Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we’re standing toe to toe with a new year and decade. As I have the last couple years, I’ve been thinking through my goals and intentions for 2020 with Lara Casey’s PowerSheets. It’s such an amazing tool to cultivate what matters and count fruit – even if it feels small.
My process of setting goals, always starts out with a word that I feel like the Lord is whispering to me. This year, I was telling Kevin his word should be “open” although I had no reason why and then I took it back because in that exact moment I was like, actually that’s my word. It was the most interesting way of a word coming up for me but I’m excited to run with it. As I let the word marinate through December, open really felt like an invitation for me. Here is the note I took on my phone over the course of a couple weeks:
Open is an invitation to let my guard down, to experience vulnerability, and to invite people in.
Open is an invitation into wonder and delight. To get outside, go for drives, and take in the natural beauty around me.
Open is an invitation to enjoy rhythms over routines. To try new things. To allow flexibility and spontaneity.
Open is an invitation to dig deeper into God’s word and truly experience solitude with the Lord.
Open is an invitation to really live in the margins. To stop scrolling and spend my time doing things that fill my cup.
Open is an invitation to a peaceful, deep, and joy-filled 2020.
Here are my 2020 Goals for the year of OPEN.
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Why? To change the trajectory of my life. To live strong. To be who God made me to be.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: Taking action on this goal will affect all areas of my life, decision making, sleep, energy levels and, of course, the people around me.
Mini Goals:
Create good nutrition habits and portion sizes.
Move my body and challenge myself in my workouts.
Decrease stress through simplification and removing barriers of decision making.
Purchase more second-hand and ethically sourced items.
Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): download new app for tracking food (12/29); try a cycling class (1/2020); add workouts to my calendar weekly (1/2020)
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
Why? Being open to change and vulnerability as well as growth of faith will help me to be a better follower of Christ who deeply and intentionally impacts the lives of others.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: Taking action on this goal will allow me to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, glorify the Lord, and bear fruit in my life and that of others.
Mini Goals:
Experience solitude with God through Bible reading and deeper prayer.
Choose vulnerability with my people to go deeper in relationships.
Love on my people by celebrating and hosting them well.
Invest in daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly rhythms over routines.
Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): clean off my desk/raskog cart (12/31); order Hobonichi Weeks to be used for Bible Study, gratitude, and church notes (12/30); create a social media mantra (2/2020); plan a trip to see Brittany and Taylor (1/2020)
Happy 2020! I just love the fresh start feeling of the New Year as it’s always a great reminder to reflect and celebrate victories of the previous year, or in this case the previous decade. Each year, I look forward to these posts as a way to count the fruit. You can read previous posts here: 2018 and 2017.
January
I kicked off my One Little Word rest in hopes of prioritizing resting secure in God, cultivating a life of less, drawing from an overflow of rest, listening to my body and heard, and resting and rejoicing in growth and change.
Our sweet Chloe turned 5!
We survived snowpocalypse 2019 – about 20 inches of snow.
I started watching The Office after finishing up Friends in 2018.
Kevin and I tried some new restaurants. Le Bao and 44 Canteen were two of our favorites.
We were regulars at Fuzzy’s Trivia on Thursday nights.
February
I started meeting with a counselor on a weekly basis.
I went to California with Mom and Grandma to celebrate my cousin Mia’s birthday. I was in love with the lemon trees growing fruit in the winter.
My small group friends and I make prayer binders for a craft night.
I made the best watch face of all time.
I worked lots of overtime.
March
Kevin and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary the best way we know how – with some amazing food!
I created a gallery wall (with my absolute favorite photos) that brings a smile to my face every single time I see it.
We tried Mod Pizza with our friends, Jeff and Taylor. Somehow I ended up with dairy free cheese.
I started using Monat hair products and saw huge changes in my curls.
April
We celebrated our Three Year Highridge Ranch-iversary. I just love this space that’s all ours.
Our friend, Taylor, moved in with us. It was such a sweet season of spending time together and watching all the Bachelorette and Fixer Upper.
I ripped out the roses in our front garden beds.
May
Taylor and Jeff left Columbia for the last time as residents.
Kevin and I bought a Honda CRV!
I listened to Sabbath Practice podcast from Bridgetown Church (it was amazing!).
The Stanley Cup Finals put me in a state of anxiety during every single game.
I took a watercoloring class with Bohemia’s School of Artistry and learned so much about light and blending.
June
WE WON THE STANLEY CUP!
We went to the Stanley Cup parade in Downtown St. Louis – the best.
Books Read: The Five Intentions: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Bread Bad Ones, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own, and Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People, The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships
July
We celebrated 4th of July in Hamilton with Sarah, Cole, Andrew, Alexa, and Josh.
We went to Weston, MO for a distillery tour, delicious BBQ, and cave bars.
We celebrated Grandma’s 75th Birthday!
I committed to volunteering with Compass 31.
Book Read: Girl, Stop Apologizing
August
I celebrated my 28th Birthday (and make white chocolate raspberry cheesecake to celebrate!)
Mom and Dad took the family to the Lake of the Ozarks for a long weekend.
Kev’s students moved to campus and he officially became “coach”.
We wrapped up the month with the annual Family Golf Tournament.
Kevin and I invested in a record player and spent time searching for gems at the record store in town. Our faves: Eric Church, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon.
Kevin got me a legit Poloroid camera.
I graduated from weekly counseling to only going on an as needed basis.
Books Read: The Coddling of the American Mind, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, A Love Letter Life: Pursue Creatively. Date Intentionally. Love Faithfully.
September
Kevin and I celebrated 10 years together!
Willow gets a forever home and Chloe gets a new best friend.
My first Compass 31 product launch went live with all new products in their shop.
I started leading a college juniors small group at our home.
October
Sarah and Cole sold their house next door and officially move; it was the most sad.
We helped host a dope homecoming tailgate.
First snow of the season (WHY THOUGH?)
My team celebrates me well with Ketchup on Bosses Day.
Books Read: Afraid of All the Things, Just Open the Door: How One Invitation Can Change a Generation
November
Kevin’s Rocket League team wons the NACE Championship and was undefeated in their inaugural season!
We put up the Christmas Tree.
I participated in the Live2Lead Event at work and got to see Rachel Hollis speak – I’m a fan.
We spent Thanksgiving with Claire and Michael and I made my first pumpkin pie.
I went to VU’s Feast Forum and got teary-eyed over the gratitude and goodness of my workplace. I’m so thankful.
I spent Black Friday with Grandma and we shopped til we dropped.
I tried my hand at cooking vegan at home and found some new recipes to incorporate into our regular routine.
Book Read: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
December
I watched 12 Christmas movies before Christmas.
I completely caught up on Project Life – so now I have printed photos from 2013 – present.
Mom and I dressed our dogs up in matching PJs.
VU hosted an incredible Holiday Party, as always!
We made gingerbread houses at work.
Books Read: Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service, In His Image, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
I feel like fall came a little later than normal for Missouri this year, but I was happy to start seeing the leaves change colors. I wouldn’t consider fall my favorite season, but the colors sure do make me question myself. October was full of so many good things including Mizzou football, saying “see ya later” to the best neighbors, lots of walks, our first snowfall of the year, and lots of exciting wins for Mizzou Esports.
A lot of people I know seem to be starting to put up Christmas trees, and to be honest, it feels wrong!
November Goals
Monthly Goals:
Schedule at least 2 days of PTO – I have lots of time that I need to take off, so I’m just wanting to start thinking about how I plan to use that.
Meet with each of my small group girls in November – I started leading a small group at the beginning of fall, and I’d like to do a check in with each of my girls before the end of the month.
Weekly Goals:
Exercise 3x/week – simply just making this a habit
Daily Goals
Close Apple Watch Rings
Bible Reading
Meditate using Headspace
October Goals
Monthly Goals
Host a DOPE Tailgate for Mizzou’s Homecoming – Done! So thankful to get everyone together to party. And Mizzou won, so that’s a win-win.
Wrap Up Current Reads – Boom! Just a couple more books to go until I’ve read everything on my shelf.
Delete Podcasts – The amount of freedom taking un-listened to episodes off my “to-do” list, was kind of incredible. On to find more things to pare down.
Decorate the house with autumn decor – Easy, peasy.
Regularly post on my blog and Instagram – Could have done better, but I got a couple out there.
Create a work and personal Trello board – Yes! This was a huge win.
Visit the sunflowers @ MU South Farm – I didn’t make it again this year…maybe 2020!
Weekly Goals
Prep in advance for Compass 31 Launches – Weekly prep just makes the week of launches that much easier. I’m hoping to continue this into the new year by building it into my weekly habits.
Prep our meal plan each week and use pick up for groceries – Meal prep, yes. Pick up groceries, nope.
Weekly Sabbath – Yes!
Daily Goals
No spend – I could always do better in this area, but helpful for tracking.
Weigh ins – Yep!
Close Apple Watch Rings – Hit the move goal 18/31 days in October
I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. – LM Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
September always feels so far away from the end of the year and then immediately when October hits it feels like it’s almost Christmas.
Ya’ll there are 90 days left in this year. A lot can happen in 90 days but it could also just be gone in the blink of an eye if we’re not careful. Sometimes I’m tempted to waste them away, excited for a fresh start of a new year. But God gives us the opportunity for a fresh start with new mercies every day. I am committed to finishing the year well.
I always set intentions at the beginning of the year, and many of mine revolved around my one little word, rest. Most of my monthly/weekly/daily goals for the year are set based off these intentions which are broad enough to work with changes and real life that comes up throughout the year. Here’s what I started 2019 with:
Rest in secure in God.
Cultivating a life of less
Drawing from an overflow of rest
Listing to my body and heart
Resting and rejoicing in change and growth
As I look back on these today, it’s really interesting to see how these have subtly impacted so many decisions. I’m thankful to still be feeling positively about my journey with rest. To be honest, I had no idea how this was going to go.
September was a month of crazy and fast paced life for our family – we adopted a puppy, almost every weekend included MU football, and I started volunteering for an organization that helps fight human trafficking. Our days were filled to the brim with all the normal things of life and college students and book studies and multiple vet visits for each dog. Man, it’s a hard and good life.
October goals just seem to fall into place based on the things we have going on. I’m thankful for months like this.
Monthly Goals
Host a DOPE Tailgate for Mizzou’s Homecoming – Our love of hosting and Mizzou collide. We help to host a big tailgate once a year and our family and friends all come in for it. I cannot wait!
Wrap Up Current Reads – I’m reading way too many books at one time, so the goal is just to get some of these knocked out.
Delete Podcasts – I tend to subscribe to all podcasts recommended to me. This is just me needing to take back my time on ones that aren’t truly my faves.
Decorate the house with autumn decor – I mean, obviously.
Regularly post on my blog and Instagram – Just a little accountability for what I’m wanting to share in this space and on Instagram.
Create a work and personal Trello board – I’ve been a Trello fan for the past 5 years, but I just watched on Kimberly Ann Jimenez on YouTube and I really want to implement some of her strategies for using it for to-dos and project workflows.
Visit the sunflowers @ MU South Farm -I’ve lived in here for so long without knowing that a sunflower farm exists so. close. to me. I’m really hoping I can make it out to see them.
Weekly Goals
Prep in advance for Compass 31 Launches – I mentioned above that I started volunteering and I just want to be intentional and prayerful about the products we launch and posts we share online.
Prep our meal plan each week and use pick up for groceries – I hate grocery shopping but I’m not normally head-of-the-game enough for picking up groceries once a week. Hoping to give it a try in October.
Weekly Sabbath – This has basically been on my list every month this year and even though it’s not perfect, it’s still such an improvement from where I was a year ago.
Daily Goals
No spend – I’m just hoping to reign in the unnecessary spending, eating out, extras a bit, so just starting with a refresh.
Weigh ins – Just holding myself accountable to for healthy eating.
Close Apple Watch Rings – This goes without saying. Looking to hit some goals in October.
Now it’s your turn. What are you prioritizing in October?
This post has been a long time coming. Some of my favorite bloggers have shared their lists of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days over the past couple years and I’ve been wanting to join in, however, I have been holding off on getting started because I wasn’t sure exactly how it fit into the monthly and yearly goals. I finally got around to starting my list in February but wasn’t posting much on the blog at that time. Now that I’m back to blogging more regularly, I thought it would be fun to share my rendition here and then also add a link (which you can find just above the search bar on the right side) so that I can continually update as I’m ticking them off.
I started on February 20, 2019 so the challenge will end on November 17, 2021. I’ve already crossed 12 items of the list and I’m hoping to pick up steam from here.
Create a list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 2.75 years (February 20,2019)
Unplug completely for 24 Hours
Get a massage
Plant a flower garden
Consolidate email addresses
Watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup (June 2019 – WE WON!)
Create a one year editorial calendar for the blog (July 2019)
New blog photos of myself
Take someone’s photos
Write 8 faith-related blog posts (0/8)
Photography blog series
Publish a YouTube or IG Video
Double my blog views
Have a guest post written on my blog
Post a house tour on the blog
Share a capsule wardrobe
Go on 20 photoshoots (0/20)
Watch 5 of Kevin’s favorite movies (0/5)
Re-read the Harry Potter series
Read all the books on my shelf
Host a book club
Read 50 new books (9/50 – The Five Intentions // Atomic Habits // The Path Between Us // The More of Less // Everybody Always // Girl, Stop Apologizing // A Love Letter Life // Lean In // The Coddling of the American Mind )
I’ve been all over the place trying to find a balance in time online and social media this year. I won’t say that I have it all figured out at this point, but I definitely feel a gravitational pull back to the blog, even if no where else. It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the year already and that there is so much that I haven’t shared. I plan on re-capping the last couple months soon, but for now it’s time for some monthly goals!
July Goals
Monthly
Try out a subscription box – I’ve had my eye on subscription boxes for a while and both this one and this one have come highly recommended to me. Don’t think I could go wrong with either.
Celebrate 4th of July with Friends – We can’t wait to take a couple days off work this week to spend some much needed time with friends. I’m hoping to even create a photo book with some of our favorite moments from the weekend.
Celebrate my people well – A couple of my favorite people have birthdays in July and I want to celebrate them well.
Catch up on the last 6th months of Project Life – The blog isn’t the only thing I’ve taken time away from, so I’m jumping back on the Project Life bandwagon as well.
Move photos from my phone to my hard drive – I do this about every six months, so once I get all the photos printed for Project Life, this will be my next step.
Finish my selfie mini book – I took Kristin’s Summer of Selfies Mini Album Class and I want to finish strong.
Memorize two verses of scripture – I’m wanting to start working toward more scripture memorization, so this month I’m working on this one: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Create a weekly to-do list/habit tracker – I’m using my outlook and iPhone calendars for my appointments these days, but I’m having a hard time keeping track of my regular to-do lists, so this month, I’m hoping to come up with a better solution.
Weekly
Exercise 3x/week
Blog 3x/week – I’m hoping to get the blog back in action with some more regular posts.
Weekly Sabbath – One of my biggest goals for the year is to have a consistent day of rest. The beginning half of the year was spent doing research and trying out different things to see what worked and to practice implementation.
