I LOVE LOVE LOVE a fresh start! My kids all know how much I love Mondays but a new year is a whole new level! Some where along the years I have stopped writing down my goals or resolutions as one may call them but I can’t help myself and still have so many in my mind at all times.
Even as I’m editing this so much already has happened in the few short weeks of January. The Lord has been showing me so many things. I love how he just shows up and leads me, he is so so good. Another big reason I don't have specific goals is because he always surprises me with crazier things that I can ever plan for! He is AWESOME!
I’m starting to focus more on “strategies” in my daily habits versus just only picturing the over all end goal. Over the holidays we had a lot of family time and now that my kids are older we can play board games. My favorite (and the only board game I ever commit to) is Settlers of Catan. My amazing family played it with me every single day. (Talk about sacrifice lol) In the beginning the kids didn’t like it very much because they thought they don’t have a chance at winning, so I decided to teach them a few of my strategies and what they even mean. One day my son won and then my daughter won and then my husband. (I’m still working on my turn to victory lol) So the completion is really on now! Anyway my point is that they didn’t care much for the game until they figured out how to plan and set goals and in the end had a taste of winning. Funny though that I taught them how to play and I’m not the one winning every game..
I view life the same way, some people just go through the motions of life without realizing that it can be so much more. The thing about life though is that it’s obviously not just a game that you play for a few hours and put away. It’s an every day commitment and you need to keep on going no matter what may come at you.
I am what you may call a dreamer or a visionary. There is not a single day that goes by that I don’t have some sort of idea, for myself, my kids or anyone I come in contact with. I see potential in everything and constantly dream of all kinds of business ideas or ministry work and so on. But the fact is that I’m a homeschooling mama and I have five kiddos to feed, raise, teach and keep alive, so at the end of the day I don’t have much time or energy to put into all my dreams and ideas. I went through a season where I prayed and tried really hard to get my mind to stop thinking like that because it was so discouraging not to ever see anything become of all the ideas. But the Lord told me to keep on dreaming and keep on being me. Which also includes helping others and helping them make and reach their goals while encouraging them along the way. I really don’t know if any of my ideas will ever become a reality but I do know it’s still fun to dream big without any limits. Speaking of, if you ever need me to “dream” with you or help you in any other way, then please reach out through email, or DM me on one of my social media platforms. It’s a “dream” of mine to start couching so I would love to get that started.
Around this time last year I planned on a goal free year. I just waned to take it slow and enjoy the moments without striving to reach any sort of goals. Well if you know me and what God always does in my life then you know that that wasn’t his plan for me. I woke up a few minutes after falling asleep with a thought, a crazy one I might add, to do something that I told myself that I would never even consider. But just like starting this blog (something waay out of my comfort zone) God impressed on me to not settle but to try and go even further. I hate to admit this but last year I failed… I tried it out and the overwhelm was too much so I gave it up. I’m not even going to mention what it is just yet because I decided this new year that I will be giving it another try. I asked for conformation and the Lord spoke clearly to me again. Now I just need to learn the in and outs and put in the time, effort and energy it all requires. Because next year around this time I do not want to be regretting failing again. So I will trust that if the Lord is leading me to do this then he will help me through it. Stay tuned for the up coming announcement don’t know when it will be but I’ll be sure to share it with you when the time comes.
I’ll be honest with you, last year I struggled with a lot of overwhelm and self doubt. I planned to go minimal in about two months but it’s been over a year now and I’m still not where I’d like to be. I’ve been feeling like a failure in a lot of areas in my life but the Lord reminded me that it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I keep going, I keep looking UP to JESUS and that I keep trying. So if you’ve had similar thoughts and feelings know that you are not alone. Find a friend, mentor to come along side you to encourage you to just keep going. Or if you need a little extra support from me then reach out for a coaching session, I would LOVE to get to know you and help you in any way that I can.
One thing I learned over the past month is how differently wired we all are. It can be soo frustrating when it happens to be your spouse or kids but it’s also a great challenge and a great opportunity for growth. I have changed sooo much over the years because of the fact that my husband is so different then me. And I am so thankful each and every day for him and how much more open minded and understanding towards others that I have become. I’ll be honest Christmas is the hardest time of year for my marriage because of how opposite we are but going through it and finding a balance, forgiving one another and moving forward makes us stronger and closer than before. I hear so many say, how overwhelmed they are this time of year and I totally get it but I choose to not stay there. God is bigger than anything we go through and we are never alone.
With the new year upon us once again I hope that we can each take this time as a chance for a fresh start. To love more than before, to forgive yet once again, to choose joy over discouragement and to keep pressing in to Jesus for every little or big thing that comes our way. He cares about it all and WANTS to be in all of it. Lets invite him in and be amazed this time next year at all the wonderful things he’s done.
As simple and easy as it might seem in the moment, IT IS NOT it’s a hard process to re new your mind into thinking a new way and change your habits into who you really want to be but with the help of the Holy Spirit all things are possible! I believe it and I receive it for myself and for you. You got this! Whenever the kids come against something that’s difficult to do, I repeat with them five times, “I got this, it’s not a big deal”. It’s amazing the way our minds can form new pathways and transform. And with Gods help the end result is a guarantee!
I hope my little self talk here, encouraged you to work on some “strategies” of your own this year. Would love to hear from you. What are some goals or plans that you have for 2023??
PS. I want to leave you with a little testimony that just happened to me. Right at the beginning of January my husband gets asked to go work out of town in Florida. My mind (as you have read today) immediately races over all the different ways that the kids and I can join him and take a little “vacation” to FL. I knew that if I tried I could make it work (with Gods help of course) but after a few attempts I felt prompted to let it go. I prayed about it and gave it to the Lord, I said if it’s your will then you guid us and make it happen and if it’s not then I’m ok to just stay home. I immediately felt peace about it. My mind still kept thinking about all the possibilities and how wonderful it would be and I wanted to bring it up to my husband again on multiple occasions but I bit my tongue and kept reminding myself of that prayer I prayed and the peace I felt when I did. “I trust you Lord, you got this and it’s not a big deal” through grinding teeth I prayed.
A week or so later my husband and I were having a coffee date at our kitchen table and he gets a message from his boss asking him if his wife (that would be me) and kids would like to join him for a three week out of town work trip?? They would cover the hotel and it would be only a few hours away near the beach here in SC. What?! I was ready to fight my way for a week long trip in the middle of Florida nowhere near the beach covering my own costs (somehow) and here God comes around and surprises me with HIS ideas and hope much better are they?? Guys they are always better!!!! And he wants to do that and so much more for EVERY> SINGLE ONE of his dear children the only reason he doesn’t is us. We have to trust him, that means obey his word and what he tells us. I had to obey and let the Florida trip go even though it was too hard in the moment but I did and he worked things out. It doesn’t always happen so fast or necessarily the way we envision but he always does come through if we are patient enough we will see it come to pass. He is so so good and loves us so much!
Blessings dear ones,
Natty