For the first time since I’ve been choosing words, I really struggled with picking something that I thought would be adequate. Last year was such a big and busy year and I wanted to follow that with something a little more..well, relaxing. Yet something that would make an impact. I threw around the words whole, thrive, bold, simplify, enough, and joy (again) before finally landing on nourish. I chose it because I felt like nourish encompassed many of the other words while bringing a peaceful feeling that I personally want to embody this year.

Nourish | verb [nur-ish]

to supply with what is necessary

for life, health, and growth; to

cherish, foster and keep alive.

Besides making a couple yearly goals, I’m planning on making smaller monthly goals to encourage self-care, nourishment, and the completion of my bigger goals. I’ve found that upon setting goals in the past, I often only complete them by chance unless I make them ridiculously visible. The first of the year, always starts out so strong so I’m hoping that this will help throughout the year as well.

Goals for January

Journal Everyday: I’ve always kept a journal but I’ve had a hard time being consistent with it. This month, I’ve committed to completing Madison Hedlund’s Come Alive Journaling Guide.

Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails: I’m getting over 50 emails a day and even though I don’t have push notifications on my phone, it’s still pretty obnoxious and seeing new products and other blogs makes it harder to find contentment in the things that I have. I’d also love to clear out my RSS feed and start over.

Finish watching House of Cards Season Three: You know I gotta be ready for the fourth season. (If you haven’t watched this yet, you should get on it. The next season comes out in March.)

Write 20 blog posts: My goal is to write about half of those for this blog and half for WrittenWorship.com. I really want to be committed and I know that consistency is important in making habits.

Purchase business cards: this one has been on my list for a while and shouldn’t be hard to complete.

Girl’s weekend: next weekend I’m getting together with some friends and I’m SO excited about it. We’ve been planning it for a while, which is why I’m considering it a “goal” for this month.

OLW: complete Ali Edward’s E-Course and Prompts for January.

Take two classes at Wilson’s: I’m ready to get my exercise on, slowly but surely.

Grow Herbs: Kevin gave me an indoor garden for Christmas and now I’m in the process of growing six different types of herbs that we are going to integrate into our cooking!

This is my fourth year choosing a word and for me, it is so much more rewarding a fulfilling than making resolutions I can’t stick to. This is a lifestyle change, full of imperfections, sure, but most importantly grace. So here’s to nourishing myself, my faith, my marriage, my relationships, and many other aspects of my life.

If you haven’t picked a word, it’s not to late to do so! I’d love to hear which word you’ve decided on!