"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
Phil. 4:8
Well hello everyone! Can you believe we are at the end of 2018? Where did the year go? As I sit and reflect on this year, I first want to praise God for allowing me to see another year. I have had to opportunity to travel to various places I've never been, see 2 of my closest friends get married, and become an aunt to the cutest little girl in the world. Ya, I guess you can say that a lot happened this year. But in all that did happen, was I able to accomplish/meet my goals? (I made a post about making goals for my 24th year of life but I will see if I have kept up with those this year. Click here to read that blog!)
So let's first think about the goals I made at the beginning of this year:
1. Blog 2-3 times a month
2. Reach out to family at least once a week
3. Figure out what I'm doing with my life
4. Memorize some more scripture
5. Dance more!
Remember when creating goals, they need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-dependent. (Read that blog too!) It can be extremely difficult to maintain the motivation to accomplish a goal if they are not set with these components. They help give accountability, drive, and motivation. So I will go through each of my goals and see if I was able to meet them or why I did not meet that goal.
1. Blog 2-3 Times a month
I almost made that goal. I believe it was October that I got only 1 blog out. All of the other months, I was able to get 2 blogs out. What happened in October that I could not get those blogs out? 1 excuse (It's an excuse, which isn't legitimate) was that I was extremely busy with work, school, and dancing. My main reason is I did not set aside time for God. He is my main influence when writing blogs. When I don't spend time with Him, I am not able to receive a word from Him and then it's hard for me to write what I need to write out. With some blog posts I knew I was being "safe". I like making recipe blogs or travel blogs, however, I would do that to get a blog out for the month. It wasn't anything compelling or convicting (not that every blog needs to be convicting but anyway). God gives us the strength to make us fearless right? Well when you don't spend time with Him, you become fearful. You become afraid to speak His word and His truth because you don't want to offend anyone... Ya. Bondage. But I'm being honest and I feel like we all get there at times. So long story short, I didn't fully reach that goal because I made up in my mind that I was "too busy" for God.
What will I do differently?
I will need to create a blog schedule. I will post something every 2nd and 4th Wednesday or something. I will let y'all know for sure so you can be on the lookout. Being more consistent and having a set schedule can help me stay motivated, accountable, and organized!
2. Reach Out to Family 1x a Week
Didn't really meet that goal, however, I did become far more acquainted with my family. We have several cousin group chats (there are 15 of us...) and in those we have been able to keep one another updated on life events and other great things happening. Though it was not once a week, I can say it was far better than it has been in the past.
What will I do differently?
Be more consistent! Check up on my grandparents every week even if it is a 2 minute phone call. Check in on my younger cousins to see if they are getting their life together and give them any encouragement. We can get so busy and in our own world that we forget that some people may need to hear from us. You never know how much positivity you can add to someone's life.
3. Figure out what I'm doing with my life
Now did I completely figure it out? No, because we will always be figuring it out. Am I on a far better track? YES!
I was given the opportunity for a promotion within the organization I was working with and then a few months later I quit. Why? Because it wasn't what I needed to do in my life. It served its purpose, helped me build some skills and my resume, however, The Lord was trying to move me into another direction. I wanted to work to make myself feel important and like I was accomplishing something. In reality I was becoming miserable because I knew The Lord was trying to have me go a different route yet I didn't want to listen. Now I am on a path that is giving me more hands on experience that I need for what The Lord is calling me to do. (I know. Super ambiguous, but y'all will see one day.) Even better, I am back in school, getting another degree and getting farther into debt, hahahaha but the Lord will provide!
What will I do differently?
Well, trusting God for one, and being confident in the skills, gifts, and talents that He has instilled within me. I believe also being content with where He has me right now and that nothing I have done will be in vain. I have to trust Him with this process and know that He began a good work in me. He will fulfill the promises He has given to me. I trust that.
Now I don't know if I truly have but I am getting more familiar with where bible stories are and whatnot. But to really answer it, NO. I did not do well with this one. I need to stay consistent in trying to memorize a verse.
What will I do differently?
I need to recite the same verse every day for about 2 weeks. Or I can read the same bible passage every day for a week. I just need to do a better job with remember the book chapter and verse. I know the words to it but I forget the address. I also believe devotional help me be more consistent with studying my bible. Devotionals usually take a verse or two from the bible. What I then do is read the entire chapter in which those verses were taken from. That'll be a good way to memorize and study scripture in a more organized way that I can stick to a lot better.
5. Dance More!
I have dance A LOT this year. I had the greatest opportunity to get reacquainted with the praise dance group that I was apart of in high school. I was able to be apart of them to dance and minister as well as a dance teacher. It has been so good.
What will I do differently?
I need to find some more dance classes or conventions to continuously hone in on my skills. I may even enroll in a dance class at the junior college here or I may go to another dance teacher conference. I'm not sure yet. However the Spirit leads! Also, I need to be more fearless. Take other opportunities to dance and to teach dance when given. The Lord has given me this gift and it would be a waste to use it because I'm too scared or too nervous.
So now that I've gone through each of my goals, take time, prayerfully before the day ends, to go through each of your goals and see what was maintained and what fell off by January 5th. Take time to reflect on things you've improved on, did well, down falls you had, and things you may need to improve on for next year. Even if you did not reach your goals this year, can you think of ways that you have improved yourself as a whole?
If you were not able to stick to your goals, why do you think that was? At times we get distracted or just fall off because we don't have that accountability. We don't even realize we are slipping back into old habits. The biggest thing though is that you need to continue to live and strive for your goals. We will have hiccups along the way but do you allow those to stop you or give you strength to keep pushing forward?
Though I did not fully reach my goals, I can honestly say I am so proud of myself. I have become a lot my gracious and compassionate towards myself and others. I have allowed the Holy Spirit to really lead and guide me. I have stepped out of my comfort zone. I have also seen, because of my faithfulness, The Lord is blessing me with some amazing opportunities. I'm so excited to see what next year brings!
So with that, I pray you all have a blessed and safe New Year. Thank you for sticking with me this year and continuously supported my blogs. I appreciate it so much! Have a great week and I will see y'all next year.
BBYYEE!!!
~Meghan A. Harper
“May The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
-Numbers 6:24-26
Dear Lord,
I pray for peace and joy in this new year to whoever is reading this. May their hearts to changed to walk in your statues. I pray for you to give them a heart of flesh and allow them to hide Your word in their heart. Father I ask for healing over their lives. Allow them to be open to your perfect healing and see that their identity is in YOU, not their circumstances. Father I pray for gifts to be cultivated and used to enhance your kingdom. Don't allow your children to be comfortable not living out their full potential that you have instilled in them. Place people in their lives to help them reach those goals and fulfill the purpose you have placed on their life. Heavenly and Holy Father I love you so much. I ask for forgiveness of my sins. If we have wronged you in any way, I pray you reveal it to us so that we can change. Thank you for your son. Thank you for giving us another chance to get this right and I pray we don't take it for granted. I love you!
In Jesus/Yeshua's name,
AMEN!!!