November Goals (and October review)

October was a very productive month! I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I start experimenting with bullet journaling, which has helped me stay on track with my goals, habits, and daily things to do. Basically, I wrote out my monthly goals and then each week broke referred to those goals while planning my to-do/goals for that week. Breaking them down and actualy referring to the goals routinely (rather than only when I remember, like I had been) helped me stay on track and schedule the important goals throughout the week. I kept hearing about bullet journaling and finally took the plunge and it's helped me tremendously this month aaaand was a fun process to learn this journaling/calender/planner method! My blogger friend Rachel explains the process HERE. Hopefully I can keep the productivity momentum going as the holiday season rolls around!

October Goals

SPIRITUAL 

(1) Read Psalms 46 - 66 and study atleast 8 of them in detail using whatever Bible study method I want.

 >>> I read through Psalm 76 and meditated on 4 of them using Lectio Divina method. Not as many times as I hoped, but considering that I was also studying James, 8 may have been overly ambitious.

(2) Study the book of James with my small group using the inductive Bible study method

>>> Yes! I am learning so much on my own as well as within our group discussions. Everyone has different insights and observations that add depth and clarity to the Bible book of James. 

(3) Pray for God's guidance, wisdom, & energy in the ministries I am involved/getting involved in, especially YoungLife Capernaum and co-teaching English to two Burmese refugees.

>>> Yes, Greg and I are praying for the right words and right hearts that will show those we come in contact with the love of Jesus.

PHYSICAL/NUTRITIONAL

(1) Continue to eliminate dairy, gluten, white potatoes, and beans daily except for one cheat meal per week.

>>> YES! It's becoming more of a habit this month and not as hard as it used to be 

(2) Run twice a week; free weights & squats once a week. Get back to 3mi jogs by the end of the month

>>> YESSS!! The goal I am most excited about this month! I was having such a hard time getting back to jogging twice a week and bullet journaling helped me stay accountable because I scheduled my runs each week. I got up to 3.5mi by the end of the month, which is not a big deal for most people, but for me it's a long jog (though I am really slow). 

(3) Get into bed by 11pm

>>> I am going halfsies on this one because I was doing great the first few weeks and then after our vacation, but the last few weeks I have been going to bed later than 11pm. It's hard when my body has to shift from working until 2am on some nights to getting to bed before 11pm.

MENTAL & EMOTIONAL

(1) Read 8 books

>>> Yes, HERE are the reviews

(2) Write one chapter of my novel

>>> I am going halfsies with this one too because I didn't write a whole chapter but I did finally carve out some time to work on it, so that is a gain in my book (literally and figuratively speaking, haha).

(3) Make an appt to catch up with the wise, godly woman who has been counseling me through my anxiety. 

>>> Yes! It was great chatting with her and getting some wise insight on some communication issues that have been popping up in my life. 

(4) Finish reading, processing/journaling the book This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live (by Melody Warnick) along with making my own Love Your City Bucket List to help me discover more about my city and feel more at home here.

>>> Yes! I read a book on flowers in Texas and have a stack of others to slowly go through. We went to the farmer's market in early October, and I started jogging on a nearby trail pretty consistently. 

SOCIAL

(1) Send 2 hand-written letters in the mail to hopefully encourage or brighten someone's day

(2) Have a couple of friends over for dinner

(3) Host a tea-party-themed book club meeting at our apartment for my gal friends as we discuss The Hiding Place, decide on a new book, and decide on a catchier name for our club than "Ladies Book Club"

Yes! Lots of fun opportunities to connect with people this month!

MARRIAGE

(1) Ask/journal THESE questions every other week to see how we can be loving and serving each other.

>>> Halfsies again... We did this once this month, which was still very helpful for us to see how we can be loving each other this month

(2) Pray for Greg for specific things using THESE husband prayer cards 

(3) Work together to decrease our monthly restaurant spending

>>> We were SOOO close with this one but our 5 days in Lake Tahoe as well as a weekend visiting the in-laws included a lot of eating out so we spent more than what we budgeted :(

(4) Celebrate our ONE year anniversary October 17th in Lake Tahoe!!! 

>>> Yessss!!! I will post photos soon!

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November Goals

[ SPIRITUAL ]

(1) Continue inductive study of James on my own so I can contribute my thoughts during our small group discussions

(2) Read Psalms 77-105 and do lectio divina with one of the Psalms once a week 

[ PHYSICAL/NUTRITIONAL ]

(1) No dairy, gluten, white potatoes, and beans EXCEPT for one cheat meal a week (dairy and gluten only). I've been feeling so much better limiting these foods

(2) Run twice a week and get to 4 miles by the end of the month

(3) Free weights and squats once a week

[ MENTAL & EMOTIONAL ]

(1) Read 7 books, including a book on active listening called The Listening Life 

(2) Meet with my Biblical counselor & continue working on some communication issues I want to grow in as well as listening to God's truth about me rather than my own insecurities.

(3) Creative writing for 60 minutes a week. I want to finish half my rough draft by the end of the year.

[ SOCIAL ]

(1) Send 2 hand-written letters of encouragement

(2) Work on Christmas cards & accompanying 2016 review letter.

(3) Continue reading books about Texas history to help me understand more about the place I live.

(4) Blog about our anniversary trip to Lake Tahoe

[ MARRIAGE ]

(1) Pray for Greg atleast 5x/ week using these beautiful and practical Husband Prayer Cards. They've been helping me become more consistent in praying for him and our marriage.

(2) Use these marriage questions from THIS #Beating50Percent post twice this month to help us reflect on how we can love each other better:  What brought you joy this week? What was something that was hard this week? What’s one specific thing I can do for you this week? How can I pray for you this week? Is there anything that’s gone unsaid, convictions, confessions, unresolved hurt?

(3) Decrease our restaurant spending dramatically. 

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What are YOUR November goals? How do you stay organized with your to-dos and goals? Do you bullet journal, and if so, any tips?


I am linking up today at #MonthlyGold with my goals