Nov 1, 2019 | Goal Setting, One Little Word, One Little Word 2019 | Rest
I feel like fall came a little later than normal for Missouri this year, but I was happy to start seeing the leaves change colors. I wouldn’t consider fall my favorite season, but the colors sure do make me question myself. October was full of so many good things including Mizzou football, saying “see ya later” to the best neighbors, lots of walks, our first snowfall of the year, and lots of exciting wins for Mizzou Esports.
A lot of people I know seem to be starting to put up Christmas trees, and to be honest, it feels wrong!
November Goals
Monthly Goals:
- Schedule at least 2 days of PTO – I have lots of time that I need to take off, so I’m just wanting to start thinking about how I plan to use that.
- Meet with each of my small group girls in November – I started leading a small group at the beginning of fall, and I’d like to do a check in with each of my girls before the end of the month.
Weekly Goals:
- Exercise 3x/week – simply just making this a habit
Daily Goals
- Close Apple Watch Rings
- Bible Reading
- Meditate using Headspace
October Goals
Monthly Goals
Host a DOPE Tailgate for Mizzou’s Homecoming – Done! So thankful to get everyone together to party. And Mizzou won, so that’s a win-win.Wrap Up Current Reads – Boom! Just a couple more books to go until I’ve read everything on my shelf.Delete Podcasts – The amount of freedom taking un-listened to episodes off my “to-do” list, was kind of incredible. On to find more things to pare down.Decorate the house with autumn decor – Easy, peasy.Regularly post on my blog and Instagram – Could have done better, but I got a couple out there.Create a work and personal Trello board – Yes! This was a huge win.- Visit the sunflowers @ MU South Farm – I didn’t make it again this year…maybe 2020!
Weekly Goals
Prep in advance for Compass 31 Launches – Weekly prep just makes the week of launches that much easier. I’m hoping to continue this into the new year by building it into my weekly habits.Prep our meal plan each week and use pick up for groceries – Meal prep, yes. Pick up groceries, nope.Weekly Sabbath – Yes!
Daily Goals
No spend – I could always do better in this area, but helpful for tracking.Weigh ins – Yep!Close Apple Watch Rings – Hit the move goal 18/31 days in October
Oct 2, 2019 | Goal Setting
I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. – LM Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
September always feels so far away from the end of the year and then immediately when October hits it feels like it’s almost Christmas.
Ya’ll there are 90 days left in this year. A lot can happen in 90 days but it could also just be gone in the blink of an eye if we’re not careful. Sometimes I’m tempted to waste them away, excited for a fresh start of a new year. But God gives us the opportunity for a fresh start with new mercies every day. I am committed to finishing the year well.
I always set intentions at the beginning of the year, and many of mine revolved around my one little word, rest. Most of my monthly/weekly/daily goals for the year are set based off these intentions which are broad enough to work with changes and real life that comes up throughout the year. Here’s what I started 2019 with:
- Rest in secure in God.
- Cultivating a life of less
- Drawing from an overflow of rest
- Listing to my body and heart
- Resting and rejoicing in change and growth
As I look back on these today, it’s really interesting to see how these have subtly impacted so many decisions. I’m thankful to still be feeling positively about my journey with rest. To be honest, I had no idea how this was going to go.
September was a month of crazy and fast paced life for our family – we adopted a puppy, almost every weekend included MU football, and I started volunteering for an organization that helps fight human trafficking. Our days were filled to the brim with all the normal things of life and college students and book studies and multiple vet visits for each dog. Man, it’s a hard and good life.
October goals just seem to fall into place based on the things we have going on. I’m thankful for months like this.
Monthly Goals
- Host a DOPE Tailgate for Mizzou’s Homecoming – Our love of hosting and Mizzou collide. We help to host a big tailgate once a year and our family and friends all come in for it. I cannot wait!
- Wrap Up Current Reads – I’m reading way too many books at one time, so the goal is just to get some of these knocked out.
- Delete Podcasts – I tend to subscribe to all podcasts recommended to me. This is just me needing to take back my time on ones that aren’t truly my faves.
- Decorate the house with autumn decor – I mean, obviously.
- Regularly post on my blog and Instagram – Just a little accountability for what I’m wanting to share in this space and on Instagram.
- Create a work and personal Trello board – I’ve been a Trello fan for the past 5 years, but I just watched on Kimberly Ann Jimenez on YouTube and I really want to implement some of her strategies for using it for to-dos and project workflows.
- Visit the sunflowers @ MU South Farm -I’ve lived in here for so long without knowing that a sunflower farm exists so. close. to me. I’m really hoping I can make it out to see them.
Weekly Goals
- Prep in advance for Compass 31 Launches – I mentioned above that I started volunteering and I just want to be intentional and prayerful about the products we launch and posts we share online.
- Prep our meal plan each week and use pick up for groceries – I hate grocery shopping but I’m not normally head-of-the-game enough for picking up groceries once a week. Hoping to give it a try in October.
- Weekly Sabbath – This has basically been on my list every month this year and even though it’s not perfect, it’s still such an improvement from where I was a year ago.
Daily Goals
- No spend – I’m just hoping to reign in the unnecessary spending, eating out, extras a bit, so just starting with a refresh.
- Weigh ins – Just holding myself accountable to for healthy eating.
- Close Apple Watch Rings – This goes without saying. Looking to hit some goals in October.
Now it’s your turn. What are you prioritizing in October?
Aug 25, 2019 | Goal Setting
This post has been a long time coming. Some of my favorite bloggers have shared their lists of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days over the past couple years and I’ve been wanting to join in, however, I have been holding off on getting started because I wasn’t sure exactly how it fit into the monthly and yearly goals. I finally got around to starting my list in February but wasn’t posting much on the blog at that time. Now that I’m back to blogging more regularly, I thought it would be fun to share my rendition here and then also add a link (which you can find just above the search bar on the right side) so that I can continually update as I’m ticking them off.
I started on February 20, 2019 so the challenge will end on November 17, 2021. I’ve already crossed 12 items of the list and I’m hoping to pick up steam from here.
Create a list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 2.75 years (February 20,2019)- Unplug completely for 24 Hours
- Get a massage
- Plant a flower garden
- Consolidate email addresses
Watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup (June 2019 – WE WON!)- Release floating lanterns
- Camp for the first time
- Eat food from a food truck
- Meditate with Headspace for 30 days in a row
See a shooting star (July 2019 – Hamilton)- Take a personal day from work
- Make a list of restaurants in Columbia and rate them
- Make a list of date ideas
- Go to a Christmas Tree farm
- Go to a sunflower field
- Go to Roots and Blues
- Go to a Blues game
- See a comedian live
- Go to a concert
- Get professional photos taken
Serve at church regularly (Fall 2019 – Leading a Small Group)- Find out my blood type
- Go to 10 new coffee shops (0/10)
Participate in a Trivia Night (June 2019 – Fuzzy’s)- Get a tattoo
- Finish my cross stitch quilt
- Go to a craft retreat or event
- Scrapbook an event for someone else
Host a craft night (February 2019 – Prayer Binders)- Organize my baby photos into albums
- Shoot 30 days of videos
- Learn calligraphy or brush lettering
- Year photo books/Project Life
- Take an online course
- Take a photography course
- Journal every day for a month
Take a watercolor class (May 2019 with Boheme School of Artistry)- Watch and photograph a sunrise
- Watch and photograph a sunset
- Complete 1000 gifts
Create a one year editorial calendar for the blog (July 2019)- New blog photos of myself
- Take someone’s photos
- Write 8 faith-related blog posts (0/8)
- Photography blog series
- Publish a YouTube or IG Video
- Double my blog views
- Have a guest post written on my blog
- Post a house tour on the blog
- Share a capsule wardrobe
- Go on 20 photoshoots (0/20)
- Watch 5 of Kevin’s favorite movies (0/5)
- Re-read the Harry Potter series
- Read all the books on my shelf
- Host a book club
- Read 50 new books (9/50 – The Five Intentions // Atomic Habits // The Path Between Us // The More of Less // Everybody Always // Girl, Stop Apologizing // A Love Letter Life // Lean In // The Coddling of the American Mind )
- Watch 5 TV Show Series (0/5)
- Watch Gone with the Wind
- Watch all 7 Harry Potter movies
- Go to a movie by myself
- Go on a vacation with family
- Go on a girl’s trip
- Visit a national park
- Travel with another couple
Stay in an Air BnB ( August 2019 – Lake of the Ozarks)- Visit NYC
- Renew my passport
- Visit another country
- Rent a car
- Visit Waco and Magnolia Market
- Purchase Lululemon leggings
Buy polarized sunglasses (February 2019 – Ray Bans)- Pay off Student Loans
- Have a no spend month
Buy a new car (May 27, 2019 – CRV)See a counselor regularly (2019)- Take a spin class
- Go on a hike
- Run a 5K
- Run a 10K
- Complete a half marathon
- Hit my move goal for 30 days straight
- Try Whole30
- Create a gallery wall
- Buy a new dresser
- Paint the trim and doors at our house
- Declutter the basement
- Host 3 big tailgates (0/3)
- Host a small group
- Host Friendsgiving
- Help someone pull off a surprise
- Send someone flowers
- Send Christmas Cards (0/2)
- Mail 10 Letters (0/10)
- Give 5 Just Because gifts (0/5)
- Bake 3 Birthday Cheesecakes (0/3)
- Try a new restaurant in town (May 2019 – Flyover)
- Make 10 Pinterest Recipes (0/10)
- Pay for a stranger’s meal
- Leave a 100% tip
There you have it! Let’s hope I can check all of these off before November of next year!
Jul 2, 2019 | Goal Setting
Hi, Hello, it’s been a minute!
I’ve been all over the place trying to find a balance in time online and social media this year. I won’t say that I have it all figured out at this point, but I definitely feel a gravitational pull back to the blog, even if no where else. It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the year already and that there is so much that I haven’t shared. I plan on re-capping the last couple months soon, but for now it’s time for some monthly goals!
July Goals
Monthly
- Try out a subscription box – I’ve had my eye on subscription boxes for a while and both this one and this one have come highly recommended to me. Don’t think I could go wrong with either.
- Celebrate 4th of July with Friends – We can’t wait to take a couple days off work this week to spend some much needed time with friends. I’m hoping to even create a photo book with some of our favorite moments from the weekend.
- Celebrate my people well – A couple of my favorite people have birthdays in July and I want to celebrate them well.
- Catch up on the last 6th months of Project Life – The blog isn’t the only thing I’ve taken time away from, so I’m jumping back on the Project Life bandwagon as well.
- Move photos from my phone to my hard drive – I do this about every six months, so once I get all the photos printed for Project Life, this will be my next step.
- Finish my selfie mini book – I took Kristin’s Summer of Selfies Mini Album Class and I want to finish strong.
- Memorize two verses of scripture – I’m wanting to start working toward more scripture memorization, so this month I’m working on this one: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
- Create a weekly to-do list/habit tracker – I’m using my outlook and iPhone calendars for my appointments these days, but I’m having a hard time keeping track of my regular to-do lists, so this month, I’m hoping to come up with a better solution.
Weekly
- Exercise 3x/week
- Blog 3x/week – I’m hoping to get the blog back in action with some more regular posts.
- Weekly Sabbath – One of my biggest goals for the year is to have a consistent day of rest. The beginning half of the year was spent doing research and trying out different things to see what worked and to practice implementation.
Daily
- Track food and exercise with My Fitness Pal
- Daily Bible Reading + Prayer
What are your goals for July?
Jan 8, 2019 | Goal Setting, One Little Word 2019 | Rest
For the past three years, I’ve set goals for the year (and month) using the Cultivate What Matters Powersheets. It is always such an incredible experience of reviewing the victories, fruit, and down falls of the previous year in order to make intentional goals for the next. I typically carve out time between Christmas and New Years to sit down and work on the Prep Pages. Writing it all out really helps me to solidify my plan and hold myself accountable.
My process for setting goals, always starts with a word of intention, or a One Little Word. I mentioned last year that I’ve chosen six words so far, and 2019 is no different. The word Rest starting whispering itself to me in September and I officially decided on it in November. As I considered this word, I really had a couple things in mind for why I chose it and how I wanted it to impact my 2019 goals. Here are some of the overarching themes for this year:
- Resting secure in God.
- Cultivating a life of less.
- Drawing from an overflow of rest.
- Listening to my body and heart.
- Resting and rejoicing in change and growth.
This is likely going to be the most challenging one little word, but I can’t wait for all that this year holds.
Here are my 2019 Goals for the year of REST.
Goal 1: Cultivate a life-giving home and marriage.
Why? To continue growing our marriage and make our home a place of rest.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: I want our home to be a place of comfort and rest for everyone. 2018 brought a lot of opportunities to have friends and family in our home and I would LOVE to continue that into 2019. I also want to make it more of a place for us by hanging and making sentimental items more visible.
Mini Goals:
- Love + serve
- Be present at home
- Create a gallery wall of our favorite places + family photos
- Get professional photos taken
- Regular date nights
3 Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): Paint the craft room in gracious greige (12/31/2018), find a basket or a place to put my phone while I’m at home (by 1/31/2018), and browse through gallery walls online (12/29/2018)
Encouraging Words: Proverbs 31:10-31, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, 1 Peter 4:8-9
How I’ll celebrate at the end of 2019: Host a gathering and thank God for a place for people.
Goal 2: Intentionally limit consumption of social media and self-help information.
Why? The information I take in from social media and non-fiction books tends to lead to more mental clutter and longer to-do lists. As I consider what it looks like to rest, limiting these things seems like it could make a big difference in this area.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: This could completely change my life and my relationships. I often feel like I want to slow down my pace of life and I think this would be a great way to start.
Mini Goals:
- Limit non-fiction (specifically self-help) books to 2 for the whole year
- Limit screen time and scrolling
- Unsubscribe from emails
- Refrain from taking on new creative projects
3 Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): Deactivate Facebook (12/31/2018), unsubscribe from emails as they come through (1/1/2018), and review current list of podcasts and narrow down (12/30/2018).
Encouraging Words: Proverbs 4:23
How I’ll celebrate at the end of 2019: Happy dance, because this one is ALWAYS on my list.
Goal 3: Focus on deeper Bible study and prayer.
Why? To cultivate a stronger relationship with the Lord at a slower pace than I have in the past.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: This changes everything because it will help me to have a more in tune relationship with the Lord and help me to live it out and be more willing to share his Word. More Joy.
Mini Goals:
- New morning routine
- Deeper study of 3 books of the Bible
- Scripture Memorization
3 Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): Research habits and morning routines (by 1/31/2018), prayerfully choose 3 books of the Bible to study(12/31/2018), prep my prayer binder for the new year (12/29/2018).
Encouraging Words: Psalm 16:11
How I’ll celebrate at the end of 2019: A day full of random acts of kindness.
Goal 4: Steward and take better care of my body.
Why? To live a more healthy lifestyle and live in better stewardship of this body that the Lord has given me.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: I’ll increase my time outside and moving my body, which will create an overall healthier lifestyle and more self-confidence. Plus, Chloe will enjoy lots more walks.
Mini Goals:
- Kick the soda habit
- Meal Prep Sundays
- Exercise goals (10K with Mom in March)
- Oils
3 Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): Start weening off caffeine (12/15/2018), create a loose exercise plan for the year (1/1/2019), and buy meal prep containers (by 1/31/2019).
Encouraging Words: Romas 12:1, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
How I’ll celebrate at the end of 2019: I’d love to celebrate with an awesome hike.
Goal 5: Love things above, not of this word.
Why? To steward our money well and continue paying down our debt quickly.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: Our debt prevents us from saying “yes” to things we’d like to. Having financial freedom would be a game changer on so many amazing levels.
Mini Goals:
- No spend month(s)
- Capsule Wardrobe
- More ethical purchases
- Intentional gift giving
3 Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): Print off a Debt Free chart and fill it out (12/1/2018), review current budget (12/29/2018), and review our debt snowball plan (1/1/2019)
Encouraging Words: Matthew 6:19-21
How I’ll celebrate at the end of 2019: I’d love to celebrate meeting financial goals by enjoying a fancy dinner out.
Goal 6: Cultivate rest by having a weekly Sabbath.
Why? To practice rest as a rhythm and not a rescue and to fill up my cup before it’s empty.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: There are so many good things to come from this. I’ll be more refueled and refreshed to do His good work, which will positively affect all of my relationships and interactions.
Mini Goals:
- Take each Sunday as a day set aside for the Lord – limiting work, social media, and shopping on Sundays in order to leave time to get outside, go on dates, and do fun things.
- Study what the Word has to say about Sabbath.
3 Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): Research Sabbath in the Bible and online (by 1/31/2019) , start praying for my weekly Sabbath (1/1/2019) and mark Sabbath days on my calendar (1/6/2019)!
Encouraging Words: Hebrews 4
How I’ll celebrate at the end of 2019: I’ll celebrate with a day-long retreat and thank God for a wonderful year of resting in Him!
Shout out to Taylor for painting me the most beautiful Bible to make my word visible every. single. day. this year.
There you have it – six (admittedly) huge goals all aimed at finding rest in Him throughout 2019. Cheers to an amazing year.
