looking back + heading forward

Last January, I decided to be intentional and dive into a whole new challenge: purposeful and transparent goal-setting that was shared on the blog. I didn't really know how it would end up, but I knew that I wouldn't get very far if I didn't hold myself accountable and chose to do this publicly with some of my goals. Otherwise, the initial excitement would surely fizzle as it had in previous years. Although I have always been a planner and an itinerary-happy traveler, it was a whole new ballgame trying to set challenging goals for 2014. Breaking down the goals into reachable monthly goals proved to be helpful, though there was one area in particular that fell through the cracks midway through the year (my physical health goals). Even so, I learned a lot from living intentionally in 2014 and believe it will propel me into an even more intuitional 2015. I am excited and expectant for a year full of surprises as well as hard work. But through it all, I am desiring to lean on God and grow in my trust in Him. May He make this year into whatever He knows is best. And may I hold all the plans and goals for this year with an open hand, willing and asking that He would do what He wills with each of them. 

The year is bursting with possibilities and I desire to learn from what worked in 2014 as well as what did not work. I want to grow in living intentionally in all areas of my life and have chosen several that I will focus on this year. Many of these are similar to last year, so it'll be interesting to see what new changes will occur as I hopefully grow in each area. 

But before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to first start off with reviewing some positives and negatives of 2014 ( Here is my overall review of 2014).

three challenges of 2014

-  Making time for my priorities 

-   My anxiety was really hard this year

-  Staying positive and looking at the bright side

three reasons to be grateful in 2014

+  My boyfriend, G! He is my favorite blessing of 2014!

+ God's faithfulness, even when I was anxious and going through hard seasons

+ Supportive, loving, encouraging community group, friends, family, & blogging community.

three things that  didn't work in 2014

- Physical goals (I did not work out as regularly as I had in 2013)

- I was distracted by social media too much

- I usually did my Bible studies late at night (when I was exhausted) and didn't get as deep into the Word because of sometimes rushing through them to get to bed.

three things that worked in 2014

+ setting monthly goals and looking at them throughout the month as well as inviting people to keep me accountable for taking steps towards the goals

+ I made time for reading this year! I read 20 books in one year, which is a lot for me.

+ I started working through some of my fears and anxieties through trusted community

I believe it is healthy to look back before heading forward. It's an important step I learned last year from Lara Casey's goal-setting series that helped me in my own reflection of what I desired 2014 to look like, so I thought it would help to repeat this brand-new year.  

Last year, I chose a word for the year: delight. I desired to delight in whatever God was going to bring that year and even more, to delight in Him. It certainly was a year of delight, overflowing with gifts and memories that I will cherish for years to come.  After prayer and some pondering, this year's word is:

selah.

 I plan on writing a post entirely on this word, but for now, a few words that flow from my understanding of selah that are part of my vision for this year include: "to lift up", "to praise", "to pause", "to rest", and "to value" . . . 

my vision for 2015:

I desire to lift up and praise God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit in all spheres of my life  for mercy, sustaining grace, and guidance.

I desire to to remember to pause from the busyness of life and rest in the arms of my Heavenly Father, trusting that He is able to do all things and has a greater plan for me than anything I could ever dare to imagine. 

I desire to value what God values by loving people deeper, serving selflessly, and being open to whatever opportunities He places in my path to be His hands and feet in my community. 

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I am still prayerfully and thoughtfully working through my goals for the year and will share some of them, as well as return to posting monthly goals soon! 

What worked/didn't work for you in 2014? What are you grateful for? Have you chosen a word or vision for this year? I would really like to hear your thoughts, friends!