2018 Quick Review

Goal Setting Part 2:

Go here for Part 1:

Through this whole process there is one area I have had to be cautious. It is my desire to over-achieve and reach some man-made standard. I am usually really hard on myself. I am usually thinking, I should be doing more. I don’t want to consider reality and tell myself often that I am failing. A gracious friend of mine reminded me that God wants my heart to be on knowing Him, not reaching my man-made standard. I had to change my focus by going to Him in prayer, seeking His wisdom, and wise counsel from trusted people in my life.

That is where I started the first week of 2018 before setting my goals for the year. My word for the year was Intentional.

Before I dive in and tell you a little about how I got here I thought I’d share a few scripture verses that have come to mind as I have been working through reflection and planning into the new year. Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord established his steps.”

My 2018 goals and where I ended up:

My word for the year:

INTENTIONAL. I wanted to be intentional in all areas. Intentional Bible reading, prayer, home life, business, and weight loss.

1. Finish my read through the Bible in a year plan.

I had attempted to read through the Bible in a year for at least the last 5 years. I would make it a few weeks and them miss so many days I would quit and go back to a short devotional with a short scripture to focus on. Which worked for that season of my life. After all, I was nursing a baby, homeschooling, and sleep deprived most days for a LONG time. It was finally time in June of 2017 when the Lord put on my heart to start the plan and finish it, even if it meant it would take more than a year. That was super hard for my perfectionist mindset to work through. Guess what? I finally finished it about a week ago! I was so excited and could hardly believe it. By God’s grace He allowed me to read through the Bible in about a year and a half.

2. Grow in intentional and consistent prayer.

I started 2018 reading 21 Days of Prayer for Your Business by Monique McClean. I used it for my business and my personal life. Then I set out to figure out what I could do to keep the momentum through the rest of the year. I finally settled on creating my own prayer journal. I am beyond thankful for the progress the Lord allowed in this area of my life.

3. Find joy in everyday life again.

At the beginning of 2018 I was still and in some ways still am recovering from the effects of 2016-2017. Our family went through a major shift, constant chaos, and utter heart ache. I was really just going through the motions and living each day on day at a time barely coming up for air. Anyway, as 2018 started I felt led to present, rejoice in the blessings that were right here in front of me. To praise God for His faithfulness, plan, and design. The previous years had been me just trusting and not a whole lot of rejoicing. God changed that for me in 2018. I learned to rejoice in the unknown. I saw that even if things aren't according to my plan I can trust the He has one and I know it is WAY better than anything I could dream up. Even is it doesn't look like it now. Learning to delight in where God has called me to be. I could chose to focus on the good, the true, the lovely, and I can pray about the rest of it and trust He is faithful.

4. Learn how to use social media to grow my business.

I learned a lot about how to use Instagram, and InstaStories (my favorite way to share.) I started a blog, then put it on the back burner and didn't do anything with it most of the year. I decided to go for it a couple of weeks ago, here we are. I also wanted to become more consistent in being present online. This is still a huge area of growth for me but I made progress here over the last year, laying a good foundation going into the new year.

5. Lose weight.

I started the year strong and went in waves throughout the year. I had lost over 10 pounds in the first 3 months of 2018. Then I maintained the rest of the year. Part of this has to do with some health issues I have been working through before focusing on more weight loss. I can’t wait to share what this will look like in 2019.

It is sometimes discouraging in the day to day, especially on the days it was hard to see any good. I would remind myself that I am relying on God’s timing not my own. That my desire is to walk in His will and not my own.

My prayer is this encourages you to see the progress you’ve made over the last year, big or small. Also, that you would know that striving for progress or completion does not mean perfection. It’s ok to move towards daily faithfulness in the small things and growing little bits at a time.