October Goals

Hi friends! I think we are all a little hopped up on the start of fall, right? Even in South Louisiana, it’s not quite cool yet, but it’s not blazing either so I’ll take it! 😉 I am JUUUUUST now seeing I didn’t share my September goals on the blog so I won’t recap those (I’m learning to be cool without everything being just so) but will share my goals for October. If goals overwhelm you and you are thinking “I’m sick of reading Val’s goals when I feel stuck” just you wait friends. Some info coming later this week that may help!

REFRESH GOALS

If you use Lara Casey’s powersheets, you know every three months, you can refresh your goals a bit. Over the last 9 months, the goals I made for 2016 have changed a bit. Some we’ve completed and some have just become more defined! Here are the 10 goals that I have now.

1. Start creating an incredible family legacy.

• of peace, joy and faith
• of service and generosity
• of traditions and fun together
• of financial planning and freedom

2. Learn to cook and enjoy it.

3. Live life in the presence of God.

4. Boldly forge friendships. Forgo ego. Embrace awkward. Ask. Be vulnerable. Love well.

5. Organize our home so that it works for us, not against us.

6. Embrace discipline health lifestyle that increases freedom in other areas.

7. End my phone addiction and instead be present and live IRL.

8. Buy a vehicle and pay cash or pay off by the end of year.

9. Create my team, define roles, set up the organization needed to grow VMP.

10. Increase engagement and readership for the blog.

OCTOBER GOALS

1. Write out our family values. I’ve mentioned several times lately how much legacy and intentionality with the girls has been on my mind. As Vivi gets older, we are no longer just shaping sleep habits and motor skills. We’re shaping a tiny human that will one day shape the world around her. I feel so jumbled and overwhelmed when I think of how many things I want to impress upon her so I’m excited to define this a little bit and let it guide how we raise the girls.

2. Cook 1 real meal a week. Meaning I can’t just buy a bag of lettuce and rotisserie chicken and make a salad when Tyler can’t cook…like I did last week! 😉

3. Read through Fresh Start journal. I’ll actually be doing this for the next three months to really get the content ingrained in my brain so it will change my habits and outlook on prayer!

4. Plan 3 hangouts with friends. Because I need some friend time! And it doesn’t seem to happen unless I’m really intentional about it!

5. Go through my closet…again. I know, I know. This seems to always on here but I feel like I’m always hanging on to stuff I think I will need later that I really haven’t worn in over a year.

6. Have 15 no sugar days. My sweet tooth is out of control and some recent health stuff has had me realizing it’s really time to make a change. 15 no sugar days might not seem like much to some of y’all but it’s huge for me!

7. Start practicing principles for phone use. I made a little list to help me use my phone more intentionally (AKA not endless scrolling and distractions when I’m with people I love).

8. Have financial meeting. We’ve been hit with sooo many expenses this year! We’re trying to get back on track for saving for a car. Much needed now that Tyler’s was lost in the flood!

9. Hire a new shop girl. Our sweet shop girl Savri moved this summer. Interviewing girls now and would love prayers to find the right person.

10. Catch up on The Finishing School book club posts. After asking in the book club, y’all mentioned loving the posts but that y’all haven’t been on the same pace so I’m planning on finishing up all the posts for the rest of the chapters so you’ll have access to those whenever you ever you finish reading! And if you happen to read the book for a book club, these posts are what I’d share if I was sitting with y’all! 😉

And I mentioned the Powersheets above but if you are looking for a way to set goals and take action on them daily, weekly and monthly, check out the Powersheets! Besides prayer, this is the single biggest factor for how I’ve been able to focus my goals and make things happen over the last 3 years!

OCTOBER BOOKS

• Parenting by Paul David Tripp – I have been looking forward to this book since I finished Awe and was looking for more Tripp books to read!!
• Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist – I need to finish this one up!!

BOAZ FUND

This month, I am so excited to be donating $.50 of every journal sold to Thou Art Exalted Ministries for a special project they are working on! They are in the process of creating an app for teen and tween girls to read through the New Testament in a year. The app will be FREE too!! 🙂 When I first heard about this, I couldn’t help but think of my own two girls and how big a presence phones are for budding young ladies already. It’s overwhelming to think about what technology will look like when Vivi and Vana are teens but being able to support projects like this gives me hope for their future! Read more on the app here and Annie’s story here. I love the way her love for her own girls is impacting them as well as a generation and can only hope to do the same one day!! You can donate directly here.