wants us to take the time to recognize the blessings He has given us, and He wants to see us living a life that fully takes on each opportunity that He throws our way. I am making a choice to seize those opportunities!

"Seize the Week: Carpe Septem Dies" is what I am calling a year long project in which I make 52 different week long goals for myself (Thank you Ryan Perisin for coming up with the name). A couple examples: One week will be "Letter Week" which means I will write and send out a letter to someone different every day that week. Another week will be "Chicago Week" which means I will be headed to places I've never been before in Chicago each day of the week. Make sense?

This week I am starting with a week long fast, bread and water only. A good friend of mine suggested this for the first week, and I agreed that it was a great way to kick off the project. My prayer is that God will be present on each of my adventures this year, and that my relationship with Him will grow to a new level. I am going to start making time for ME, which is something I have never really done before.

I will blog and Twitter about my goals each week. I will write at least three blogs during the week, recording how the goal for that week is going. I will also upload pictures as I take them. I need 52 goals, so if you have any ideas, feel free to Twitter me (AmandaKeene9) or e-mail me at seizetheweek@gmail.com. I hope that you continue to follow me on this journey! Let the games begin!