Goals + Contentment Challenge
I’ve never started off a year like this before!
Around the clock nursing, exhausted, learning the rhythms of being a mama of a newborn and a 1.5 year old and a 3 year old… I have to say, it is not the norm for me but it feels SO good.
My norm on January 1st? Putting away all Christmas decor, decluttering, dreaming up my wildest and best work goals, eating black eyed peas and collards, going on a run, feeling fresh and ready to GO.
Today? Being. Just being mama. Napping. Resting. Yes, dreaming. But mostly eating as much as I want (still eating black eyed peas and collards!), nursing a hungry baby, watching Milly and Lyndon play / wrestle each other, and being HOME. No decluttering or re-setting or going for a run like usual. Being thankful that I’m smack in the middle of maternity leave, reminding me of what matters the absolute most this year: my family.
Also, today begins the Contentment Challenge: no shopping for unnecessary stuff for 3 months! It’s not too late for you to join us - there’s a TON of people doing this together. Go read this blogpost to download your free guide and get inspiring emails weekly! And check out the #contentmentchallenge hashtag to see who is in on it!
With that in mind, Quarter One is all about being quiet and content. Maternity leave, the Contentment Challenge, and focusing on the people right in front of me. Which is so fitting with my word of the year, and hopefully it will keep me from distractions as I really focus in on it.
MY WORD OF THE YEAR IS
Delight
I prayed through my word of the year quite a bit, an ended up landing here because of the two definitions I found in the dictionary:
To take great pleasure in
To please someone greatly
This year, I want to simply take great pleasure in the goodness of God around me. To enjoy and be grateful for my home. To slow down and watch my babies grow. To realize that these are the little years, the exhausting years, the wonderful years.
This year, I also want to love others well. When I read the dictionary’s definition “to please someone greatly,” my spirit translated that into “love others well” or “love others greatly!”
So, boiling it down, I want to take pleasure in all the Lord has done for me and DELIGHT in it, while also being very intentional about DELIGHTING others and loving them well. I hope that’s what 2019 looks like for me.
To be honest, that’s why I launched this site - to serve and to love YOU. To speak truth and lessons learned.
With that in mind, I share my 2019 GOALS:
Delight in Maternity Leave
Play with each of my children
Give myself grace in healing, nursing, and becoming a newborn mama all over again
Enjoy not working!
Check in with the team / work as I feel inspired to work
Have our most purposeful year of Nancy Ray Photography
Photograph 6 Weddings
4 Quarterly Planning Meetings with the team + individuals
3 Growth Activities (A book, a conference, etc)
Give away a WEDDING! (Yes this is coming!)
Reset our Personal Finances with JOY
Complete the Contentment Challenge in Q1
Create a 2019 - 2020 Financial Gameplan for Paying off our house
Quarterly Meetings with Will for our Annual Saving, Giving and Spending Goals
Monthly Budget Committee Meetings with Will
Be a friend!
Host a girls night
Monthly accountability partner check-ins
Plan 4 Minki hangouts (Minkies = my 3 best friends)
Have 1 couple (minimum) over for dinner each quarter
Create a life-giving home
Read A Life Giving Home with the Nancy Ray Book Club throughout the year
Weekly Questions with Will (Blogpost coming on this)
Mind-Body-Soul time with each girl daily (Blogpost coming on this, too!)
Quarterly de-clutter and donation run
Speak Truth & Teach
Launch a Podcast and speak truth once a week
Blog Weekly
Send encouraging emails
Speak at 3 conferences
Take care of myself!
Read 6 (maybe 7) books with the Nancy Ray Book Club
Join the YMCA or Run a Race
Prioritize sleep when I can
Maintain personal photos every month
All in all, I have 7 main goals for 2019, each with sub-categories that will fulfill those goals. In a year I’m learning to be a mama of 2 little ladies and one little man, that feels just right.
I can already tell that 2019 is going to be a special year. I’m coming in quiet on maternity leave, and I love that. My hope is to start this year quiet and rooted, to listen to and to love those right in front of me. And then to let the Lord lead and guide me in every endeavor, growing along the way.
If you blog your yearly goals, I would love for you to leave a comment including a link below! It is so encouraging to read others goals. And if you don’t have a blog, simply share your word of the year or one goal you hope to accomplish, so we can cheer one another on!