Walking Into a New Year
I personally have never felt the stir of the New Year. I always get the motivation for a fresh start in the spring. The warm weather and sun leave me feeling all kinds of hopeful. However, I do feel good about checking in with myself and refreshing routines as we start a New Year, mentally preparing for the the cold winter months. It’s so easy to throw our cares to the wind during the Holiday Season. A time of over indulgence and celebration is the best excuse to let our responsibility wane.
In the coming days I will be remembering what our long term goals are. What’s been working and what hasn’t been moving the needle in the direction of reaching our goals. If your like me 2020 has been more about survival than anything. If I’m being real, some days, I’ve barely made it.
2020 was my gap year. All the goals and plans Evan and I had were left to fate vs striving to make them come to pass. It was my hope 2020 would offer the opportunity to soak in the culmination of our 2018 -2019 word (victory) and visions (baby, moving, Rory starting school).
In hindsight, I could have soaked all that goodness up more, but the changes brought on by the pandemic made our 2019 mountain top moments feel like they took sharp decent in March of this year. On a positive note, all that has occurred in our life since 2017, left me prepared for the unpredictability of this year. I see, I now have a better ability to surrender my plans with less fight than ever before. Ahhh wisdom.
Even with all it’s challenges, I am grateful for our health. Our family is still here and the end is in sight. I want to pause and offer my love to you. I know someone reading this has been touched by loss, financial struggle and the difficulty of isolation. Please know you are seen. You are validated. Let’s take a deep breathe and release. Framing this moment with grace for what we pray is a good year to come .
I’m visual. I know it’s predictable this time of year but I love a good vision board. I made one in 2018 and have been hanging on to it since. Every six months I look it over and ask myself if I feel like enough on the board has come to pass or if hanging in there a bit longer I needed. I’m excited to say I finally feel it's a good time to make a new new one.
Part of creating a vision board is identifying it’s core theme. As I shared earlier Victory was laid on my heart in 2018. In the past, I felt these words we identify as our theme each year were done an over with after 12 months, for me that hasn’t been the case these last few years. I can say my last three words dating back to 2016 have deep meaning to me and I don’t think they will ever be done playing a role in my story. They are part of the fabric of my life and represent my souls deepest lessons.
Surrender, Glory and Victory have marked the last four years of my life. Mid year I felt Flourish was the next one coming in. I try hard not to attach expectations to these words, because they might not manifest in the way I would predict. I’m hopeful we're entering a season of stepping fully into the roles He’s called us, with a new confidence and ease than we’ve had in years past.
Let’s get started!
Day 1:
- I want you to acknowledge the good and the bad. Write it out or say it out loud.
- Let go of your attachment to the the challenges, releasing them.
- Remember the good as an indication there is more to come.
- Sit in the silence. Take a few days and listen for your word. You will know, when you know.
- Once you have your core theme. Attache visualizations of what it means to you.
- Find images, words and colors that represent this word and what it represents.
- Add your images to a digital board or an old school scrapbook poster.
- Place it somewhere, where you can look at it frequently over the next year or years to come.
If your comfortable share your board with me! Tag @theglorydaysco so I can see it. Check back tomorrow for you next step.