Goal Setting Party

This weekend seventeen women gathered at our home for a Goal Setting Party. We set aside this time to work through our Powersheets, pray, and plan for 2019. Here is a recap of some of our conversations...

I think goal setting gets a bad rap. It can be mistaken for perfection and a very full to-do list. This is what God says…

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG)

You have been given a unique combination of talent, passion, and influence. The purpose of goal setting is to uncover the things God has for you in this season, and to gain clarity and direction regarding those things.

Jesus was full of grace and truth.

Truth: You can not do it all, and do it well.

Grace: You can do the things God calls you to. 

My sweet friend Jennifer Cashel recently said “I am learning to embrace imperfections while pursuing excellence.”

I love that! We are not expected to be perfect, but we are required to be faithful. God can do big things through faithful people. Our job is to take care of the five loaves and two fish. It’s God’s job to do the miracle. 

Will it be easy? Probably not, the good things rarely are. Chances are if the vision is from God, He will stretch and push you outside of your comfort zone. He does this for our good, not only to grow and increase our capacity, but for the reminder that we are not created to be alone. God created us to be in an intimate relationship with Him. He wants to do life WITH us.

We are also created to be in community. One of the things that excites me the most is seeing people thrive in their purpose. My friend Chelsie parents her boys with astounding kindness, patience, and intentionality. April, Robert, Whitney, and Maribeth are the team that has been entrusted with Well Crafted Retreats. I love the way their individual talents fit perfectly into this vision! My sweet friend Morgan is a worship leader and speaker. Her voice brings chills to my bones and ushers me into a holy space of praising the Lord. Wow!

I marvel at the way God created my friends. I see the incredible things He has put inside each of them. You know what? That doesn’t take away or diminish the things He has put inside of me. So often we look at others, and think "I wish I could sing. I wish I could write. I wish I could (fill in the blank.)" Hear me say this in a gentle, kind voice: be in awe of how God works in other people, but don't compare your life to theirs. We are all in different seasons and parts of our journey. God has good things for you to do. Ask Him what they are, then sink your self into them!

Hebrews 12:1-2 says: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

We are being called to run with endurance and active persistence. Setting small, but meaningful goals is the key to deep-rooted tenacity. We are running a marathon, not a sprint.

I had a dream a few years ago. I was sitting on the most comfortable couch, you know the kind that you sink into and you never want to get up? Jesus was sitting next to me. He looked at me and asked "Do you want to see the story of your life?" He grinned and pulled out the most incredible book I've ever seen. It had artwork and illustrations that I loved. Page by page, He recalled the story of my life, the people I encountered and the small acts of love, kindness, and faithfulness that was shown.

When you sit with Jesus in heaven what story will he recall? What will He say about 2019? God wants you to be His hands and feet. He has big plans for you this year. Will you yield your plans, and ask Him to reveal His?  (This is an incredible devotional regarding this topic!)

This year matters. What we do, how we spend our days matters. We are not striving for perfection or trying to earn God’s love. We are stepping into our God given identity. We are sons and daughters. He is our Father. Everything that is His is ours. Let’s be brave and bold and ask God to do incredible things in and through us this year.

How you may ask? Schedule some time to pray, dream, and plan. Find a quiet room, grab a notebook or Powersheets, pen, and your Bible. 

These were the words of encouragement I gave to the ladies as we began:

1. Have an open mind.

Embrace the Holy Spirit's promptings. If He gives guidance or instruction, do what He says. We need to let go of understand everything, and remember we can't possibly understand the greatness of God's plans. So much peace, freedom, and purpose is found in letting go of control. 

God may tell you to stop doing a good thing. I had a season when God told me no to just about everything. I wanted to volunteer at church He said no, be in a small group He said no, get a part-time job He said no. Those are all good things, but it would have been unwise of me to ignore His guidance. As it turns out, God knows what He is doing. He transformed me that year, and I would have missed it, had I not listened and obeyed.

Big, impossible dreams are good. When my kids were babies they seemed to out grow their clothes every week. God gives us dreams a size too big, so we can grow into them. When He whispers big, wild, crazy things over your life, remember He knows you better than you know yourself. You are far more capable that you can possibly imagine, because you have the One true living God within you. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the grave, lives in you. He is big and powerful and mighty within you.  

2. Pray. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Ask for help, vision, clarity, and guidance. Then trust Him to respond and provide what you need.

3. Embrace baby steps. Good things take time to grow. Healthy routines and habits take time to develop. Be gracious with yourself. It’s okay to go slow. 

I liked this quote but changed it slightly “We overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what God can do in a year.” Trust God to multiply time when it is needed. Be faithful to the work He gives you each day.

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG

If you want help in creating specific goals, my friend Lara is your girl! Here is a link to her BLOG and BOOK Cultivate.

Here are my goals for the year. I hope that by seeing my big picture goals, then the way I practically break them down helps to explain the process. One of the keys to goal setting is to create small, specific goals, then spread them out. You can't do them all at once!

Big Picture Goal: Love Brad well
Daily Goal: Kiss and cuddle every day.
Weekly Goals: Thursday Date Night! We get a babysitter once a month, then do the other dates at home. Sunday Family Sabbath. This day of rest has been so good for our marriage!
Monthly Goal: Breakfast date. This is cost effective because we don't have to pay for a babysitter and breakfast is cheaper than dinner!
Quarterly Goals:
• Re-do the Love Languages test. It's been 12 years since we did it the first time! We'll do this during a date night and talk about the practical ways we can love each other well in this season.
• Read Wife in Pursuit in January.
• Listen to Love & Respect on Audible this summer.
• Do the Cultivate Couples Guide together in December.

Big Picture Goal: Intercession (praying for other people)
Daily Goal: Use Write the Word
Weekly Goals: Read Watchman on the Wall Devotional. I use this to pray for my family because it includes great prompts. Pray for our church on Thursdays.
Monthly Goal: Pray for my kids. I have Bibles for each of them, so once a month I take out their Bible, pray for them, and write notes in the margin.

Big Picture Goal: Year Contentment Challenge
Daily Goal: I'm committed to buying NO clothes, home accessories, or things the kids do not need.
When developing a new habit, I find it most effective to go all in! I do better when I make up my mind and give a 100% no or yes. So here goes to a year of saying NO to shopping! I'm actually really excited about this one!
Monthly Goal: I've asked a friend to check in on me monthly and hold me accountable to this goal.
Quarterly Goal: Read Jen Hatmaker's book 7:An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess this summer.

Big Picture Goal: Love and Celebrate Family and Friends!
This is something I've wanted to do for a long time now, but the days just come and go, and too many celebrations have been missed. I knew I needed a plan to make this happen!

Monthly Goal: Send Birthday cards. My first step was to write birthdays and anniversaries on a perpetual calendar, then I hung it next to my desk. I also purchased a hand full of cards and small gifts to have on hand. At the beginning of the month, I write and address cards, then place them in my paper planner on the date they need to be sent out.
Quarterly Goals: Send grandparents, aunts, and uncles pictures of the kids. I mean who doesn't want to receive adorable pictures every now and then!?
I'm trying to pay more attention to people's love language, and give according to that. I also have a few other ideas, but I don't want to spoil any surprises :)

Big Picture Goal: Giving Goals!
I'm going to be vague in sharing this, but I have the specifics written down for myself. One thing we would like to give to is in June, another is in December, so we are setting aside a set amount of cash each month and putting it in an envelope for those two specific things. We are also committed to giving monthly to a new organization this year. And last but not least, we have a line item in our monthly budget called "Fun Giving!" we use this as God leads through out the month. 

Big Picture Goal: Love Maddie and Dawson!
Daily Goal: One hour of uninterrupted time with them - no phone, chores, or work. Limit saying "Just a second." I have found myself saying this a LOT lately, and I want to kick that habit as much as possible.
Monthly Goals: Have a Saturday one-on-one kid date.
Summer: Host a girls tea party. Brad host a boys build something day.
(Note: I did not add any of this to my January goal list. Remember you can't do it all at once!)

Big Picture Goal: Fully Alive Designs
Daily Goal: Use social media to serve. Pray before posting.
February: Prayerfully create spring and summer design collections.
Monthly Goals: Start writing monthly newsletters in March.
March-April: Create 5 minute teaching videos.

Will I check everything off my list this year? No! But I will feel joy that I did my best, proud that I was intentional, and grateful for God's grace in it all!

So... WHAT ARE YOUR 2019 GOALS?