Last Year’s Goals

Last year, 2018, was the first year that I sat down and thought through the things I wanted to accomplish over the next 12 months. It was different and restored a kind of order to the chaos of motherhood. I have made new goals for this year, but I wanted to give an update on last year’s goals first.

I had three categories for my goals last year-Personal, Spiritual, and Financial.

Personal

Read 12 books
I actually read 13! You can read all about them on my post from last week.

Complete a Whole30
I did not complete this goal. My youngest son had some dietary sensitivities which required that I severely limit my diet so his skin could heal while I continued to breastfeed. I felt it would be unhealthy if I placed further restrictions on my already difficult diet.

Learn a new skill
I became a Group Wellness Instructor through FiTour and am employed at my local YMCA! I currently teach Dance Fitness on Mondays at 10:45 am and sub as needed. In the future, I hope to be teaching more classes in several different modes!

Workout 2-3 times a week
I did this goal, for the most part…barring being out of town or being sick or my kids being sick.

Blog once a week
Ah…another goal I didn’t complete. I started off strong for the first few months and then just didn’t make the time or space to write content.

Spiritual

Complete Awakening devotional
I didn’t complete this goal. I started this devotional, but it turned out it just wasn’t for me.

Read Scripture everyday
I didn’t come close to doing this either. In the midst of motherhood, working, and doing activities,  there are times I simply don’t make Jesus a priority. It’s the truth. Praise God that He is gracious and comes to me when I don’t come to Him. This is something I want to work on this year. I am hoping to establish a daily and weekly spiritual routine I can accomplish most of the time. Then, I will gradually change what I do during that time until it is the spiritual time I want it to be. I may post more on this later this year.

Financial

Save $500-$1000 in an emergency fund
I used some of our tax refund to establish this savings. We finished under $1000, but still over the minimum I wanted to have in there. Yay!

Pay off one credit card
Due to some financial difficulties, we had balances on both of our credit cards when we started 2018. We actually paid both of them off, but we had a few charges we chose to make that added a balance to one of them. But mine remained completely paid! I plan to cancel it soon to make sure it stays that way!

Secure life insurance for Phil
This didn’t happen this year. It just wasn’t in the budget to have another monthly expense come out. Maybe this year!

 

Now, some of you may have been keeping count. Of the 10 goals I made, I only completed 5 of them. That could have made me angry or depressed or down on myself. But I actually felt none of those things. I was able to evaluate my goals pretty objectively. I was excited that I had accomplished some goals that I wasn’t sure I would be able to-like learning a new skill! Hopefully, this will give you hope…that you can evaluate things, like goals that you have set, from a place of GRACE! As a follower of Jesus Christ, that is where I stand, in grace!

Did you have goals last year? How about this year?

 

Elise

New Goals for a New Year

With a new year, comes the opportunity to start fresh. Many choose to make resolutions, but I prefer to make goals. A goal has to be measurable and attainable. Resolutions are good-they are hopes and dreams-but frequently, they are only generic ideas. For instance: “I will eat better.” “I won’t spend as much money.” “I will be a kinder person.” These are all good things to want to do, but how do you know you are doing them?

 

Goals work better for me because they provide a clear picture of my progress towards my dreams. So, without further ado, here are my 2018 goals.

Personal:
-Read twelve books
-Work out 2-3 times a week
-Learn a new skill
-Go on two getaways with my husband
-Blog once a week
-Complete a Whole30

Spiritual:
-Complete the Awaken devotional
-Read Scripture every day (no certain amount)

Financial:
-Save up a $500-1000 emergency fund
-Pay off one credit card
-Secure life insurance for Phillip

I made a bullet journal style goal page in my current journal to help me keep track of how I am doing on my different goals. It doesn’t look perfect, as my hand-lettering is still a work in progress, but it will be a fun way to keep up with my goals over the year.

Here is a little bit more about each goal I am aiming for this year:

read twelve books
I have always loved reading. I remember keeping a book hidden behind my bed so I could sneak in chapters while I was doing my homework in my room. (sorry Mom!) I have a whole list of books I want to read, so I plan to include a mix of fiction and non-fiction books over the course of the year. When I get half of them done, I plan to do a separate post reviewing them.

work out 2-3 times a week
I danced my whole childhood, so I never had to think about being active. Now, after having two babies, I find that I am not as fit as I would like. I want to to be stronger and healthier. So, I used Christmas money to pay for a program at the YMCA called A New You (once again-I am just looking to be healthier) which provides me with an initial assessment, 6-7 personal training sessions and a final assessment. I am really excited to get some experience working out and have someone push me as I start this journey.

learn a new skill
I sometimes feel lost in motherhood. It isn’t that I don’t love my kids or that I don’t love being at home with them, but sometimes I feel like I have been consumed by being a mom. So this year, I want to learn to do something. I am considering learning how to use my DSLR camera or Adobe Illustrator, or maybe something else. I left this open-ended because I haven’t decided yet.

go on two getaways with my husband
Time away is especially important as the parents of two little ones. We don’t get space and time to ourselves much during the week, so these getaways are important times to be able to look in each other’s eyes and simply talk without interruptions or play games without fending off an enthusiastic three year old who wants to join in. We have talked about the plans for the first one in late March/early April. The other will probably be sometime in July/August.

blog once a week
I really enjoy writing, so I want to make a goal to work on this creative outlet. Hopefully, I will find fun and meaningful content to share with everyone. (If you have something you would like me to blog about, feel free to post in the comments.)

complete a Whole30
I have cut various foods out of my diet over the last few years, but I have never done a complete reset. I am interested to compare how I feel with it all out, and how different foods effect me as I add them back in. If you want to join me so I have a Whole30 buddy, let me know! I plan to share this journey on here whenever I start. (I am thinking March.)

complete the Awaken devotional
My dad got me this devotional for Christmas, and I am enjoying the little, but deep moments Priscilla has in her book.

read Scripture every day
I didn’t want to stress myself out by prescribing a certain amount, but I do want to challenge myself to be IN the Word more consistently. I haven’t succeeded over the past two weeks, but having the goal and doing it half the time is an okay place to start.

save up a $500-$1000 emergency fund
Ever since my husband lost his job a year and a half ago, we have been battling our credit card debt. It isn’t out of control or anything, but I would prefer to have NONE. The first step of this is having an emergency fund, so that we don’t feel like we have to turn to the credit card if a large, unexpected purchase comes up.

pay off one credit card
This goes with the one above. I want to pay both off, but I’m not sure that is a financially feasible this year. So if it happens awesome, but tackling just one is what I am shooting for.

secure life insurance for Phillip
I hope this doesn’t seem morbid, but if something were to happen to Phillip, I would have no option but to go back to work full-time immediately. So I want to get insurance which would allow me to live for a few years without making any major changes, if God decided to take him home.

What are some of your goals this year?