making things happen + a project

If you follow me on Instagram, you've might have seen the picture above and wondered what all "making things happen" entailed.  My, my, my.  You're in for a post today.

I happened to see one of Michaela's Instagram pictures last week where she was writing down her vision for 2013.  She tagged a gal named Lara Casey.  I got a little bit nosey, so I decided to see what all this "vision making" was about, so I first checked out Lara on Instagram before being led to her blog.  

I saw the above graphic and was automatically sucked in.  Goal setting?  Making thing happen?  Yes and yes.  Give me some of that.  So, I started reading and I started writing.  I grabbed a notebook (on clearance!) at target and began following Lara's ten steps in her making things happen series.  I won't go through all the steps with you because this blog post would turn into a book, but I do want to share with you my goals that were born out of this ten step series.  You might be saying, "But Nicole, you JUST shared your goals with us last week!"  I know, I know.  But, it's pretty amazing how much my goals have changed.  Not exactly changed in content, but more in the way it is written.  My goals are now written in a very solid, "let's do this" way.  And that's exactly what you need when writing goals.

But, let's back up a minute. 

Before I got to the goal step I had to write out a vision for 2013.  This vision is ultimately what I am trying to fulfill with my goals.  Here is my vision for 2013.

With that vision in mind, here are some of my goals that have been born.

1.  I will have to let go of some things.  I'll have to let go of material possessions and the desire for more material possessions.  I will have to let go of the desire to perfect everything.  I will have to let go of my OCD tendencies.  It is time to simplify, simplify, simplify.  Actually, simplicity is my word for the year.  (Oops.  Did I pick a word out last week?  Yes, I did.  See?  Doing these steps really helped me to get down to the nitty gritty of what 2013 should be.)  There is always something making me a busy bee.  Maybe it is doing a million projects for the house, scouring stores and website for more things for the house, running around the house putting everything in its "perfect" place.  I'm constantly going and wanting and doing.  But, in all that I'm forgetting to sit and live and love.  In doing all that, I am using up resources that the Lord can use for His glory.  I don't want to be unwise with what I'm given and NOT being able to bless others with my resources because I've used them all up on things that don't really matter.  Do I really "need" that thing for the house?  Do I really "need" to run around the house putting everything "in its place" when Ty just wants me to sit and talk with him?  This year, I am going to have to let go.

2.  I will strive to respect Tyler and his leadership over our home.  Yes, this one won't start until March, but I want to have goals that will be encouraging to our marriage.  The more that I am respecting Tyler and his role in our home the more that we will be able to serve the Lord together.  When I allow him to lead and when I submit myself to his authority in our marriage we can do THAT MUCH MORE for the gospel.  I will respect him in my tone of voice and in my actions in our home.  More than anything I want our home to be a place where we can serve the Lord together.  I want our home to be a place where we can invite people in and share the gospel with them.  For us to be able to do that, I have to absolutely stop with the nagging.  Maybe he doesn't put the remote in the exact place I want it.  WHO CARES.  Maybe he doesn't load the dishwasher.  WHO CARES.  That has absolutely no relevance.  Is it going to kill me?  No.  Is it going to make our house fall apart?  No.  I have to shut up and let the man live.  I need to validate the way he does things and let him know that I respect him as a person and as a leader.  Speak positive.  Swallow the negative. 

3.  I want to memorize more scripture.  The more scripture that I commit to memory the more that I will be able to stand up to temptation and the lies that Satan tries to tell me.  The more I memorize scripture the more I will be able to share it with people who need it.  

4.  I want to learn more about the Bible.  I don't what to know the Bible just to say that I know the Bible, but I want to know the Bible so that I can more effectively share the gospel with others.  I full know that I will never be able to answer every question I am asked, but I DO want to be able to answer some of the questions that come my way.  

5.  I want to INVEST in people.  As I am growing in my faith, I want to invest in a believer who might not be where I am yet.  I want to invest in women who don't know Jesus yet.  As we get married, I want us to be able to do this as a couple with other couples.  I want us to always be investing in another couples life.  It is my desire that we will always have close relationships with other couples who are walking with Jesus.  

6.  I want to learn to live on less.  As we get married I want to simplify the way we spend our money so that we always have room to bless others.  As WE begin to live this way we will be able to teach our children to live this way.

7.  I want to grow my blog in a way that brings all the glory back to the Lord.  I want to use the platform I've been given to speak the gospel and to use my resources wisely.

8.  I want to waste less time doing things that mean ultimately nothing at the end of the day.  I want to watch less TV.  I want to be on the computer less.  I want to be checking social media less.  I want to be living and loving and MOVING.  Not stuck in a rut that is media.

9.  I want to develop my prayer life more.  The more time I spend with the Lord the more that I'll be able to detect His will and His power in my life.  I want to pray over my family and my fiancé/husband more.  I want to be a warrior when it comes to prayer.  I want to always be lifting others up.

10.  I want to trust the Lord with my career.  Today, I don't have a clue what lies ahead, but I want to fully trust and believe that the Lord has something for me.  I want to let go of my own fear and desires so that I can truly live the life the Lord intends.  I don't want my own thoughts and opinions to muffle out the voice of God.

Today, I have just ten goals.  I know that as the days, weeks, and months go by I will probably add to them and develop them even more.  Now more than ever I firmly believe that goals should be evaluated often.  How silly would it be for me to create goals on January the first and not evaluate them until December 31st?  I would probably get nothing accomplished.  So, as the days so by don't be surprised to see this topic revisited again.  Because I want to make things happen in 2013.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noticed my new board.  It's called "Making Things Happen in 2013" and it is filled with things that are inspiring me in 2013.  I encourage you to begin Lara Casey's steps to setting goals for 2013 and then make a board for yourself.  Let's be proactive this year.

Before you go, take a look at my newest project!

Okay, okay.  I can't really claim that this project is my own.  My blog friend turned real life friend (who I just met when she rang my door bell yesterday), Katie, actually did all the work. I saw on her blog that she had this cute wall in her kitchen where she hung all her Christmas cards up this past year and I thought it would be the perfect thing to put above my coffee bar.  So Katie brought her roll of chicken wire and her sweet three month old and start to staple away.  I got lucky and just held the baby while she did the hard work.  :)  After about 5 minutes and a few staples I now have the cutest chicken wire wall above my coffee bar.  What I love even more is the scripture that now fills that wall.  It will be so fun to find new printables from time to time and change things out on the wall.  We have a couple of pictures of us, some cute scripture printables including my current memory verse, and our vision for 2013.  You better believe that the vision printable will be front and center until December 31st.  I love that once I move in I'll be able to look at that every morning as I fix my coffee. 

Thanks, Katie, for coming and doing my DIY project for me.  :)  Go ahead and visit Katie's blog, Kate & Kuby, today and come back here tomorrow for a guest post on marriage from her!  Today we are officially 2 months away from the wedding!

I would encourage you to check out Lara's blog if you haven't yet and get on board with her steps to making things happen in 2013!  If you do or if you already have, leave me a comment here letting me know! I would love to know that y'all are on board for this, too!