Looking Ahead: 2015 Goals

I really hadn’t planned on setting many goals for 2015. At the beginning of 2014 I had about a 35-point list of things I wanted to accomplish. And it was perfect for 2014 that felt full of hope and potential and promise. I probably only accomplished half to two-thirds of those goals, but it got me motivated, spurred me on, and gave me at least a small sense of accomplishment at the end of the year. But 2015 came in with a different vibe. So much felt unknown and hazy. I felt (and still feel) big changes on the horizon, but nothing concrete. Setting a couple dozen firm, ambitious goals felt wrong somehow.

But my friend Chelsea posted about her own goal-setting time and it inspired me. Hers weren’t lose 10 pounds or eat more real food or read to the kids more. They were about living well, living full, and I realized that’s part of what I want for the coming year. Ending 2014 feeling small and hollow created a deep desire to make 2015 a year to live life courageously and abundantly.

And so I pondered my own answers to the Eric Liddell quote she shared: When I _____, I feel God’s pleasure. What makes me feel closest to the Lord? What makes me feel alive in Him? What desires and passions did He place deep within me, flames that still burn like embers, quiet but ready to fan to flame? And I came up with my list:

Run (more accurately, finishing a run; but in order to do that, I have to get out and run)
Dance. I have always always always loved to dance. It makes my soul happy. It makes my body happy. I don’t do it nearly often enough. I want to fix that this year.
Write truth and beauty. Writing is a balm for me. It’s how I process life and relate to God and the world. Words are one of my great loves and stringing them together is, I believe, one of my gifts. Words are also incredibly powerful. I want the words I write to bless those who read them and please my Savior.
Laugh easy. I love to laugh. But I don’t do it nearly often enough. I take life too seriously sometimes and in my effort to just have peace and order in the home, I can stifle my own laughter and be too stuffy. And, seriously, who wants to live that way? Life is hard enough – I might as well laugh when I can, which is a lot more than I do. And stop taking myself so darn seriously.
Soak up the sun. Sunshine warm on bare skin – it keeps me going through the cold winter months. Last summer got a little crazy. Part of that is the season of life. But we bought a house with a pool to enjoy it – because Matt knows how alive and at peace the sun makes me feel. Once the mercury breaks above 70 again, I want to be in the sun as much as I possibly can. Or even days like today, when I can sit in a sunny window and enjoy the warmth soaking in.
Travel. I love to travel. Go places, see new and old things, visit friends, share the world with Matt and with my girls. I would love to take a couple of road trips this year, if the Lord wills, along with a couple of our “standard” get aways.
Learn. Oh goodness, I love to learn. I think God placed in me that drive to be a lifelong student. I love (or at least used to love) the classroom environment. I thrived there. So, one of the things I’m most excited about for this year is a return to school. Lord willing, I will start taking classes at the local university again as of next week. I have no idea what I’m doing or what direction this is going to go or honestly how this is going to fit in our already full lives, but I’m almost beside myself with excitement and nervousness.
Create. I don’t always feel like I’m a creative person, but I know deep down I am. I need to create beauty from time to time. Whether it’s spray painting a piece of furniture or garage sale frame, creating photobooks to chronicle our lives, decorating a room in our home, or making a gallery wall of art and photos, I feel so much joy and satisfaction creating beauty in my home.
Open the doors. This not only refers to my insatiable need to open every door and window in our house as soon as the temperature breaks above 60 and until it’s so hot outside everyone is sweating inside the house and cranky at me, but also to how much I’ve come to realize I love hosting people in our home. I’m not a great cook / entertainer / hostess, but I still love having people over. I may serve the same menu of chicken tacos / guacamole / Summer Brew every time you visit, but we will laugh and relax and hopefully you will walk away feeling loved and cherished.
Be brave. My word of the year – Brave. Staring down a year that felt (feels) so nebulous and undefined, with scary adventures like returning to school and the real life truth of kids growing up and preparing them for the world, Brave is my theme. To face the anxiety that bubbles just under the surface, to take on the fear that I can’t do this (whatever this may be at the time), to confront the lies that Satan whispers in the dark. Brave is my theme and my challenge, but He makes me brave.