A Fresh Start

January is just another month in the calendar, but in so many ways it's the fresh start that I look forward to all year. I'm a goals oriented girl so I love to sit down in late December when the dust settles after Christmas and make some goals for the upcoming year. I make all kinds of goals with full awareness that I won't reach them all. There's heaps of grace that comes with these goals, so I don't see this process as something that burdens me or hangs over me for the twelve following months. I know so many people write off New Years resolutions because of that, so maybe they're not for you, but I think if you can approach them with grace-filled ambition and hope for the future, you'll get a lot out of the experience.

I wrote out so many detailed goals for all areas of my life and now I'm three weeks into living them and I've already failed so many times! But I've also seen a lot of growth and some new habits forming that I'm proud of. I've left out a few of my goals that felt too personal to share here, but here's the basic list that I created after much prayer and thought in the waning days of 2018. 

Spiritual

1. Memorize scripture - a new portion (1-5 verses) of scripture every month 

2. Get back into reading theology / Christian living books regularly (once every month or two), cut back on fiction (after reading all seven Harry Potters between October and December I'm ready to take a break!)

3. Pray daily for 15 minutes or more 

4. Study humility  - read books, listen to sermons, search God's word

5. Have my quiet time every morning from 5:30-6:30

6. Have morning Bible time with the kids several times a week

Parenting

1. Do catechism with the kids consistently

2. Spend one on one time with each of the kids regularly

3. Don't be on my phone when I'm with them 

4. Thrive in patience and grace

5. Talk instead of yell!

6. Soft voice, soft heart

7. Work on manners and courtesy with the kids 

8. Morning or evening Bible time with the kids regularly 

9. Give the kids concrete homemaking tasks (clean up, laundry, making beds, cooking, etc)

Ministry

1. Meet with at least one girl from church each week in a discipleship capacity 

2. Participate in caucus (peer discipleship with two other woman) every 2 weeks

3. Participate in small group every 2 weeks

4. Lead Sunday school once per month

5. Invite friends and neighbours over several times a month

Marriage

1. Work on not defending/explaining when I've hurt Brad and first apologizing sincerely and completely with no strings attached - humbly!

2. Regular date nights or days (lunch dates for the win!) once or twice a month

3. Pray before bed each night 

Homemaking 

1. Continue to pursue minimalism, control clutter

2. Keep our home organized and tidy

3. Give the kids concrete homemaking tasks (clean up, laundry, making beds, cooking, etc)

4. Clear out our closets, cupboards, under our bed (cupboards already tackled in early January!)

5. Paint and decorate the bathroom 

6. Bake bread weekly, studty up on sourdough (follow ym Instagram stories for updates!)

7. Cook through my Ottolenghi Simple cookbook and use my others regularly

8. Serve a salad or veg option with every supper and lunch 

9. Complete 2018 + Japan photo books (urgh, so behind)

Physical 

1. Exercise 3x per week (HIIT style, break a sweat, either at the gym or home)

2. Serve a salad or veg option with every supper + lunch 

3. Intermittent fasting 5x per week minimum (11-7, 12-8, etc)

4. Drink plenty of water

5. No alcohol for the month of January and 1x per week thereafter (I did have wine once this month at a dinner party with friends from France!)

6. Cut back on sweets

7. Wake at 5:30am 

There you have it! I'm aiming for these things, hoping for a healthier, happier life for myself and my kids in 2019. I'd love to hear what you're planning for 2019!