Goals and Grace

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Let’s talk. It’s nearly February — do you already feel like you need a re-start? Do you feel like a failure and this year has just begun?! I’m coming to you today in solidarity, sister. What were your goals for the new year? Were you going to start working out in January? How about clean-eating and you’ve already hit up fast-food restaurants more times than you’d like to count? What about that New Year’s resolution to not yell at your kids as much? Ouch. Or the one about spending less? Guilty as charged.

I think January should be our Pre-New-Year month. We set our goals to start off right, but we really begin in February. Doesn’t that sound better?

One of my goals this year is to read more books. I decided I was going to start reading 30 minutes a day. Unfortunately, I tried to read every night around 8:30 and since I’m not a night person AT ALL, I have managed to fall asleep at almost every reading! (Note to self: change reading time).

Grace as we Strive Toward Goals

I’m one who makes goals, but along with goals I also know I need to make room for grace in my life. Who’s with me? Let’s make 2018 the year of goals and grace. Because I’m not sure who thought we could go to sleep December 31st and wake up January 1st a new person. It takes time to build habits, so we need to give ourselves grace.

Author Beth Moore said, “I’m no math wizard but I can count to three and, as best I can calculate, three steps forward and two steps back is still one step forward. Don’t get discouraged. And don’t quit. It’s all messier than we want it to be. Just showing up and giving it another shot is progress.”

The most important thing to remember is that we are all in different seasons. You might have a friend who has started working-out every morning at 5 a.m. Don’t sweat it. Remember that she has teenagers. They wake up and dress themselves. Your little ones might be waking up and ready for mommy’s attention around that time. There are different seasons in motherhood, and we have to give ourselves (and others) a little grace.

You do what works for you!

So don’t get discouraged if you had planned on running or whatever else you wanted to start and it hasn’t happened yet. The good news is that we have the whole year to practice!

 This Year:

-Practice self-care

-Be good to yourself

-Remember that every morning we get a fresh start

-Don’t get so rigid on your goals that they become more important than your relationships

-Don’t compare your goals (or lack of) to anyone — you do you

-Don’t ever give up

-Remember that baby steps are still steps

 

“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different?”

-C.S. Lewis

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