2017 – The Year of Thriving
The last couple years have set me up for this word. For most of my life, things have changed around me every year or so, giving me the opportunity to form a new routine and a whole new set of habits. But as my life begins to look similar each day, it’s allowed me the space to step back and think about how I’m living my life, and how I wish I were living it.
For example – I want to love on my husband well, I want to do my job well, and I want to steward my time well. Sure I’m already doing these things, but am I doing them well? This year has come down to a page full of questions like these that have required me to ask myself if I’m thriving or just surviving.
Based on the content of this post, I trust you’ve figured out the answer.
For the first time, I made the choice to be more intentional about goal setting as opposed to making a list of things about myself that I wanted to change and then hoping to be able to check them off by the end of the year. I asked for Lara Casey’s Powersheets for Christmas and they have truly been a goal-setting game changer.
As I looked at the sheets, I realized that I’m headed in the right direction when it comes to getting where I want to be when I’m 80 – a sassy, strong-willed woman who’s complete being trusts Jesus and the hope of salvation, with a lifetime full of adventures and memories of loving others well and putting family first. I (and oftentimes, we) are making progress in so many ways – we’re chipping away at our debt, we’ve found a church we love, and we’re being intentional with each other and our friendships – so for the first new year in my life, I don’t have a list of new big goals. I have a list of intentions and action items that will act as a shovel to get me just a little bit deeper and closer to where I want to be.
It feels delightful – relaxing and powerful all at the same time.
Thrive first came to me in March of last year as I was working on my collage for a One Little Word prompt. God also whispered it in my ear again in September when I confidently agreed to a task completely out of my comfort zone at work. I have a feeling that thriving is going to have to be a little uncomfortable and leave me feeling a little uneasy, but just like that opportunity in September, I’m going to take it as it comes so I can be ready and available for the next big thing God has in store for me.
This year, I’m choosing to thrive.
Best of 2016
It’s the last day of 2016 already? Part of me is not surprised that I’m already writing this post again, but at the same time, part of me is in denial as well. There’s something about the days between Christmas and New Years that always have me in a pensive mood, reflecting on my year. This particular one has been chock-full of blessings and adventures I couldn’t even have dreamed up if I’d tried. I’m thankful to have this space and be digging back through these memories, but I have to admit i’m reluctant to waive goodbye to 2016. Here are some highlights:
Best Pup
Best Husband
Best Purchase
Best News – I got a Promotion
Best Family Photo
Best Friends
Best Lunch Date
Best Birthday
Best Feet Picture
Best Walks with Chloe
Best Girls’ Weekend
Best word choice for 2016
Only a few hours until we’ll be welcoming 2017. What’s on your highlight reel?
A Nourishing 2016
It’s hard to believe it’s the end of my one year journey with my word, nourish.
To keep track of my adventure this year, I’ve been using a traveler’s notebook Art Journal insert from Yellow Paper House that fit right inside my beloved Chic Sparrow Maverick in conjunction with Ali Edward’s One Little Word Course. I love the traveler’s notebook style (as opposed to the one Ali and many other people who take the course choose to do) because of how simple and compact it is. Because I don’t have a ton of space in the book to complete the prompts each month, I don’t have to feel like I need to have more words than I do, because I don’t and that’s stressful. It’s all stream of conscious writing, so it flows out and then I close the book for the month, putting into practice whatever the prompt was from Ali’s class. In addition, I’ve been really into watercolors this year and this journal has been a really great outlet for that.
Here’s how the journal turned out.
January
January was all about getting acquainted with nourish by writing down the definition, why I chose it, action items, and a quote. I love including the pocket with pictures to help remind me what I was doing and how I was feeling in that season. I always get super pumped about my word at the beginning of the year and as that feeling wears off, looking back and monitoring where I am in my goals is always a good tool to help me get back on track. As I completed this portion of the Ali’s class, I was also in the middle of the book The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, which encouraged me to pause and consider each of the following areas of my life: family and friends, personal development, spirituality, finances, career, marriage, fun, giving, physical environment, and health and fitness. In a one to ten fashion, I rated each one and made comments so that I could compare. This is how I chose the goals on the page above and came in really handy now that it’s the end of the year and I’m starting to think about a new word and new ways to move forward. This was by far one of the most rewarding goal setting experiences yet.
February
In February, we chose a practice to do each day for the month that would, in turn, help us create a habit. Unfortunately, I didn’t watch the prompt video until the second week at which point I decided to choose the act of journaling in my bible as my goal for the month. Since I had been dating them, I was able to go back and mark down which days I had done it. I think if I would have known ahead of time, I would have choose something a little more personal/self-care related, but it ended up working out just fine in the long run. I was still able to knock out 20/29 days – not too shabby.
March
In March, I created visual mood board for my word. This was another time that the smaller size was convenient. I’m generally not the type to have a lot of magazines or things I want to tear up laying around the house, so I was able to just grab one magazine to complete these pages which is much more manageable than the 8 ½ by 11 size that I had done in the past. I totally love how the colors played out in these two pages. Just as a sneak peak, my one little word for 2017 is on this page. It’s crazy to look back and see that march is when my next word started showing up.
April
This month, I wrote about things that make me feel nourished so that I could work on making them a more regular part of my life. Here’s what I wrote: “I feel nourished when I’ve had enough sleep. I feel nourished when my quiet time has been relaxed and slow paced. I feel nourished when I eat foods that are good for my body. I feel nourished when I’m praying. I feel nourished when I’m singing to Jesus. I fell nourished when I move my body. Yoga is my favorite. I feel nourished when I spend time on myself. I feel nourished when I’m blending watercolors. I feel nourished after spending time with family and friends. I feel nourished when I’m being creative. I’m feeling nourished when I take naps. I feel nourished when I drink plenty of water. I feel nourished by the sun. I am nourished by good books and my favorite characters. I am nourished by God.”
May
This month was all about taking some photos of things/places that described my word. This was our first month in the new house, which probably explains why all of the photos have to do with that – our bed, my office, and our roses.
June
In June, we reflected on the process and the progress. At this point, I was already feeling like my word was so fulfilling and really enhancing my growth. The highlights of this page are the three things that I had been enjoying about my word:
- The amount of grace this word encouraged me to give myself.
- The encouragement I felt to treat my body better based on how I feel as opposed to how I look.
- Treating myself with nourishment also inspires me to treat others with nourishment as well.
July
In July, I had to remind myself to slow down. After a little getaway for the long fourth of July weekend, I felt like I was in a rush to get back into the swing of real life. I just wrote myself a reminder and included that sweet picture of my family.
August
August was one of my favorite months and talked about seasons of life – where we are right now, what we are struggling with, and what we are celebrating. I waited until the end of the month to complete this one and I’m so glad that I did because a lot of what was going on revolved around my new position at work. I love that my family and real life is weaved in and out of these pages.
September
This was a big one – a prompt about contemplating rest, pace and joy as well as documenting 30 things that bring me joy. I questioned a lot this month if I really know what rest looks like. A reoccurring theme this year is my pace and how I’m either going 100% or I’m sleeping, even when I’m sick or need a break. I think my Type-A personality requires me to feel like I need to be extra productive and to-do list oriented otherwise I feel like my time is being wasted. One of my goals for the end of this year/beginning of next year is to have a binge netflix session because it’s not something I generally do. I’ll keep you posted on that one.
October
These are my favorite quotes that are related to the word Nourish. Because I always make a pinterest board for my word of the year, I had already accumulated quite a few quotes that I felt related perfectly to my word. My favorite one:
“When we nourish ourselves with good people, projects, surroundings, scenery, love, music, beauty, and self-care, we radiate light into the world and continually sharpen our vision, perception, and clarity all at once. This in turn spreads even more. Remember that one tiny drop can raise an ocean. Keep wanting. Desiring. Doing. Breathing in sweet things.
November
November was fun because I got to try a new technique with my watercolors and tissue paper as well as include one of my wedding photos of just myself. I reflected on what I believe, what I love, what I know and what I’ve learned. Conclusion? I’m pretty dang hard on myself.
December
Finally, a good ole wrap up and another picture of me. We separated out our reflection into facts and feelings and I realized that’s something that is REALLY hard to do.
Facts:
- In 2016, I improved and grew as a human.
- Nourish reminded me to consider how I felt about decisions, events, and feelings.
- Nourishing myself is hard.
- What I want nourishment to be and what it really is are different.
- I am proud of myself and what I have accomplished.
Feelings:
- The term self-care makes me want to vom – so cliché and can easily be overused as an excuse not to try hard.
- I feel great about the goals I completed – there are quite a few.
- You can be nourished and struggling at the same time.
- The act of progress and growth are so much more fulfilling than being perfect.
- Journals have presented themselves as the only outlet for me to clear my head and heart.
- Slowing down and adding time to relax into my calendar is the only way it will get done and now I know that about myself.
- All things are possible with Jesus. (Also, on a related note, I saw a quote the other day that said “All things are possible, but everything isn’t”. LOVE.)
I finished off the year by writing a note to my word and recapping my goals. I used to love crossing things off, but it feels so much more positive to highlight them instead. Even though I still have a lot of room for improvement in the nourish category, I’m so impressed with how much I’ve accomplished.
Each year, I add my word to a list of other epic words that I’ve carried with me for a year. Now nourish can join the ranks of joy (2013), rooted (2014), and adventure (2015).
I can’t wait to share with you what next year’s word will be!
Rooted
At the beginning of each year, I choose a word that encompasses all of the things I want to work on for that twelve month period. A couple years ago, the word that I chose was rooted. I had completed college and was planning on putting down roots in Columbia with Kevin, my then soon to be husband, and I thought it would be the perfect reminder that this was where God wanted me to be. As I expected, I did grow in that area and it really did serve in the way I had hoped but God also taught me more about a different aspect of my faith that I had never intended to focus on and that was my spiritual journey.
A verse I meditated on daily during that year was Colossians 2:7, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” It wasn’t until a year later when we purchased our first home in Columbia that I really understood the implications of what this verse means. As I stood under our 60+ year old tree, I realized the power and the strength and the depth below my feet that this tree is rooted and couldn’t help but pray that my faith look the same.
But it’s not as though this tree had gotten this way on its own.
First, a seed must be sown in fertile soil. Whether it was cast out intentionally or by the wind, I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that God had a plan through it. For me personally, that looked like a lot of PSR (also commonly called Sunday School) classes that met on Monday nights and Sunday morning masses. Even though I hated them at the time, I am so thankful that my parents thought they were important because through these, God was able to set a foundation of faith in my heart.
Next, the seed was watered. Someone else came along and shared the gospel. There were three particular people in my life who made a huge impact in my faith and encouraged me to ask questions. Opening a bible I was given, helped me form my own truths about who God is and the purpose for which he created me. 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 says, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.”
As God continued to pursue my heart, I was nurtured. In the same way that God uses the sun as the determining factor for growth of the tree, His son, the light of the world, does the same thing for us. He came to earth to save us and to ensure eternal life for us by dying on the cross for our sins. Because of this, we grow and mess up but we are continually forgiven by God’s unrelenting mercy.
The seed begins to sprout. I like to think of this as the beginning of college. I had so many opportunities to have things just completely uproot me or shake me; God continued to place people in my path that helped me mature. I think this is why I just love studying the book of Acts which was the first written history of the Christian church: In community, which God has provided, we learn to see Christ in others and we get the chance to see the world the way that God intended for it to be. We build each other up, challenge each other, and basically just do life together.
As we grow and develop we learn that without Jesus, we can do nothing. The tree becomes larger and more established, therefore bearing fruit. Jesus said in John 15:5-8, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” This fruit determines whether or not the tree is good or bad. “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matthew 7:17-19).
God intends for us to continually be making disciples, therefore the fruit of a believer should be a new believer. We do this by being watering new seeds – inviting friends to dinner, walking through life with someone who has questions about Jesus and by being an example of love. Proverbs 11:30 says it well, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise win souls”. I believe that Jesus’ purpose for sharing the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32 was to represent kingdom growth in this way. In the Old Testament, a tree represented a mighty kingdom which sheltered the nations so this tiny mustard seed, growing into a tree symbolized Jesus’ offer of refuge and life in God’s Kingdom.
Even though we start out as a tiny seed, our mighty God is in pursuit of our hearts and encourages our growth, particularly through those around us. We need to remember that apart from Him, we can do nothing but with Him we can exemplify his love and grace in order to produce good fruit and advance the kingdom for His glory.
Blog-tember Day Eight | Home Sweet Home
It’s been a while since I updated the blog in regards to our house progress so Bailey’s Blog-tember prompt is perfect timing! By are by no means “done” (is a house ever really done?), but I’m so happy with how it’s looking! We’ve decided that we want to love every single piece of furniture and decor we bring into the space, so we are currently working on adding more of those items as we find them! Columbia isn’t really known for it’s shopping opportunities so I’m hoping to spend some quality time at Home Goods in St. Louis soon.
When you first come in the front door, this is the room you walk into. By day, this is Chloe’s lair (she can see out the windows that was perfectly fixed by the windows replacement services by Maverick Windows from the couch), and by night you’ll find me curled up with a book on the cushion near the lamp. If you remember, I posted my vision board for this room back in June.
The chair is the newest addition and completely different than what I thought I wanted when I made that vision board. We got it from Target and it’s turned out to be the perfect size for the room. The first one we ordered came with a huge hole in the side and was missing the legs, but after getting that straightened out, we have been super pleased!
Behind that is the dining room table. The hallway you see on the left is how you get back to the master bedroom, the extra bedroom/my craft room and the bathroom. Also, a good shot of how well the floors turned out!
Here’s our bedroom, complete with Chloe’s Serta Perfect Sleeper. I love the light in here, but the sunrise makes weekends a little rough.
Across from our bed is the wall with the closet. We don’t have doors so this is how it looks all of the time. Originally, it just had one rail, so we put the closet organizer in the day we moved in and we are so glad we did.
This is my new diffuser which is sitting on the dresser that Kevin has had since he was a baby.
Chloe followed me from room to room, which is why her and her pawprints are in a few photos. This is her favorite place to hang out when we are at home because it gives her a view both out the window and all the way into the kitchen. This room is currently doubling as a guest bedroom and my craft room. I keep my desk in the closet so I can close the curtains anytime I want to hide my mess (all the time).
This is also a part of that room and one of my favorite things because it houses all of the things that mean the most to me – my completed journals in those wooden bins, books (including my Gone with the Wind collection), my Project Life albums, my records, a couple photos, and my garden.
When you walk back out from that hallway, you can see the kitchen, stairs, and entryway.
My big kitchen sink and the window which looks out to the street. I’d say you can also see the neighbors house, but that isn’t exactly true thanks to their choice of landscaping. I should probably include a picture in my next post just to keep a record of it.
If you turn 180 degrees, we have a little breakfast bar and more natural light. When our table is opened up to seat 6 people, we move these chairs into the dining room.
Here’s a shot of the kitchen from the stairwell – the big opening really makes this house. The previous homeowners (and now our friends), showed us some pictures of the house before they opened this up and it really does make it a completely different space.
This is our guest bedroom which is directly at the bottom of the stairs. We just have a bed in there for now!
The built ins at the bottom of the stairs are a work in progress. I keep meaning to go to the library to pick up some of their discarded books to use as decor and give the shelves a more full look. You’ll notice a couple owls and frames I haven’t put real photos in yet. Don’t judge!
This is our downstairs living room where we spend quite a bit of time in the evenings! Don’t mind the paw prints on the couch, that was Chloe. Across from this is our TV, where we have been watching VEEP and playing a whole lot of Fibbage with our family and friends.
While this doesn’t exactly give you an idea of the space, this photo is from Kevin’s office which is just off the living room. We recently painted it Urbane Bronze and I could not be more thrilled with how it turned out! We are working on getting some shelving and decor hung on the walls, so that Kevin can use it as his battle station.
Finally I stepped outside to grab the house-front and the beautiful roses – they make me so happy. I’m glad that the previous homeowner explained to me how to take care of them so that they’ll keep growing all summer long.
This is by far one of my favorite little spots – I love that there is plenty of room and that the bistro set is just perfect. We love to eat out here and are looking forward to cooler weather so that we can enjoy it more often!
Previous home posts:
We bought a house! | House Tour “Before” | Paint Colors | Living Room Vision Board | Refinished Floors
Want more info on the Blog-tember Challenge? Check out Bailey’s blog by clicking here!