The year I turned 30, I made a list of dreams and goals for the year - and a separate list for the decade to come. I still have that list somewhere, and I am so glad I worked so hard to be purposeful in that season of my life. In the last few years, I've learned that in this season of life, making month-to-month goals works better for me.
January is here, and I have some dreams and goals I hope to accomplish as the month goes by.
ONE. I finally settled on my Bible study plan for this year. I went all over the board a ridiculous number of times, trying to figure out my forward path. I have loved working slowly through Genesis using the Precept USA study. My initial plan was to continue into Exodus, using Precept's study for it. Then I considered reading through the Bible in two years. Then I considered a handful of other things! I had settled on the Bible-in-two-years plan and then felt a nudge from the Lord to not do that, but rather to go on into Exodus. I am really excited to keep moving forward with the next step in history beyond where I've been invested for the past year. I don't have a timeline goal for finishing Exodus. I want to take whatever time I need to learn well.
TWO. I've noticed that the simultaneous blessing and curse of a camera in my phone is that I rarely carry or use my "big" camera anymore. It's a blessing, because the phone is much easier to have on hand, and because I always have it, I've been able to capture things I know I would have otherwise missed. The curse of it is that I've never full learned all my DSLR camera is capable of offering. I've gotten lazy with photography, and I'd like to do better. I found this free YouTube course, and I'll start here. I may end up doing more later, but this is what I feel like I have time for right now.
THREE. At the end of last year, my friend Julie loaned me Tsh Oxenreider's book At Home in the World, and I enjoyed reading about her year of world travels. It inspired me in my own travel planning - and in my writing, too. I actually started writing about some of our travels because of how her work inspired my heart! I would love to read another book this month, so I am starting with a book called Redemptive Compassion by Lois Tupyi. Lois just retired from a Love INC affiliate in Idaho, and I went through one of her virtual trainings on this topic last year. I have wanted to read the book and think it is a great way to kick off a new year. Ryan and I are going to study this one together, and I'm excited for that, too. I'm also going to launch into a year-long book challenge. Yesterday I started reading my first book in that challenge: Like a Winter Snow by Lindsay Harrel. I'm not sure how many books I'll get through in that list this month, but we'll see what time allows!
FOUR. For the first several years of our marriage, we were fastidious about our weekly date nights. The pandemic derailed us, WillowBridge kept us off the rails, and the combo of moving/searching for work/raising a puppy didn't help us find the rails last year. So we are determined to get back to dating regularly this year! We don't have to make it the same night every week. We don't have a schedule that permits that very well. But we can make it happen ONE of the nights out of every week! Happily, today is our 121st monthiversary, so we will make tonight a date night!
FIVE. I am speaking at a women's retreat in March, and while that feels like a long way off, it's actually very close in the world of speaking! I know the theme the group wants to use and have already been tossing ideas around in my head. My goal for this month is to finish my outline and begin writing.
2 comments:
These are such great goals! Happy January!
Monthly goals work much better for me too. And I too want to use my DSLR more. I reach for my phone too often and my camera is lonely.
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