Happy New Year!
I honestly cannot believe 2017 is over. Truth be told, it felt like I spent the whole year trying to catch up to myself. From having a baby and buying a house and moving all in the same week (not how we planned it, and definitely NOT recommended, btw) to publishing my first book, this past year was so full and so wonderful. Beyond my wildest dreams, really.
And here we are, 3 days into 2018 and I still feel like I’m just getting my feet back underneath myself. We had a wonderful watchnight service that confirmed a theme for me this year: ACTION. I’ve spent my whole life planning and revising and planning some more, and I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with myself because I’m not where I want to be. Well, duhhh Kendall ya kinda gotta implement the plan to make it happen! So that’s what this year is all about.
After spending almost the entire first day of the year catching up on sleep (recovering from a 12+ hour road trip with an 11 month old is even harder than it sounds) and soaking up the last remnants of the holidays before everyone is forced back into work mode, I took day 2 of this new year to spend some quality time reflecting on 2017 and setting my goals for 2018.
I followed a super-quick goal setting process outlined by Nicole Walters, one of my favorite purpose-driven influencers. If you’re like me and getting on this after 12/31, this is a great place to start. All you do is jot down 3 goals for each of the following 6 areas of your life:
- Faith
- Family
- Finances
- Marriage
- Business
- Health
I added a personal category also, where I put added my goals to read 1 book a month, journal weekly, and try a new cookbook recipe twice a month.
Once I finished with that, I dove into my Life Planner to really reflect on various aspects of the past year and identify the changes I’d like to see for the year ahead. This is a wonderful exercise to do at the start of the year (yes, even 3 or 4 days in!) and to revisit periodically throughout the year.
Side note: The Life Planner is my most favorite planner I’ve ever owned. My mom found it sometime last year and bought it for me, and I’ve been saving it til now to get a full year’s worth out of it (it doesn’t have dates though, so you can totally start whenever!). It’s everything I need from an organizational standpoint, because it makes room for every area of my life: spiritual growth, personal growth, family, marriage, physical, and financial goals. The Scriptures threaded throughout make it both life-giving and beautiful. Whatever planner you choose, I cannot encourage you enough to make it a hard-copy one that you can touch and feel. There’s something powerful about the act of writing down your goals that helps to solidify them in your mind and heart and drive you toward them.
Inspired by my Life Planner, I’d like to share some of my reflections with you and my outlook for 2018 to give you a glimpse of what’s ahead for me and for this wonderful space we share here on this blog. Here goes!
One thing I discovered about myself was…
I really love being a mom and could – surprisingly – see myself happily as a full-time stay at home mom. (But I see you, student loans. *insert eyeroll emoji*)
I’m proud of myself for…
- Publishing the book, finally, and not chickening out!
- Nursing for a whole year!
- Juggling all things wife, mom and entrepreneur
A transformational moment for me was…
Becoming a mother. It put so many things into perspective” selfless love, truly giving my all, trusting my instincts and learning God’s voice in a new way. Interacting with and caring for Jeremiah has taught me so much about how God loves me. His patience, understanding, joy, desire to give wonderful gifts, unwavering commitment and unconditional love are things I’ve seen in a whole new light of because of motherhood. It’s hard, but beautiful and so very fulfilling!
Things that felt out of balance in 2017:
- My time management. I felt like I was playing catch up the entire year! Being so tired yet so ambitious made me feel like the days and weeks really got away from me.
- My priorities. I let my prayer life fall off and didn’t give enough to my marriage. I gave all I had to Jeremiah first, then to work, and that’s not right.
- My health. Putting myself last sounds more admirable than it is. If you haven’t first taken care of yourself, you’ll have nothing to pour into the work God has for you to do and the people He has for you to impact. Your purpose is nothing without you. Self-care is the beginning of purpose fulfillment. <– Tweet that.
What can I do to achieve alignment in those areas?
- Non-negotiable devotion time, first thing every morning.
- Set a shutdown time and a bedtime and stick to them!
- Block time to reflect on the past week and plan the week ahead
- Make daily to-do lists and be ok rolling over undone things to the next day (see #2)
- Exercise 30 minutes every. single. day.
Words that describe the person I want to be:
Intentional. Focused. Connected. Prayerful. Wise. Discerning. Good Steward. Loving. Level-Headed. At Peace. Confident. Faithful. Grounded. Optimistic. Hopeful. Healthy. Joyful. Worshipful. Exemplary. Dedicated. Consecrated. Purposeful.
What must I do this year to become more like that person?
- Seek God FIRST (Matthew 6:33)
- Love my husband SECOND (Ephesians 5:21-33, MSG)
- Care for my family THIRD (Proverbs 31:10-31)
- All else comes AFTER!
My word for 2018: INTENTIONAL
I chose this word because, to date, I’ve done A LOT of planning, but I’ve struggled with the execution. I’ve set goals but had a hard time reaching them. last year, I felt like I was arbitrarily shooting in the dark with this blog and in my business. I took cues from others for what I “should” be doing to get where I want to go but I never really had a clear understanding of why I was doing those things and what the specific purpose of each of them was.
This year I want to be clear about EVERYTHING I invest my time and energy into. For whom and for what? Those are the guiding questions I must answer for every blog post, social media post, product, event… anything I set my mind and hands to do. Everything must be intentional and have a clear, meaningful purpose.
My verse for 2018:
For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. – Philippians 2:13 AMP
This verse reminds me that:
- I have a specific, God-given purpose that He orchestrated for me to fulfill.
- He has put in my heart the desire to pursue and achieve my purpose along with all that I need in order to do so.
- He has not – and will not – ask me to do anything for Him in my own strength. Because the goal is for God to get the glory, He will do the work. I’m just the messenger!
I chose this verse to help me remember that, in my pursuit of God’s purpose for my life, there can be no complaints and no comparisons. He has given me all He needs me to have to do all He has asked of me. And it doesn’t matter who else is doing anything different or uncomfortably similar. What God has for me is for me.
These are my truths for this year. When we transitioned this blog from just food to a more holistic life focus, we wanted it to be a place where, through our transparency, you could find encouragement, inspiration, a few laughs, and valuable insights (still good recipes too!). My goal for this year is to cultivate more of a community in this space and bring you more than just stream-of-consciousness blog posts to update you on our lives. Again, we’re being intentional.
My hope for this post is to inspire you to take some time to reflect on your own achievements from the year past and set some goals and aspirations for 2018. I encourage you to take some time to answer these questions for yourself. It’ll give you so much clarity on who you were last year, who you want to be this year, and how you plan to become that person. Jot your answers down somewhere you’ll see them often (in your planner, in a note on your phone, on a piece of paper you can post to the wall, on your mirror, on the fridge…).
To make it easy for you, I created this FREE printable workbook for you to download, fill out, and keep close by for daily reference. You can fill it out on your computer or print it out and write it out by hand (the best way!). Whatever you do, don’t be discouraged if you haven’t gotten started on your goals or resolutions or vision for this year. The best time to start is when you have a clear mind and an intention to focus on making this your best year yet. Don’t forget to make your goals REACHable so you’re sure to attain them.
PS: If you’re intentional about discovering your God-given purpose this year but aren’t quite sure where to start, check out my book, Purposed to Impact. It’s part devotional and part action planning workbook that’s all about letting God lead you through the discovery and real-life activation of your purpose in a way that’s easy to understand and implement. If you want to ease your way in and gain a little more clarity first, my FREE 5-day Pathway To Purpose email course is just the thing to get you started. Learn more about it here.