I believe there is a fine balance when it comes to New Year’s goals.
Yes, we want to live with purpose. We want to seek God in prayer, asking Him to
guide us in how we can make the best use of the time, and have dreams and a
vision for the year ahead. At the same time, though, we want to live in the
freedom and joy that Christ came to give us. We want to remember that no matter
how we live the next year, God loves us, and nothing we do will change that. Doing
everything well and accomplishing great things won’t make Him love us more, and
messing up in big ways won’t make Him love us less. If you have accepted Christ
as your Savior, you already have the very best reputation with God possible,
because He sees you through the redeeming blood of His Son. Our motivation for
planning and setting goals shouldn’t be to impress God or to somehow earn His
favor or love or pride; we already have all of that! Instead, our motivation
should be to offer God a gift of praise and thanks with our lives, making the
most of each day He gives us and treating them as a big “thank you” for all
that He has done for us.
With that in mind, we can move ahead with some prompts to help us best process the last year, and move into the next one prepared and excited to see God move. Here are some of the things I am contemplating as I prepare to leave 2018 behind and enter 2019.
With that in mind, we can move ahead with some prompts to help us best process the last year, and move into the next one prepared and excited to see God move. Here are some of the things I am contemplating as I prepare to leave 2018 behind and enter 2019.
Thinking Back
- What 3 words would I use to describe
this last year? Why? This is just an easy way to try to break up the big task of processing an entire year! Sometimes I think we get so bogged down with the thought of thinking back over 12 whole months that it's hard to even get started. So, just try to decide on a few words that would easily describe the last year of your life.
“Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 - What were the top 5 “highs” of
this year? Really take time on this one to stop and thank God for each one! It
is amazing how remembering God’s blessings and praising Him for them helps us
to view our year with better perspective)
"I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds." ~Psalm 9:1 - What were the 5 biggest challenges
or trials? Even good years have difficulties and pain. Again, take time to
process each item and take it before the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to help you
see if there is anything you need to do now to heal and move forward in freedom,
and see if there are any lessons He wants you to take from each incident.
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." ~James 1:2-4 - What “treasures” did I take from
this year that I want to store up and remember as I set forth into the coming
year? I wrote an entire post on this concept, but the basic premise is to look for any lessons,
special blessings, people…anything that made a deep and lasting impact on you that
you want to remember and ponder again later.
"But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." ~Luke 2:19 - What things do I want to let go of from this
year so I can move into next year with freedom? What do I want to change? Try to recognize any
hurt, bitterness, bad habits, etc that you want to be set free from and don’t
want to allow to be part of your life in the new year.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." ~Hebrews 12:1 - Which people made the biggest
impact on my life this year, for good or for growth? This question helps us to do two
things: recognize the people God has placed in our lives that build us up and
draw us closer to Him, and also realize which people may have an unhealthy influence
that we might want to prayerfully consider pulling back from.
"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." ~Proverbs 18:24
Looking Ahead
- What is my biggest dream or hope
for the coming year? What one thing would make the biggest difference in my
life for the coming year and would help me to live with both freedom and
purpose? It’s ok to dream big here! Nobody else needs to see this. Seek God in
prayer, and then try to think if there was only one thing you could do this
year to best live your life, what would it be? Some people find it helpful to
draw or doodle several different ideas here until they can center in on one "main" thing.
"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." ~Ephesians 5:15-16 - Is there a single word or phrase I
feel led to focus on this year that would help me keep a purposeful vision for
my year? This year will be my 4th year doing this, and it has been
such a helpful practice. Taking into consideration what you answered for the
first question above, is there something succinct and short that you can use to
help you keep it in mind? I have used the words “grace”, “enough”, and of
course “raphah” and each one have made such a difference in how I focus on my year.
"The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out." ~Proverbs 20:5 - What is one main goal I want to try to aim for this year in each of these arenas:
- Relationship with God (how can I draw closer to God this year and grow in my faith?)
- Marriage (how can I improve my marriage this year and bless my spouse?)
- Parenting (what can I do to both enjoy my kids and train them up to love God?)
- Our Family (what is one thing our family could do together to grow closer this year?)
- Extended Family (how can I best serve and bless my parents, siblings, grandparents…?)
- Friends (How can I make/maintain fellowship with those God has brought into my life?)
- Work/Home (how can I best fulfill the calling God has given me in this season?)
- Ministry (what can I do to share God’s love with others in my church and community?)
- Health (what is the biggest thing I could do to care for my body as God’s temple?)
- Personal Growth/Learning (what can I do to add enjoyment, fun, & learning to my life?)
(I suggest focusing on one main goal for simplicity’s sake, but
you are more than welcome to add more. Just remember the main idea here is to
live purposefully with freedom, so if
adding more goals doesn’t do that, consider cutting back. Also, feel free to add or take out any arenas that don't apply to you.)
Once you have your main goal, it’s time to figure out how to actually reach it! Take the goal in each of these areas and break it down into manageable pieces. What smaller goal could you make each month for each arena that will get you closer to the main one? This is something you can come back to each month as you start to see progress and decide what would be best to help you make your goal. I like to take time each week to break even my monthly goal down if possible, so that I can take little steps towards it each week.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." ~Ephesians 2:10
Once you have your main goal, it’s time to figure out how to actually reach it! Take the goal in each of these areas and break it down into manageable pieces. What smaller goal could you make each month for each arena that will get you closer to the main one? This is something you can come back to each month as you start to see progress and decide what would be best to help you make your goal. I like to take time each week to break even my monthly goal down if possible, so that I can take little steps towards it each week.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." ~Ephesians 2:10
Happy New Year!
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