
Ah, can you believe it’s the new year?! I love New Years! There’s something about the new year that makes me feel more productive and creative. I know there’s people out there who don’t get the new year hype, but personally, I am all about it. Give me all the goal setting, resolution making, and let the creative, productivity juices flow!
Now, if I’m being honest, I don’t always accomplish my goals or stick to those resolutions. Regardless, I think goal setting and having resolutions is healthy and fun! They don’t always have to be big, Mount Everest size goals. Most of mine are actually pretty small. In years passed, I have accomplished my big goals, but I do mostly end up failing at a lot of them. And ya know what? That’s okay! There is growth even in failure, and being able to learn something from that can be just as rewarding.
Goals
1. Sew more! In 2019, I started to learn how to sew. I started with a blanket, then some pillowcases, a small bag, more blankets, and then I decided to dive in to quilting. I LOVE quilting! So so so much! In 2020 I really want to hone in on my quilting and sewing skills and start tackling harder, more elaborate patterns. I’ve been pinning a lot of ideas on my quilting Pinterest board to give me tons of inspiration for projects to start this year. I really want to try my hand at free motion quilting, specifically. In addition to quilting, I would love to start sewing bows. Mostly for my daughter, but I think it would be a creative way for me to make some extra side money, too!
2. Blog more! I really would like to grow my blog in 2020. For almost a decade now I’ve been blogging randomly off and on. Mostly off, but I’m determined to be more “on” this year. My mind constantly feels like it’s going to explode from containing all the things I want to talk about. I think this year I’m just going for it. As an enneagram 9, I really don’t like to put myself and my opinions out there too much. I am way too worried I’ll cause conflict in some way, or someone will disagree with me. I’m learning that my voice does matter and that if someone disagrees with me, it’s okay. It’s healthy, even! I need an outlet to express my thoughts and feelings on things, and I think this is the perfect one. I’m committed to *attempting* to blog at least once weekly, for now. I feel like this is a totally attainable goal.
3. Embrace my role as wife, mother, and homemaker. This is something I struggled with this past year. It felt like everyone around me was moving forward in their goals, education, and careers while I was just a stay at home mom. But the more my faith grows, the more I realized that was a complete lie. There was so much growth happening within me while being a wife and mother. Embracing motherhood and my role as a homemaker is the most important job I could ever do. Raising the children that God has given me to be strong, faithful, kind, compassionate, loving humans is without a doubt the hardest, most important work there is. Supporting my husband through his career goals that will help sustain our family for generations to come is one of the most important jobs I have. Creating a safe, clean, warm, loving environment that my children always want to come home to is one of the most important jobs I have. Being a homemaker is so much more than just cooking, cleaning, and laundry (although those are a few of the vital daily tasks) but it’s about creating a space for your children, husband, and even yourself to thrive. It’s about holding down the fort and keeping order even though the outside world is in disarray. In 2020 I really want to hone in on being a better version of these three roles, and embrace them gracefully.
4. Take charge of my health. This is a goal I’ve had for the last five years now, and each year I continue to grow in this area. I honestly don’t think that it’ll ever not be a New Years goal of mine. I don’t view this goal with the intentions of weight loss (although tbh that’d be a nice perk!) but with the intention of overall better health. I want to move more, whether in the gym or in the park with my children. I want to cook more nutritious, wholesome meals for myself and my family. I want to learn more about alternative medicine. I want to do things that help my body be the healthiest it can be. I would love to be pregnant with our third baby towards the end of 2020, and with my next pregnancy I really want to have the healthiest body I can to carry life in.
5. Grow in Faith. Truthfully, in 2019 I was a bit lazy with my faith. I could blame it on navigating life with a baby and a toddler, but I’m calling it out for what is was-pure laziness. Most mornings, I was more concerned with what happened on Instagram while I was sleeping than reading my bible. Or in the evening, when the kids finally went to bed, I would more often than not find myself on the couch watching The Office, rather than standing in my prayer corner. This year, I want to slowly change that. Look, I’d love to start by waking up at 5 am and having two hours to completely devote to prayer and reading before my children wake up, but I’m trying to set attainable goals here. I’ve started with a rich, although basic, prayer rule (I use this prayer book), reading one chapter from the Gospels each morning, and ending the night with a few pages from a spiritual book of some sort. I’m currently reading Saint John of Kronstadt and Fertile Ground. I already attend most church services, but I’m not always “there” mentally or emotionally, and this year I really want to strive to be fully present in services, and to not just go out of obligation. I want to grow in the beautiful faith that is Orthodoxy and become an Icon of Christ for all of those around me. I really can’t think of a better goal to have in this new year and decade.
Those are my top 5 goals this year, among the constant stream of others that are constantly running through my head. Other areas that I want to focus on this year are continuing on the path of minimalism (I’ll talk about this more later!) budgeting and spending less money, reading more, consuming less media (TV, Social Media, etc.) What goals or resolutions do you have for the New Year? I’d love to hear, and maybe even be inspired by yours, as I hope mine have inspired you!

Leave a Reply