We have had quite a relaxing New Years Day around my house. We stayed up until midnight with the kids, drank some sparkling juice, and all crashed sometime around 1am. Allie had a friend stay the night, so I made sure to tell everyone that this morning was absolutely a sleeping in kinda morning! I got a new waffle maker for Christmas and have used it once already. I thought about being a picture perfect mom and waking up early to make everyone waffles. I changed my mind real quick. I slept in and then laid around watching tv and playing on my phone until about 10. I let everyone eat cereal or pastries for breakfast and starting making our big meal of the day. We had the traditional meal of fried pork chops, collards, hoppin johns, and cornbread. It has been a great day.

I am currently sitting here thinking about this coming year. Everyone has gone to bed at my house. Gary spent some of his Christmas money on a set of walkie -talkies. He gave one to his sister and he doesn’t quite grasp the concept that he doesn’t have to yell into them. It is quite entertaining!! 😂😂😂

This First day of the new year is symbolic- this is the day that people tend to set goals for themselves. We didn’t really talk about goals with Gary, since he is only 8. Allie did share some of her resolutions for the year and I am going to do my best to hold her accountable.

It is very easy to set big goals for yourself. Sometimes they are so big, that we quickly fall short and then just remove that goal from our radar completely. What a sad cycle!! I was thinking about the goals that I have for myself- I want to make them attainable. If that means starting out small and reevaluating in three months… so be it.

Why not take baby steps to have the best possible chance of success???

I wanted to share a few of my goals with you-

1) Bible Reading- I have always been very honest about this being an area that I struggle in. I can read devotions and verses no problem. I feel like I fall short with the diving in and really studying to go to a deeper level. I have no problem doing so when I am preparing to speak in Youth, but on a day to day basis… I’m not there. I also feel like I read chunks of verses with different devotionals throughout the year, but when was the last time that I read my Bible through completely? I started my Bible in one year plan today!

2) I want to grow. I want to grow my businesses. I want to grow my faith. I want to nurture my relationships. I want to be present. I tend to be like Martha who is busy with the details and not focused on the Lord right in front of her. I want to keep my focus in check.

3) I want to blog more faithfully. There have been many times this year that I thought about writing a post. I held back. Sometimes it was because I was busy, others because life wasn’t going too great and I didn’t want to sound depressing. When I go back and read my first post, I am reminded that God very clearly told me to start this blog. I need to be willing to be transparent in my struggles. My goal is to absolutely write more! (I’d love if you would subscribe! 😁)

4) I want to be a better mom. As a homeschool mom, sometimes it’s difficult to keep everything balanced. Add into that equation that we are also our kids pastors and it can make roles blurred. I attended a conference this year where a speaker shared about finding joy in your everyday. She shared about how you are going to want your children to want to come home for the holidays and visits later in life. I can’t live each day worried about completing a checklist as their teacher and never set aside time to just relax and be mom. So, my goal this year is to be “just mom” a little more!

I have several more, but I’m not going to bore you with all of the details. In a quick summary, I want to save more, give more to missions, and drink more water!!

I’m believing that my goals are attainable and that it is something that I can stick with! Like I said earlier, I can always reevaluate in three months and see where adjustments need to be made! Making small changes toward the better is certainly more rewarding than making no changes at all!!

What are your goals this year? Maybe you will inspire me??