Happy New Year, loves! It’s so crazy to believe that it’s 2019! I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in the new year. We pulled an audible last night and canceled all NYE plans to stay at home and relax with our girls. We made appetizers, played games together, and attempted to do confetti poppers in the backyard. It was perfect.
New Year’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. It symbolizes a new beginning all the while giving you time to reflect on the past year. 2018 was not for the faint of heart. 2018 hit both ends of the spectrum for us. It was full of challenges and celebrations. 2018 grew us closer to each other and closer to God. I will forever be grateful for 2018.
But, it’s 2019 now and that offers us a fresh start! Each year I pick several goals for different areas of my life – fitness, work, etc. But, honestly, it can be hard to keep up with 20+ resolutions. So, several years ago I started picking a word as the overarching theme for my year. In years past I’ve picked joy, simplify, and smile. Each December I meditate on the year and the areas that I struggle with the most to come up with my word for the new year. I try to pick areas in my life where I need the most growth.
2019 Word of the Year:
This year, my 2019 word is “listen.” When I first told my husband this was going to be my word, he chuckled – a clear indication of how hard it is for me to be a good listener. Yikes. I like to think I’ve mastered the art of talking. I can talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything. But listening? Oh man, it is not my strong suit.
As I meditated on the word “listen,” the following verse kept coming to mind:
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” – James 1:19
I have heard a thousand times, but is so challenging for me to carry out daily. I come from a long line of talkers. I was raised to interrupt. In my family, if you don’t speak up, you don’t have a voice. Don’t think I’m bragging about this though, it’s not the kind of skill you want. Haha.
The main reason I chose this word though is because of the persistent tugging at my heart by the Holy Spirit over the past year. My heart has been heavy for those less fortunate than I – the homeless, the abused, the orphan. Christ calls us to help those in need and I have felt paralyzed on how to best do that. I’ve read a lot over the past year, witnessed hurt, pain, and hardship, but I still lack so much knowledge. My constant prayer has been for guidance on what I can do to help. Heck, I even started 2018 with plans to start my own NPO, but it just never felt right.
After countless conversations with my dad/mentor on this topic, there was one conversation we had that stuck out. My dad knows my heart, but spoke bluntly to me and it was exactly what I needed to hear. My dad laid it out for me like this – he told me that although my heart and mind are in the right place, I don’t have any “street credit.” Think about it this way: I’m a white girl with a masters degree living in an affluent neighborhood with two kids, a dog, and a stable job. I may know facts about those less fortunate than I, but I haven’t experienced it a lot of the pain and hardship that others live through daily. I don’t have street cred. I won’t know what others need and how I can help until I spend time with others and LISTEN.
So here we go. Listening will be a challenge for me, but I’m ready to take it on. I’m ready to listen. To listen to God, to listen to my family, to listen to my friends, and to listen to my community. Hold me accountable, y’all!
2019 New Year’s Resolutions:
And for those of you that are more interested in resolutions, don’t worry, I did create some of those, too. My type-A little self just couldn’t resist the temptation. Below are some resolutions I created for 2019. They are overarching goals for the year. Some are carried over from last year and others are new. They are not in any particular order.
- Be in the Word daily. I’m ashamed to admit it, but finding time for a daily devotional was one of my biggest challenges of 2018. I used every excuse under the sun for why I didn’t have time – I was tired, I have two little kids, etc. But there is no good excuse. So, this year my goal is to make time daily to grow my relationship with God.
- Meditate more. Meditation is like running for me. I centers me and keeps me focused. It’s hard for me to do right when I wake up, so I plan to find the right time to meditate during the day and make it part of my daily routine.
- Create a healthier lifestyle. This is a big goal for me. I want to create an overall healthier lifestyle. I want to not only workout more, but I want to eat healthier, too. It’s a big one to tackle, but I plan to do it a little at a time, one day at a time. I’m starting by joining the Fast Track to Fit team. This program provides you with daily workouts, a nutrition plan, a cookbook, and daily check-ins with a trainer. If you care to join me, you can click here and use code: ANNA20 for 20% off!!
- Make more time to read. Why is finding time to read so hard? I have a massive stack of books I want to get through this year including Becoming, Braving the Wilderness, and more. So, I plan to find a way to make more time to read daily – even if it’s just 5 pages.
- Be more organized. This is a necessity. There are a lot of moving parts for me – blog, family, and speech therapy. I can always use more organization in my life!
- Run another half marathon. Last year I had every intention of running my 5th half marathon, but my ankles had other plans. I was not able to run for a couple months this past fall and therefore didn’t train for the Dallas half. So, this year I plan to train for my 5th half marathon. Come onnnnn body!
- Kick butt at Fleurdille. Fleurdille is where my heart is. I love what I do here at Fleurdille and am so grateful for you guys. Because of you guys, I get to do what I love and because of that, I get to work even harder for you this year! I want to engage with you guys more and bring you more of what you want!
- Date my husband more. Travis and I did a much better job of sneaking away for mini weekend getaways this past year. However, we could be better about going on monthly or weekly dates. So, we’ve vowed to date each other better and more often in 2019.
- Write more cards. This past fall I started sending out hand-written cards to friends and I forgot how much joy it brings me. Isn’t it fun to get snail mail? In 2019 I want to write more cards and encourage others more!
- Update our kitchen. Maybe this should be number 1? Haha. Our kitchen has been my arch nemesis since we moved in. Initially, we didn’t want to touch our outdated kitchen as this isn’t our forever home. However, we think a little facelift wouldn’t hurt. So, this year we plan to update our appliances, get new countertops, new light fixtures, a new backsplash, and possibly new tile. I’m challenging myself to do as much as I can myself, too. Wish me luck!
- Switch over to clean beauty products. My last goal is to begin to switch my make-up and beauty products to clean beauty products. I don’t know very much about clean beauty products, so I first plan to start educating myself. Then I plan to gradually start shifting over to clean products one product at a time.
sweater: ae | jeans: madewell | shoes: target | clutch: identical | sunnies: karen walker
photography: fort lion studio
