Hey friends! I have a little confession. I started writing this post back in March with the intention of having it go live in April. I intended it to be a quarterly check-in with my goals, as well as a Power Sheets update. Well, obviously I didn’t post it. Why? Because it wasn’t perfect or that’s what I thought at the time. That thought is in direct conflict to what I have learned from Lara Casey - Progress Not Perfection. So with that said, I’m sharing this post. Imperfect and maybe a little incomplete with the details of what was going on with from January-March. I added a little info that is italicized.
If you’ve been around here for any length of time you might recall that I read the book Make It Happen by Lara Casey. After reading it and purchasing Power Sheets I set about to establish some goals for 2016. Today is my quarterly check-in with what’s been happening and how things are rolling for me this year. I’m trying to cultivate what matters while accepting grace for progress not perfection. I have not been perfect in meeting my goals so I’m accepting that grace willingly.
Goal 1 ~ Be Satisfied! This fleshed out in being content with my current clothing and my commitment to not shop for new clothes/shoes, etc. for 3 months. This has been successful! I confess to purchasing 2 bras and some panties with a reward card and coupons but that’s it. Result ~ I found an appreciation for what I already own and loved the extra time I had when not running from store to store. My mind was freed up to think about other things too. This was a win for me and I’m jumping back on the ban in May for another three months. You can join in too! Just complete the form below to added to the Facebook group.
I took the month of April to do a little shopping. I needed a few work appropriate items because I moved to a new position during that month. I probably went a little overboard and have been struggling to get back on track since. The group is shooting for three more months of being shop free (May-July). There’s room for anyone who wants to join.
Goal 2 ~ Simplicity! For my husband and I this meant to reduce stuff. Yes, my hubby and I have gone from room to room and reduced stuff. It felt so good to let many things go. In the end we were asking ourselves, “Why haven’t we done this before?”
Goal 3 ~ Be a Better Steward! For me this meant to utilize my gifts and abilities and put them to work. In my mind many times work = learn. I have learned lots during the last three months but one event stands out the most in this regard. I attended a Mother Earth Fair and learned a lot about gardening and natural living. The result of that has been flower beds have been converted to vegetable gardens in a effort to use our landscape well and to feed us. Little plants are popping up all over the place. Exciting stuff!
On Sunday, I harvested some of our first bits of lettuce from the front flower bed/garden. I also pulled up a pretty turnip.
Goal 4 ~ Financial Stewardship! We have been much better at tracking our spending. I simply cannot keep track of everything in my head anymore. When I was younger, yes, I did do that but it’s not working for me these days. We had a no spending month in January and it went fairly well. From there we just created a workable budget and tracked our spending. It’s a work in progress but a good work.
We are not totally off track here but not on track as I’d like to be. Progress…
Goal 5 ~ Accountability! I started a “Let’s Be Shop Free for 3″ group on Facebook. This has helped me and others to be accountable for spending habits and delve into why we shop.
Goal 6 ~ Read more! I’ve been doing fairly well with that goal. I have read books and also listened to audio books while I process paperwork as an Admin. Here’s the rundown of what I’ve gotten through the last three months.
January Reads:
Women of the Word~ Learn how to study the Word.
Love the Home You Have ~ Your home is lovable because of who is in it.
Girl Meets Change ~ Change is constant in life.
The Resolution for Women~ Resolve to be woman of God.
Pandora’s Lunchbox ~ never eat something from a box…
In Defense of Food ~ Love how Michael Pollan defends the need to eat real food.
Fat, Sugar, Salt ~ Is there a food conspiracy? Read it and find out.
Hands Free Life ~ Be engaged in the moments of life.
Finding God at the Kitchen Sink ~ The everyday life can be mundane but there are great moments.
February Reads:
Simply Tuesday ~ Learn to embrace your smallness and appreciate the ordinary life.
Unafraid: Trusting God in an Unsafe World ~ Healing from tragedy comes by trusting the Lord.
The Gift of Being Yourself ~ Being who you were created to be is quite incredible.
March Reads:
The Shack ~ What did I just read? Rocked my world!
Onward ~ A loving embracing of people for the sake of Christ.
These are not all of my goals for the year but the ones that have been implemented in the first quarter of 2016. My overreaching focus has been to tie my goals to three areas: Simplicity // Satisfied // Stewardship. I wrote a post about that during my 31 Days of January series. You can find it here.
Goal ~ Learn something. Broad isn’t it? Reading more has helped me.
I am applying to be re-admitted to seminary to finish my degree.
Goal ~ Become active in our church. We recently moved to a new church and it can be easy to sit in a seat on Sunday morning and not pursue anything else. We have been intentional to follow the steps to become members and join in leadership training. I am finally sensing my seminary education becoming useful.
We have become members and are active in a leadership training group. I’m also participating in lay counseling for the hurting.
That’s my LONG update. Thanks for hanging around and I hope you were encouraged to make something happen! Go and Do It!
