2019 New Years Resolutions: An Update

We’re more than halfway through 2019, if you can believe it! I thought it’d be fun to look through the 15 resolutions I set at the beginning of the year and reflect on the progress I’ve made (or lack thereof) towards those goals, some 185 days later. I’ve listed all of the resolutions I wrote in THIS BLOG POST back in January and then I’ve “rated” myself for each one.

After calculating my progress, I found that I’m currently averaging 64% goal attainment. Yes, I calculated that. Hashtag nerd alert.

Also, that’s pretty terrible.

Isn’t it nice to know that God doesn’t keep a scorecard like this on us? He is FOR us, not AGAINST us. He takes us from grace TO grace. Please know that I am walking through this exercise merely for my own insight and amusement. I will not tear myself down for the things I haven’t accomplished this year, but at the same time, I will ask Holy Spirit to show me where I can keep growing. And I know He’ll show me.

Thank you, Jesus, that our life isn’t the sum total of our “almosts,” our “not quites,” or our “so closes.” You aren’t interested in forced expectations, religious obligations, or colored in checkboxes. You are after the heart.

TRY 2 NEW RECIPES A MONTH.

Since Bry is the cook at our house, he’ll have to be on board for this “resolution,” but I’m sure it won’t take much convincing. We love cooking together. And by that, I mean he does most of the cooking and I pretend to clean up behind him. We tried many new recipes in 2018 and we’d like to try even more this year. Bonus points if they’re healthy(ish)!

“Rating: 3 out of 5. I think I’d give (us) a 3 on this one. We’ve tried 1-2 new recipes at home each month so far this year, so we’ve almost hit our goal!”

2. COMMIT TO OUR MONTHLY DATE NIGHTS ON THE 20TH OF EACH MONTH.

One of my favorite things we did in 2018 was steal the idea of having a special date night on the day of our anniversary every month. We take turns planning the date each month. This one change really helped to keep our anniversary alive!

“Rating: 4.5 out of 5. This one thing has made such an impact on our marriage. Since September, we’ve gone on a special, out-of-the-box date on the 20th of each month. Whatever we’re doing is always more fun just by being together, but we’ve had some special nights that I’ll never forget!!”

3. DELETE DUPLICATE PHOTOS ON MY PHONE AT THE END OF EACH DAY.

Keep one, not eight, of each shot! As of this moment, I have 43,960 photos and 5,979 videos on my phone. I’ve hit the level called, “ridiculous.” This is not ok and I must be stopped. Send help.

“Rating: 2 out of 5. I’ve made it a goal to seriously reduce this number and I’m chipping away at it every day!”

4. NO SCREEN TIME 30 MINUTES BEFORE BED.

We’ve all heard the research on “blue light” before bed - how it suppresses melatonin production more than twice as long as other light sources, how it messes with our circadian rhythm, and can even cause problems with all of the systems in our body, our mood, and so many other things! All of a sudden checking that Facebook feed doesn’t seem so important.

“Rating: 3 out of 5. I recently bought a tiny alarm clock so I can put my phone on the other side of the room and not feel like I need my phone to be my alarm. This has made it so much easier to not be on my phone until I go to sleep and ensure that it’s not the first thing I reach for in the morning.”

5. PAY OFF MORE DEBT SO WE CAN GIVE LIKE CRAZY AND TRAVEL THE WORLD.

We’ve been on baby step #2 of the Dave Ramsey baby step program for like a decade, y’all. No success story over here! BUT, we have big dreams and goals. Dreams of being debt free so we can give like crazy. And so we can see the world. Big dreams, y’all. Dreams of Nova Scotia, Annapurna, Scotland, and so many other places! One step at a time…just paid our last car payment on one of our cars less than 12 hours ago. Best feeling everrr!

“Rating: 4 out of 5. In February of this year, some friends of ours helped to light a new fire under our butt to pay off debt! We now have a solid plan and we’re on track to be 100% debt free within 5-6 years! Yay!!”

6. PRACTICE THE 1-MINUTE CLEAN UP RULE.

I recently heard about this life rule from Jen Hatmaker, who heard it from someone else. I can’t remember who it was, but it was brilliant! She said if a task will take less than a minute to complete, DO IT. Just get off your butt and do it.

“Rating: 3 out of 5. Oh how my husband wishes this was a 5! haha But I think this is the cleanest I’ve kept the house in our 13 years of marriage and it’s kind of nice to have a clean space.”

7. PRAY TOGETHER EVERY NIGHT.

This seems like such a given, but just like so many other people, it just doesn’t always happen. But prayer changes things. It changes everything. We want this to be the most important aspect of our marriage.

“Rating: 2 out of 5. This is one of those areas that could always be better. We just get busy at night doing our own things, but it’s something I want to be more intentional about. There is POWER in prayer!”

8. USE MY “BIG GIRL” CAMERA AT LEAST 2 TIMES A MONTH.

This was on my 2018 resolution list and I think I almost made it happen each month! This year I’m making it a goal to use it at least twice each month. Every time I use it for everyday things, I love the images we create. So, I definitely want to use it more.

“Rating: 5 out of 5. I’ve used my camera at least twice a month for things unrelated to my business and it’s been so fun! ”

9. INVEST DEEPLY IN THE FRIENDSHIPS WE’VE BEEN BLESSED WITH.

We’ve been blessed with so many amazing friends, but we have such a strong desire to go so much deeper with them. We’re praying that this year, even if our circle of friends gets smaller, we want to dive deeper with the ones who remain.

“Rating: 4 out of 5. I seriously get a little teary-eyed when I think about how the Father has so graciously and faithfully answered a prayer and a cry of my heart that I prayed over for years. We’re seeing the fruit of those prayers in the friends we’re investing in and there’s nothing like it.”

10. SCHEDULE 2 REST DAYS AND PUT THEM ON THE CALENDAR.

The Father has been teaching me how crucial it is to rest. And that doesn’t mean binge-watching Netflix shows all weekend. True rest comes in spending time with Him and being in His word. I’m looking forward to my solo retreat in Sedona this spring where I will have 5 days alone to rest with Him!

“Rating: 4 out of 5. My Sedona retreat was changed to Arkansas in the spring due to weather in Arizona, but it was still amazing. My next Jesus retreat is scheduled for September in Phoenix and I can’t wait!!! Resting in His Word and learning how to sit at His feet is my new favorite hobby.”

11. GET ON A CONSISTENT SLEEP SCHEDULE.

This year I implemented a pretty tight nightly routine and it worked out great for most of the year. I was ready for bed by 7:45, reading/journaling/praying until about 9:30, then in bed. This year, I want to commit to a pretty similar schedule, but ensure that I don’t get on my phone after I’m in bed so I can get at least 8 hours of solid sleep. I’m sure I’ll fail in this area a lot, but I sure want to try!

“Rating: 3 out of 5. This is so hit or miss. I go through periods of insomnia, then periods where I’m sleeping really well. Not being on my phone until bedtime makes a huge difference, though.”

12. PRACTICE GUITAR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES A DAY.

After taking up guitar last Valentine’s, I set a 1-year goal to be a back-up guitarist on Sundays at church. I honestly think it could take at least another 6-12 months before I’m ready, if not longer. But I will keep practicing, even if it’s only a few minutes each day. Bry also recently gave me an early bday present - an adapter to record vocals and guitar, so that’ll be a fun toy!

“Rating: 3.5 out of 5. This is probably the area where I’ve experienced the most growth and streeeeeetching. In April I was asked to lead worship at the MITM leader’s retreat and it really pushed me to go beyond where I thought my limits were. I still have a long way to go, but I’m working on the second song the Holy Spirit is writing through me and I love experiencing this with Him.”

13. SCHEDULE ANOTHER SOCIAL MEDIA FAST.

I took a 3-week break from social media this year and it was so good for my soul! I definitely need to do another fast.

“Rating: 4 out of 5. I took a short fast in February this year and then a much longer fast this summer. It takes several days to break the constant urge to pick up my phone, but once I get over that, it makes for such a peaceful time. It’s crazy how much our phones have changed us, but I’m learning that I’m in charge of my phone and not the other way around!”

14. REDUCE THE NOISE. EMBRACE THE SILENCE.

I’m slowly learning that silence isn’t scary! I want to push myself to not turn on the TV or the Sonos when I feel like I need noise in the house. Silence allows me to go to the Father and pray for wisdom and strength. To seek His Kingdom. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 6 and there’s nothing passive about it. Seeking is active and requires mental energy. When there is noise and distraction, it’s almost impossible to seek the Kingdom.

“Rating: 2 out of 5. This is a goal I’m still learning to focus on...not to turn on music or a podcast when I have a few minutes of quiet. I find that I can hear Jesus’ voice when there isn’t constant noise coming in.”

15. HIRE A PROFESSIONAL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER.

Okaaaay, so this one is kind of cheating. Like when you’re making your daily to-do list and you list things you’ve already done, just so you have the pleasure of marking at least one thing off of your list. Truth be told, I’ve already hired a photographer for my retreat in Phoenix in February, and I can’t wait! Now I just need to find a dress!

“Rating: 1 out of 5. So it’s funny that I thought this one would be a given, but plans changed when I ended up not being able to go to Sedona. I had to live James 4:13-17 (embarrassing myself by making “plans” when only the Father knows the real plans of my life!)”