With a new year comes New Year’s resolutions. Defining goals - especially at the beginning of a new year - is definitely a worthy endeavor. But as Jesus empowered women, we need to aim higher by ensuring that we’re seeking God’s plan for this year. Only then can we make the biggest impact in our lives and the lives of others.
Join me (for episode #83) as I delve deeper into why we should ditch the traditional resolutions and the fun, practical process that will completely change how you approach this coming year with God.
Epiode Tip:. To help create your vision board for this year, use this FREE printable kit from Horacio Printing. For the past several years, I’ve combined her fun word selection with FREE images from a website called Unsplash.com. (Be sure to select “Free” from the “License” dropdown filter after doing your image search.)
I’m also a huge fan of Horacio Printing’s Dreamer Planners™. If you end up falling in love too, use the code “EMPOWEREDDREAMS” for 10% off your purchase.
Show Notes:
Intro
Sister, what are you expecting from God this coming year? Are you expecting Him to do large and seemingly impossible things in your life? Have you even given the idea any thought?
Don’t get me wrong: there’s absolutely nothing wrong with establishing resolutions or goals - especially at the beginning of a new year. After all, it’s a time of change and renewal, right? We get to start fresh with a new canvas. And as the saying goes: if we fail to plan, we plan to fail.
But, as Jesus empowered women, we need to go a step beyond that. We also need to ask ourselves: whose plan do we want to live out during this coming year? Just ours? Or God’s?
Now, please note that I’m not - in any way - suggesting that we automatically set aside all of our goals and desires as if they didn’t matter. (Heaven knows, the world already tries to do that in numerous ways!) The point I’m making here is that God’s dreams and plans for us are usually bigger than what we have in mind.
For one thing, God’s vision is typically broader, more expansive, and more long-term compared to ours, right? As humans, we tend to focus a lot on the present and near future - and all the worries and details contained therein. Meanwhile, God’s focus goes way beyond that.
In addition, God has a unique plan for each of our lives - and He’s the ultimate dreamer. Also, He loves us way more than we can fathom and, as such, wants more for us than we want for ourselves. We can get stuck on what we see as limitations, risks, or places outside of our comfort zones - while God wants us to trust Him so He can work in spite of those things in order to bless others and show the world who He is.
So, if we truly want to get the most out of the coming year - not just for ourselves but for those He wants us to impact and serve - then we need to go a step beyond goals and resolutions. We need to expand our perspective and realm of possibilities.
How do we do that? By implementing some focused prayer and fun, creative activities. Let’s go down the list.
Ask God to Broaden Your Vision & Level of Expectation
So, first thing’s first. Before we do anything else, we need to spend some time asking God for a few things.
One, we need to ask Him to help us broaden our perspective. Again, as humans, especially when we have a lot going on, we tend to be very laser focused. It’s not a bad thing to focus on our lives and everything that’s going on. We just want to go beyond that by asking God to share a bit of His perspective.
God’s perspective is more long-term, right? Eternal, really. He has a plan for us that includes making a Kingdom impact not just today, but tomorrow, and years into the future. God may not give us a download of that entire plan, and all its effects, but we can ask Him to help us change our way of thinking. To not only think about our challenges or desires or plans in the context of our life - but in the context of a bigger Kingdom impact.
And when we do that, when we ask Him to help facilitate that perspective or mindset change, it changes our expectations. Or, in the beginning, how we approach our expectations.
When we widen our perspective like I’ve just described, we’re now focusing more on the Kingdom - and our God - than we are ourselves. As such, we begin to expect more from Him. It’s not just about what we want to do - it’s about what God and what He can (and wants) to do.
Which brings me to Step #2…
Ask God What He Wants You to Focus on This Coming Year
After you’ve spent some time broadening your perspective and realigning your expectations, ask God what to focus on this coming year. Ask Him what’s in store for you. Or what you’re called to do. Or all of the above!
Allow yourself to approach this new year with a Kingdom-centered mindset. Again, this doesn’t mean that any personal goals get swept aside. It just means you’re seeking God’s plan. After all, as I mentioned a bit earlier in this episode, God’s plan for us is usually bigger and better than anything we can cook up. It may seem strange, sometimes. A little backwards or out-of-the-box, but that’s how God works.
What if God has something really amazing in store for you this coming year? What if He wants to take you in a new direction? Free you from something that’s been holding you back? Renew something you’ve lost? Get you started on your calling? Make a giant leap in your calling?
What if God has a plan to both bless you and positively impact or bless others at the same time? Which is something He does quite often.
What if God wants to do something this year that you would never choose for yourself, let alone think about, but it will move you forward in leaps and bounds?
Again, we want to broaden our perspective and level of expectations. So, ask Him. Spend some time in prayer. Listen for His answer.
And then move on to Step #3….
Create a Vision Board
A vision board is a fun, creative representation of where God is leading you (or, to think of it another way, what He wants you to focus on) during this coming year.
It’s basically a visual exercise where you take the clarity God has given you and create something that you can hang as a reminder for the remainder of the year.
Now, you can create your vision board after you feel like God has given you clarity. Or, you can use this exercise as almost a physical, visual prayer, listening for the prodding or whispers of the Holy Spirit as you create your board. You can also create your board over the course of several days or even weeks, allowing for time to pray in-between bouts of progress.
The timeline is truly up to you - as is the materials. In the show notes, I’ve included a link to a free printable kit, along with some vision board tips, courtesy of Horacio Printing. I’ve been using this kit for the past several years. It’s fun, extensive, and especially great for beginners.
In essence, every year I take a cork board and cut out words from the Horacio Printing kit that I feel apply to this coming year. I usually include one at the top as my word for the year. Then, I hop onto a free stock photo website (a link to which is also in the show notes for you), and select some images to go with the words I’ve cut out. I assemble everything into an artsy collage, and this hangs under my calendar in my office. Throughout the year, I look upon this vision board to remind me of everything God has for me.
How you construct your vision board is entirely up to you. If you’re a painter or sketch artist, you might choose to make something completely original. You could also use magazines to cut out words and images. There are no creative boundaries here.
The point is simply to create a visual representation of where God is taking you. Of God’s vision and dreams for you in the new year. And if you feel really ambitious, take on Step #4….
Create a Bucket List
Since you’ve already worked on broadening your perspective and expanding your expectations of God, why not create a bucket list? In other words, a list of things that you’d love to see God do before the end of the year.
Just because God has a plan for you doesn’t mean you can’t ask for things. In fact, I think if we asked more often, especially with a Kingdom perspective, we’d be surprised by what our loving Father would do.
Would you love to see someone healed? Are you eager for a breakthrough in your calling so you can impact more people? Do you want to be super generous to those in need, but need God to provide the funds? What kind of amazing, bucket-list-type things would you love to partner with God in? Or see Him do?
You can also include more personal items on this list as well. Have you been dreaming of owning a home but need Him to work a miracle (or two) to make that happen? Do you want to finally transition from your 9-5 to working on your business full-time? Do you long for peace and reconciliation with a loved one?
I know we’ve focused on a more Kingdom-based perspective in this episode, but when we expand our perspective and expectations of God, that can include our personal lives as well. Our deepest longings and desires. Create a bucket list and just see what happens.
Which brings me to our final step, Step #5….
Keep a Blessings & Successes List
This is something I’ve done for several years. As I go through the year, I record the amazing things God does for me. For example, when He provides something I need, or opens a new door, or even places me into a new season.
I also record any successes that are related to His work - as well as one that is very notable. Such as a job change, moving, etc.
I do this for two reasons. One, it reminds me of all the ways God is looking out and providing for me. And that He has a bigger plan in mind. When I look back on a year, and even the years before, I can see His bigger picture.
Two, I do this because it keeps me grateful and bolsters my faith. We’re humans with human brains - we tend to forget things. Including what God has previously done for us. How He came through. But this record, complete with dates, clearly spells out what God has done in my life.
Just like with the vision board, how you keep your list is entirely up to you. For several years, I kept a huge dry erase calendar on my wall and recorded specific events and achievements on it until the end of the year - when I would then transfer those items to a Google Doc before putting up the new calendar. These days, I just record everything in the Google Doc.
You could also keep a scrapbook, add the items to your planner, or come up with a method entirely your own. You simply want to capture, in a permanent way, the notable things God has done for you - including those connected to your bucket list and vision board. So you can look back and see how detailed and faithful God was - and how He dreamed big for you.
Wrap-up
Sister, I hope this episode has helped you to see that, as a Jesus empowered woman, you can reach for so much more when it comes to planning and dreaming for this new year.
As I said earlier, there’s nothing wrong with having New Year’s resolutions. But why stop there? Why not lean more into God this year? Dream bigger. Expand your expectations. And then have fun documenting what He does.
He just might surprise you. Cheers!