November Goals

Happy November, everyone! We are back from our Maui honeymoon and had a relaxing and refreshing weekend getting back into real life as Mr. and Mrs. I've been excited to get back into the blogging world and reconnect with my blogging gals!

Greg has been a huge encouragement with my goal-setting ever since we started dating, and once we were engaged, he mentioned he wanted to eventually become more goal-oriented together as a couple. So, throughout the weekend, we have been dreaming up goals for November. We decided to do individual goals as well as 'Team Wiggins goals'. I cannot explain how thankful I am to be married to a man who supports me & comes alongside of me in desiring to live intentionally and purposefully. I am super stoked for the months (and years!) ahead as we cheer each other on with achieving our monthly goals as well as more long-term goals. 

But first, here's a recap …..

October Goals

1.  Do another week (or atleast 3-4 days) of  "Seven Sacred Pauses" where I stop and have selah moments throughout the day to rest and refocus on the Lord rather than on stress (even if I do just 2-3 pauses a day)

Not exactly the Seven Sacred Pauses, but I journaled and took "selah" moments the week before the wedding to look at God's faithfulness thus far. Greg and I took little pauses on our wedding day & honeymoon to help the joy & excitement of this season sink in a bit.

2. Exercise 1-2x/week and continue clean-eating as much as possible, avoiding foods I know will make me feel sick (starches, potatoes, beans).

Yes! I felt so much better when I was increasing my physical activity (I restarted jogging and love it) and eating healthier foods. We did a few short but difficult hikes on the honeymoon and did a lot of walking, so I didn't fall completely off the health wagon (though I didn't go for a beach jog or hit the gym like I was hoping I'd do atleast once)

3. Continue praying with Greg for our wedding day and our marriage.

Yes! Praying for Greg helped me refocus my thoughts from "Ahh! What am I forgetting? What do I still need to do?!" to "I am marrying my best friend this month & I am so incredibly thankful". 

4. Read and discuss 1-2 chapters of You & Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan

Read one chapter on our honeymoon and had awesome conversations about living mission-focused in our community and dreamed of ways to love those around us including dropping off pumpkin bread with an encouraging note for the Thanksgiving as a way to say hello. 

5. Do a juice detox 

Yes! 3 days of juices through Greenleaf Juicing Company the week of the wedding. I ate light meals of protein, healthy fats, and fruit. There wasn't a huge out-of-this-world reaction to the detox, but I felt energetic and my gut felt clean (no nausea and bloating), which was awesome.

6. Meet with out-of-town friends for atleast a few minutes the day(s) before the wedding since the wedding day will be so busy. 

This was important to me. I had several close friends who traveled from far away to attend our wedding and I knew we wouldn't have a lot of time to catch up during the wedding day, so I made a way to see them before the wedding and I am so glad I did!

7. Be as stress-free as we can on our wedding day by continuing the game plan we started in September (especially prayer and digging into the Word!)

Yes! There were a few bumps in the road (which is expected, of course) but overall, Greg and I look back and are so grateful for an overall stress-free week of the wedding and wedding day! We were both intuitional in trying to make it as stress-free as possible, and it helped us refocus whenever I would start to worry about some little detail. I finished 99% of the wedding planning and errands the week before the wedding so that allowed for a lot of time with friends and family that week, which was very fun and stress-relieving. 

8. Continue She Reads Truth's study on 4 of Paul's letters (finished Galatians, working on Ephesians, then is Philippians and Colossians). 

Yes! I am finishing up the last few days of Colossians. These four letters have been such a great way to focus on the gospel amidst a busy season. I am excited for She Reads Truth's Open Your Bible study starting Nov. 2!

9. Challenge myself to plan as little as possible for our honeymoon in Maui. I am a planner, but this is going to be relaxing, and Greg has done an awesome job of planning the trip so far. It'll be fun to be spontaneous, which is very unlike me, but I am ready to try it! :) 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! After all the wedding planning, it was super easy to avoid planning much. Greg did an awesome job planning a few of the days (such as our adventures on the Road to Hana and a kayaking & snorkeling outing), but we spent the majority being spontaneous, which was new (and super relaxing) for this itinerary-loving gal. I could get used to this! 

10. Write to my Compassion Child ( I slacked in September!)

Yes! Sent her a letter online with some photos. 

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November Goals

Elena's goals

1. Do a word study on selah using this method that Greg has been using for his word studies. Along with studying selah, I also want to practice selah by finding moments to rest and dwell on God's goodness.

2. Read & review 2 books (currently reading 7 Women and You and Me Forever ) 

3. Get a library card

4. Fitness goals: less eating out, more home-cooked meals (2 new recipes this month?) and workout 2x/week 

5. Continue working on switching my RN and ARNP licenses from Washington to Texas 

6. Blog goals: Post another Journal of a Miss to Mrs post, post about July's Yellowstone family trip, co-host The Circle with Kiki from In Its Time with a November theme 

7. Look into process to legally change my last name. 

8. Follow along with She Reads Truth's studies this month: Open Your Bible and Psalms of Gratitude

Team Wiggins Goals

1. Have a continual convo throughout the month answering this questions: How are we using our time/money/talents to make disciples of Jesus and love others?

2. Study, meditate, and memorize a verse together 

3. Write to each of our  Compassion International children

4. Read 1-2 chapters of You and Me Forever and discuss the questions at the end of each chapter.

5. Challenge ourselves to daily think of 3-4 things we are thankful for each day so that by the end of the month. Similar concept to 1000 gifts, but we're going for 100 gifts (blessings) this month.

6.  Brainstorm and decide on a way to reach out to our neighbors in our apartment complex (specifically the three on the same floor as us). I am thinking of making pumpkin bread and writing a little note saying we just got married and would love to meet them/ have them over for coffee or a meal sometime. 

7. Start working on Christmas cards that we'll also use to thank our guests for coming to our wedding

8. Financial goals: Decrease eating out; start working on budgeting as a couple; look into different loan repayment options & switch if better than what I am currently doing. 


BTW, Stay tuned for photos from our wedding and honeymoon in weeks and months ahead! So excited to share some of my favorite memories from this beautiful, life-changing season!