{October Goals}

October Goals

>> Continue studying Aimless by Ange Smith
>> Commit new verses to memory
>> Finalize plans for our 2-year anniversary trip (YAY!)
>> Decorate our home for fall (with the help of my ever-growing inspiration board)
>> Try a new pumpkin or apple recipe each week (already doing this - yum!)
>> Finish reading From Anger to Intimacy
>> Take a daily walk with Madison, weather permitting
>> Reach out to designers for LMP rebrand
>> Review our budget and plan for November

What are your goals for this month? I'd love to know what your aim and focus are set on!

{September Goals}

"There's 0% chance, 100% God."

A couple weeks ago, we had the privilege to hear one of the members of our church share about his journey with a brain tumor. He so boldly spoke of his trust and full reliance on the Lord in the midst of getting his diagnosis, how he and his wife had come to answer the ever-so-common question, "So what are your chances of surviving?" with 5 small but powerful words: "There's 0% chance, 100% God."

Wow. That hit me like a punch to my stomach.

Here I am, tumor-free, and am I actually trusting God to the full extent of my brother and sister in Christ who are actually experiencing a situation that makes it difficult and challenging to trust Him? Does my faith prove weak and futile in the time of trials, let alone in the good, easy times? Instead of figuring out the chance of this or that happening, what would my life look like if I surrendered it all to God, knowing that He is sovereign over it all?

I'm praying that God would continually remind me of my need for Him, every day. In good times, let us lean on Him and praise His name. In the tough times, let us praise Him still.

"Lord, I need You. O I need You. Every hour I need You. My one defense, my righteousness. O God, how I need You."

September Goals

>> Study Aimless by Ange Smith with a girls' small group
>> Commit new verses to memory
>> Plan for our 2-year anniversary trip (YAY!)
>> Spend a week in Florida with my family
>> Finish reading From Anger to Intimacy
>> Take a daily walk with Madison, weather permitting
>> Lovingly serve our LMP clients
>> Reach out to designers for LMP rebrand
>> Review our budget and plan for October

What are your goals for this month? I'd love to know what your aim and focus are set on!

{July Goals}

'Be a branch snapper off-er in a world where people are in the thick of the woods."
Carrie Grace

Earlier this week, I read an incredible encouragement email from the wonderful creator of The Kindness Box, Carrie Grace. It's so like God to have His perfect timing, right? These past few weeks I've been struggling with feeling & showing love & kindness to others. This often-tired new mama was trying in my own strength, & on my terms, to love others...& not quite getting it right.

Then I read Carrie's email:

"Perhaps that is why we aren't called to go at this life alone. Maybe God & others who reflect Him to us are tiny branch snappers...I think we are called to make getting out of the woods easier for one another. That we are supposed to speak truth in love as a means to get others into the clear.

Talk about a change in perspective! In the midst of being in what I'll call an un-kindness rut, God met me where I was & reminded me of the bigger picture - it's not about simply doing kind things or speaking with kindness toward others, it's about snapping those little branches off for those He's put in my life. It's about being willing to walk through the woods with them. As Carrie put it, "It's about staying when the woods are dark & cold & being willing to sit in the hard waiting period with others. And it's also about refusing to let someone stay."

Snap, snap, snap.

July Goals

>> Love & respect Dean well
>> Be an intentional mama & point Madison to the Lord
>> Commit new verses to memory
>> Road trip to Nashville!!!
>> Read The Best Yes & go through the Bible study at church
>> Take a walk with Madison 1x a day
>> Review our budget & plan for August
>> Lovingly serve our LMP clients
>> Treat others with an abundance of kindness

P.S. A first family photo with our little girl Madison! Taken by Casey Edwards Photography. (See My Fairweather Baby posts for more).

{March Goals}

"'and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,'
declares the Lord." Jeremiah 31:14

This morning I was reflecting on notes from listening to Lisa Chan speak at a women's conference a couple years ago. Y'all, she is such a beautiful gem! She brought a powerful message from the Word & I have been challenged by it countless times since then. At that conference, Lisa shared a fantastic analogy of our lives here on earth:

We're all on a camping trip - off-roading, traveling along the road the Lord has put before us. It may be a 70- or 80-year trip down this dusty, bumpy road & that's all it is. This world isn't our home, or our final destination. She challenged us to ask:

Am I living as if I'm not of this world? Or have I tried to set up camp, kicking my feet up & making myself as comfy as possible? If we gorge ourselves on the things of this world, we won't have a huge appetite left for Christ.

Matthew 6:19-21 reminds us of where to place our value/treasures:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth & rust destroy and where thieves break in & steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys & where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So, the questions to ask ourselves are: What is my treasure? What do I treasure?

When I'm setting goals & thinking through what I want to be about each month, I try to reflect on this principle: We are only temporarily here on this earth. Jesus is enough. He should be our heart's greatest joy, hope, treasure. Lay up treasures in heaven, dear sisters.

May this be true of us all: "God, stamp eternity on my eyelids." {Lisa Chan}

March Goals

>> Finish reading On Photography & Happiest Baby on the Block (carryover)
>> Clean out 2014 hard drive (carryover)
>> Paint end tables (carryover)
>> Make pillow covers (carryover)
>> Buy frames + hang photos
>> Make laundry detergent
>> Enjoy a Girls' Weekend getaway
>> Review our budget + plan for April

{February Goals}

"You crown the year with Your bounty; Your wagon tracks
overflow with abundance." {Psalm 65:11}

My word for this year took several weeks before I finally put my finger on it. Looking back on my past goals & journal notes, I saw the word jump out to me: g-r-a-c-e. It's by God's grace we live, move & have our being. It's by His grace we are saved, redeemed & enter into the family of God. Grace, not perfection are the words I want to shout from the rooftops in these coming days, weeks & months. So much is about to change as I transition into motherhood this spring & Lord knows, I will need heaping amounts of grace to live out His calling, figuring about diaper changes, midnight feedings & raising up our little girl to love the Lord.

Power to Redeem is a beautiful song by Lauren Daigle, featuring All Sons & Daughters. The lyrics have washed over me with a reminder that God is in control & He is the one that brings out the life transformation in us we so desperately long for & need.

You take what is and you make it beautiful.
When love floods in, we're resorted forever more.
With breath it brings the dead to life,
With words that pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are we set free.
With mercy strong to carry shame and nail it to a tree
You alone hold the power to redeem.

No guilt competes with innocence crucified.
No grave can hold what Your grace has justified.
With breath it brings the dead to life,
With words that pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are we set free.
With mercy strong to carry shame and nail it to a tree
You alone hold the power to redeem.

Rejoice o child of God
Lift your eyes to see.
With every morning light,
Again we are redeemed.

Rejoice o child of God
Lift your eyes to see.
With every morning light,
Again we are redeemed.

With breath it brings the dead to life,
With words that pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are we set free.
With mercy strong to carry shame and nail it to a tree
You alone hold the power to redeem.

Oh you alone, hold the power to redeem.
Oh you alone, hold the power to redeem.

February Goals

>> Complete the 1-year Bible reading plan with Hubby
>> Pick a new Bible passage & memorize
>> Decide on 2015 family verse (carryover)
>> Attend an Ownership Class at church
>> Take a gun class with Hubby (I'll only be learning about how to handle firearms, not shooting, since I'm pregnant)
>> Order prints for Dean's office, our bedroom & the nursery
>> Read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, The Happiest Baby on the Block, On Photography & The Meaning of Marriage (Ch. 3-5)
>> Establish our new 2015 budget
>> Finish thank you cards (carryover)
>> Clean out our 2014 hard drive
>> Paint our bedroom end tables & add new hardware
>> Make new throw pillow covers for the living room
>> Finish decorating the upstairs & downstairs guest bathrooms
>> Organize the den