I’m not big on resolutions, but I do like to set goals for the new year. I also like to choose a word goal.
This year, I have chosen the word renew.
Why I Chose the Word Renew
This year I want to focus on refreshing and recharging myself spiritually, emotionally, and creatively.
As a wife, mom of five, and a teacher, I have spent my life giving of myself, and I have done it willingly and gladly.
However, I have felt tired and worn out of late, and I want to reclaim my spark and joy while also making room for rest and restoration.
Faith: Refreshing My Spirit
In 2024, I got lax about reading my Bible every day. This year, I will set aside 10-15 minutes at the beginning of each day to read my Bible and pray.
My faith is very important to me, and I pray for Psalm 51:10 to be exemplified in my life.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Family: Deepening Connections
For the past 25 years that I have been a mom, all five of my children have always lived at home.
My college kids commute to the state university that is half an hour away, and my oldest, who also commuted to the same college, has been living at home while teaching for the past 3 ½ years.
While I have loved having all of my kids still at home, all good things must come to an end, and they must chart their own course.
This June, my oldest is going to get married, so there will be some big changes coming. I am so thankful she has found a godly man who loves her unconditionally, and I am looking forward to adding another son to our family.
My oldest son will be graduating from college in May, and I am not sure what the future holds for him. He is pretty set on going to grad school, but we are not sure where at this point. It is possible he will be moving out as well.
After being a mom of littles for so many years, I feel like I transitioned pretty well to having so many big kids. I love our conversations, and I am alwåys the one who tells people I have loved every stage of parenting, the teen years and early twenties as well.
We will have to be more intentional this year about making sure we make time for each other, but I feel confident we will always remain close.
One thing my big kids have asked me for is a recipe book/how to do things around the house book. It is a major undertaking, but I am hopeful that I can get it finished by next Christmas for all of the kids.
Creativity: Reviving My Joy
I am someone who is never bored. I have more hobbies and interests than I have time for. This is why I am making some creative goals for this year. When I have too many options and no plan, I can get overwhelmed and not accomplish much of anything
Creative DIY projects are so fulfilling, and I want to use my crocheting and sewing skills to use up most of my fabric and yarn stash. Having materials on hand is great, but they aren’t doing anyone any good if they are just sitting in tote boxes or displayed on shelves.
I plan to crochet as many hats as I can to give to those in need. While I am not exactly sure where I will donate them yet, I hope to crochet at least 25 winter hats. I have already started on this project, and I am looking forward to achieving this goal.
For a few years when we were really struggling financially, I sewed almost all of the Christmas gifts I gave my kids and family members. My kids and I were talking about those years recently, and they remember loving all of the homemade toys.
My plan for this year is to sew more homemade gifts. I have several projects planned, and I am excited to get started. Stay tuned for plenty of DIY posts this year.
Prioritizing Self-Care
As I mentioned earlier, I have spent much of my adult life willingly putting others’ needs before my own. This is something I will probably continue that for the rest of my life, but I do want to be intentional about not emptying my cup to a point where I can no longer do help others.
I plan to continue reading in the pockets of time I have been carving out over the past year or two: breakfast, lunch at work, before bed, etc. I was able to read 62 books last year, and I have made a goal of 52 books for this year.
Vitamins and supplements have been a major part of my health care routine for many years, and I have added collagen to my regime this year as well as continuing to eat a healthy balance of food with the addition of more protein.
Planning ahead for making easy, healthy meals that I can either make ahead or put in the crockpot is another goal of mine for this year. I love cooking, but sometimes I don’t get home until after five and cooking is the last thing on my mind. I want to be more intentional about making healthy meals without spending my whole evening cooking and cleaning the kitchen.
Walking is one of my favorite forms of exercise, and I want to be more intentional about carving out more time to take walks outside. I also want to include more stretching into my daily routines.
Decluttering is also on my list of self-care goals, and I have already made some positive strides in that direction. My goal is to hold onto only the things that I truly need and adhere to the motto of “Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without”.
One Last Way I Going to Live Out My Word Goal
Blogging was a big part of my life from 2007-2016, and I have truly missed it. I had a decent sized blog, but I didn’t really make any money off of it. While was fun when people left comments or pinned my posts on Pinterest, I never made it a business.
No, what I miss is the self-reflection aspect of blogging as well as the opportunity to teach others through the tutorials I shared. So, I am renewing my passion for blogging by setting up this online space for myself.
I’m not going to pressure myself by setting any goals for how often I will post because I am teaching full-time and helping my daughter plan a wedding.
This won’t be a super niche blog either because I have too many interests and thoughts swirling around in my head to focus on just one topic. Good or bad that is the way I am, and this space will reflect that.
I am a Christian, a wife, a mom, a DIYer, a teacher, and more, and those are the topics I will write about. There won’t be as many posts about my family as I there were the first time I blogged because my kids are older and won’t appreciate me sharing all of the details of their lives. I also won’t be sharing as much about teaching as some bloggers do. My hope is to make this blog a good mix of all of the aspects of my life.
Do you have a word goal for 2025? I would love to hear about it.
Jackie
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