I just love how hopeful the new year feels as the clock strikes midnight ringing in 2018. In the mere seconds of this new year, I always have a feeling of renewed hopes and dreams for the year to come. Similar to seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, the new year tends to make me feel like there is a atmosphere of newness and joy ahead.

I firmly believe that you don’t have to wait until January 1 to make a change in your life, but it definitely serves as a good reminder of the light that change and growth bring. For those of you who regularly follow my blog, you know that near the beginning of each month, I share my goals for that month ahead, and my progress from the weeks prior. Sharing them with you helps me with accountability, and I hope they encourage you if you’re also exploring the world of goal-setting.

Admittedly, I struggled a bit deciding on my goals for 2018. I resonated well with the goals set in 2017, and generating new goals proved challenging.  I have been following Lara Casey’s Goal Setting Series since I started setting goals, and one thing that she encourages goal setters to do is to choose a word to describe what youre looking to achieve that year. In 2017, the word I chose was grace. With many life changes happening last year, I wanted to focus on facing all of them with grace and not expecting perfection. Choosing this word gave me courage to face the different challenges and decisions (especially in regards to planning a wedding!) with a calm and positive mindset, rather than trying to make my life Pinterest perfect.

In looking at my short list of things that I want to accomplish this year, I decided that I want to start off by digging deeper into the goals of 2017.  2017 was such a wonderful and busy year, and while I definitely scratched the surface on the goals that I had set,  I want to continue to grow them into something even more wonderful. Upon making that decision, that led me to my word for 2018 — steadfast.

steadfast (adj.):

• firm in belief, determination, or adherence; loyal
• unwavering, as resolution, faith, adherence

So…why choose to focus on other things, when there is still room to grow with the goals that are already (most) important to me? I want to continue to remain loyal to things that mean the most by cultivating what matters; not trying to grow through other distractions that may lead me away from where I am headed. I want to grow my home, my marriage, my relationships, my faith and myself. In 2018, that’s exactly what I intend to do.

My 2018 vision board

2018 Goals

1. Create and maintain life-giving home. Simplify, de-clutter, and learn to use our finances well. Focus on the people we host, rather than space limitations or other challenges. Cultivate a haven of rest, joy, friendship and warmth that will bless all who enters it.
2. Grow deeper in a relationship with God. Attend church more often. Dive into the word through prayer journal and writing the word. Complete devotional series throughout seasons of this year.
3. Love my husband well. Tend to our marriage with joy, grace, friendship, love and spontaneity. Say yes to new adventures together. Create memories to build our legacy. Relentlessly encourage him and live out the promises we made in our vows.
4. Cultivate our relationships with friends near and far. Without a wedding to bring all of our family and friends together, find ways to encourage and love our community in different ways throughout the year.
5. Invest in self-care to continue to grow as an individual. Find more healthy recipes. Drink more water. Exercise often. Take more pictures. Scrapbook the pictures already taken. Travel. Read more books and blogs.
6. Grow Blissful Moments. Write content that encourages readers to celebrate all of life’s moments. Share the blog with friends. Learn to grow my blog through classes and guides. Focus on content rather than statistics.

January Goals

• Help Jody set our 2018 financial goals
• Make my reading list for 2018 (if you have any suggestions, send them my way!)
• Get back into an exercise routine
• Start my prayer journal
• Create content schedule for the blog in January and February
• Invest in updated necessities to encourage goals — order new glasses, buy a new water bottle, and purchase new laptop
• Read “A Magnolia Story” by Chip and Joanna Gaines
• Complete a purge my closet and sell or donate clothes I don’t wear