A Perfectly Planned Year!

Tell a friend — hit share!

A Perfectly Planned Year!

As we count down the final days of 2019, it is hard to believe that a new month, year, and decade are less than 30 hours away! It’s not only a time filled with reflection on our past year, but also a time to plan and ponder what lies ahead in 2020.

It’s exciting, yes? Planners, goals, a new word for the year, and of course, our New Year’s resolutions. What’s not to love!

No matter who we are, we’re most likely drawn to the societal norm of goal setting. Every year, we take time to reflect on our accomplishments as the year comes to a close, and also consider new goals for the upcoming year. Our new goals can include something we want to do, grow in, or give up in the new year; the choices are limitless, and the world is ours!

Each year, most of us goal getters spend time selecting the right word for the new year, the perfect planner for the new year (this year I chose Carrie Green’s Perfectly Planned 2020), and the pledges we’re making to ourselves, along with goals we’d plan to achieve in the new year.

As the year comes to a close, we take a moment to reflect on 2019, assessing what went well, what didn’t, and what we’d like to leave behind. Sound familiar?

This year, as you prepare for your perfectly planned year, I encourage you to spend time in prayer and reflection. You see, there are no perfect years, and there are no perfectly planned days. I wrote about perfectly planned days in a prior post, where I asked my readers to take a moment and imagine their perfect day.

And then I shared how rarely my day actually begins or ends in the manner I imagined because there are no perfectly planned days! Why? Every day presents a new scenario and a unique set of challenges. There are no perfect days. I pray and prepare, and then I give it to God.

Just as we desire to stick to our goals (and the stickiness factor is essential to achieving our goals), we also have high expectations to actually achieve our goals, and when we set high expectations for ourselves and do not reach our goals, it can be detrimental to our success if we are not focused on the right things.

So, I ask, what is the objective behind your goal setting? I believe more than ever that we should set goals that are purposeful and meaningful to our uniqueness.

How, may you ask, do you accomplish this? Below, I’ve offered a few tips on goal setting for the ambitious, authentic Christ-centered female go-getters who are serious about growing their faith.

Prayer is Your First Priority

Place God first in your life, including in your planning. We cannot be kingdom builders if we are leaving God out of our planning. He is the author of our lives, the pursuer of our hearts, and He has good plans in store for us. Therefore, the first thing we must do as we embrace the new year is to pray.

Prayer does not need to be complicated or challenging. Prayer is simply talking to God. Take time to open up your heart to God and share your goals and dreams. Philippians 4:6 (NLT) says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Don’t over-complicate it. Keep it simple and share the desires of your heart.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4-5 (ESV).

And, when God tells us He’ll give us the desires of our hearts, He is not saying He will provide us with whatever we want. The first part of that sentence is crucial: delight yourself in the Lord. If He becomes our soul’s delight, the One we want more than anything else, our desires will naturally line up with His. Our desires will be summed up solely in Him. Therefore, the desires of our hearts will be in His will. We will begin to delight in what God has planned for us.

This week, spend time in reflection and prayer. Delight yourself in Him. Tell God what you want and let Him shape those desires to match His. Prayer allows us to stay in alignment with His will for our lives.

Then, listen. Take the time to hear what He has to say about your journey and where He’s leading you. Those of us who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit right there within us, and Jesus promised that He would “teach {us} all things and remind {us} of everything I have told you” (John 14:26 HCSB).

Spend Time in the Word

There’s no better way than to know you are in God’s will than by spending time in the Word. And when we spend time in the Word, we are renewing and refreshing our minds.

In January 2018, I shared with you the importance of renewing our thoughts and the significance of spiritual growth to our journey.

So, why do we have a sincere desire to grow in spiritual maturity, deepen our walk with God, and set off with the best of intentions for the new year, yet rarely realize the importance of renewing our minds? We hit the restart button with several intentions, including renewing our goals, restating our purposes, and establishing better habits. Sounds great, yes? But what if our thoughts aren’t buying into our plans and intentions? What if our mindset is thinking the same old, same old?

In Philippians, Paul writes, “In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable” Philippians 4:8 (GNT).

Let God’s Word guide you in creating goals. His “word is a lamp to {our} feet and a light to {our} path” (Psalm 119:105 ESV). His Word lights the way in front of us, showing us where to go. His Word illuminates our path, leading us forward into His plans for our growth. His Word will renew our expectations and remind us of His values.

Crafting Godly Goals

It’s now time to take what we’ve heard in prayer and through Bible reading and create godly goals for the new year.

You may decide to choose one word to focus on for 2020. For example, if you really feel God leading you to grow in your understanding of His love for you, you could choose Love as your word of the year. Or, perhaps you desire to be more forgiving; in that case, your word could be Grace. The key is to pick a word you connect with and then study, think about, and pray about it throughout the new year.

Another goal-setting method you may prefer is the traditional path, where you create a list of the areas where you would like to grow both personally and professionally. Alternatively, you may want to focus on just one goal for the new year.

No matter how you craft your goals, the most important thing to keep in mind is to align your goals with God’s Word. And, we accomplish this by knowing His Word and staying true to the plans He has for you.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Rest in Him

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV).

Let’s not give in to hustle or striving. Confession, this is not easy for me because I’m a recovering performer. I spent years hustling and striving until the burden became too much to carry. I once read that when we fail to follow God’s course for our lives, it becomes burdensome. The work we do for God sets us free. Why? Because He takes responsibility for our success. The success is His, not ours.

If we are working for our glory or prominence, we’ve missed the point. The goal is to do the work of God. To be intentional and devoted to kingdom building, for when we follow His plans, we will find rest.

Hope for the New Year!

Be confident and know that Christ accepts you and loves you unconditionally. He loves you regardless of whether you reach your goals, make a million dollars, or author a book on the best-selling list. God loves YOU.

“With all my heart, I am waiting, Lord, for you! I trust your promises.” Psalm 130:5 (CEV)

Let that truth be your anchoring as you enter 2020, for “His yoke is easy, and the burden is light.”

Happy New Year, My Sweet Friend!

My New Year’s Resolution is to place my hope in the Lord and praise Him for the many blessings in my life! I hope you’ll join me!

“But as for me, I will always have hope and I will praise You more and more.” Psalm 71:14 (NLV)