A year ago, Casmir and I were celebrating the New Year in San Diego. We were caught in the chaos of holiday celebrations and the post-proposal buzz, but we took a quiet moment to soak in this view.

We were just coming off of a tough, tough season. Months of work travel left me utterly depleted. My work-life balance was non-existent and my purpose was waning too. Stuck in a cycle, destructive habits had their grip. I was floundering with a body at 20% and a heart exhausted.

Our eyes were fixed on that surfer's waves, but our conversation was engaged in who we were, where we were headed, and who we wanted to be. We talked about the things we wanted to change and the lives we wanted to live. The wedding we wanted to plan. The marriage we wanted have. The places we hoped to travel to. The home we wanted to build. We promised each other then that our engagement would be a time to start laying the foundation for this life we were determined to create.

Well our engagement lasted for 294 days of 2016, and man oh man was it our training ground. We planned a wedding all on our own (with the help of a few oh-so-talented and way-too-generous friends). We fought hard for our health as we dedicated ourselves to daily changes. We spent about 6 months house shopping and in that time offered on 10 houses. Yes, 10 houses. On July 1, we finally closed on a home, but that was just the beginning because we then spent 3 sweaty, dirty, dusty months hardcore gutting and renovating this 75 year old place. We exchanged vows on the most beautiful October day in all of Texas history in front of 130 of our favorite people, and then we jet setted off to Greece and Italy to make those travel dreams reality.

Whew, what a year!

But I now sit curled up on the couch of our beautiful and cozy new home in tears over sweet, sweet grace. For the first time in too long, my soul is at rest and my heart is on fire. God is good and He brought such sweet redemption in 2016.

Even amidst all the wild ways my life has changed since we sat at that beach, the radical transformation this year brought in my health still stands strong. I truly was so far from functioning at that time, but I have come so much closer to thriving since then. I've fought a sugar addiction with natural ingredients. I've battled emotional eating with prayer. I've transformed my body with consistent yoga. Sitting on that rock, I could've only dreamed I'd be right here in this place.

Looking ahead to 2017, I want to continue trusting in the truth I've found in choosing health out of love. In making the healthy choice not the restrictive one. In caring for the body I have instead of longing for the one I don't. I'm so convinced this has been one of the biggest game-changers in my journey toward healing this past year, and it will now forever be the foundation of all health goals I ever set.

So for this year, I've set 3 concrete goals, all with the intention of choosing health out of love. Because nothing feels better than checking off a box, I know these small but real resolutions will help me fight for wellness.

Goal 1: Do 4 pullups. Y'all, I hate pullups. Considering I can hardly do one at the moment, this goal requires some boldness for me. But I wanted something that would really push me out of my comfort zone, so why not attack it with ambition?

Goal 2: Do a proper headstand. I've really been diving into my yoga practice this year, and I've noticed such a huge transformation in my body from it. I want to improve many areas of my practice, but the headstand really serves as a foundation of core strength and balance, so I want to work my way up to a flawless headstand.

Goal 3: Read 10 books. This might seem unrelated to my overarching resolution, but I assure you it's not. Reading has gotten so lost in our culture of screens and visual media, but sitting down to watch a movie never really satisfies my soul the way a good book does. I know this one will help reduce my screen time and I hope to dive into some books that'll light my soul on fire.

This little card is going to sit on my desk for the next 365 days. By the time I sit to reflect on another year down, I promise all 15 of these boxes will be checked. I'll be sure to share my progress with y'all along the way!

What are your resolutions for this year? How do you plan to grab hold of your health?

xoxo, mollie