As I shared in January, I’m changing the way I’m approaching my reading goals in 2014. Instead of picking books for the whole year, I’m just choosing books a month at a time.
What books are you planning to read in February? Leave a comment and let us know — and then you can come back at the end of February to tell us what you ended up reading and what you thought of the books you read!
I’ve been enjoying finding little bits of time here and there to work on my handwork projects — mostly when we’re together with friends and family or in the evenings when we have our family Bible time.
My favorite recent project was definitely these Simple Knitted Fingerless Gloves. I’m incredibly happy with how they turned out!
Did you complete any handwork projects this week? If so, I'd love to hear about your projects. And if you blogged about them, leave your links in the comments.
Jesse and I spent time really discussing what my focuses should be for 2014 and we nailed down four areas that are my priorities for this year:
Marriage: to continue to invest time and energy to strengthen and nurture our marriage and make it one of the greatest priorities
Mothering: to continue to invest in our children with the goal of teaching them character, life skills, and raising them to be responsible adults
Myself: to make my health a priority and to invest in my personal growth as a Christian, business owner, writer, speaker, and leader
MoneySavingMom.com: to invest time into blogging — not just overseeing the business and my team, but making writing content pieces one of my top blogging priorities
Having these specific areas determined at the beginning of the year is really helping me to prioritize and giving me much clearer direction on when, where, and what to say no to this year.
Here’s my progress for my 12 goals for 2014:
Marriage Goals
1. Read 6 marriage books. 2. Write 50 love notes to Jesse. (I’ve written 4 love notes so far.)
Mothering Goals
3. Read 40 books aloud to the kids. (We’ve finished one book so far and are almost finished with another.) 4. Finish memorizing Romans 1 together. (We’ve been working on this!) 5. Go through a cooking course with the kids.
Personal Goals
6. Read through the Bible. (I’m on track with this.) 7. Memorize Romans 2. 8. Run a 5K race and go through P90X again. (I’m working through P90X right now.) 9. Read 150 books/ebooks. (I’ve read 13 books so far this year.)
Blogging Goals
10. Write 150 substantive content pieces for the blog. (I wrote 18 substantive content pieces in January.) 11. Write 50 DIY/Recipe posts for the blog. (I’ve written two DIY/Recipe post so far.) 12. Blog about/participate in the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge (I finished January’s challenge.)
Did you set goals for 2014 yet?
If you've posted an update on how you’re doing on your goals for 2014, I'd love for you to share your link in the comments. Or, if you don't have a blog, feel free to just leave a comment with an update on how you’re doing on your goals. Let's encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!
One of my goals for 2014 is to focus on my health. It’s easy to let our health take a back burner to everything else on our to-do list. But as I share in my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, I’ve experienced what happens when you put your health last… and it’s not pretty!
With this in mind, I’m committed to making my health even more of a priority this year. And I’d love to have you join me for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge.
We’re be focusing on one challenge area each month — all with the goal of being in a healthier place as a person by the end of next year. My hope is that as we work on instilling one new healthy habits each month, they won’t just be month-long challenges, but lifelong changes.
12 Months to a Healthier You Focus Areas for 2014
Here are the focus areas I’ve planned out for 2014:
January: Exercise Regularly February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies March: Drink More Water April: Cut Back on Sugar May: Get More Rest June: Create a Morning Routine July: Read More August: Go to Bed Earlier September: Declutter Your Home October: Cut Back on Caffeine November: Keep a Gratitude Journal December: Simplify & Say No
How This Challenge Works:
At the beginning of the month, I’ll introduce the focus area and encourage you to set a small goal for that specific area and I’ll share my goals.
Then, every Friday, I’ll have a check-in post where I’ll encourage you to share your progress & struggles and I’ll share mine, as well. If you want to blog about your progress, I’ll include a link-up at the end of the post so you can share your blog posts on this challenge.
In addition to the Friday check-ins, I’ll also probably share a few posts and guest posts on the monthly topics each month, along with sharing about related books, resources, or websites that I’ve found helpful.
Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.
My Fruits/Veggie Intake Goal for January
My goal for February is to eat at least six big salads every week. I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of doing P90X at least 4-5 times every week.
Will you be joining me for this February Challenge? If so, leave a comment letting us know you’re planning to join and what your fruit/veggie intake goals are for February. Remember to keep them simple and doable!
Fred 2.0 — I was very inspired through the pages of this book to look for ways to go the extra mile, do the unexpected, and go out of my way to bless others. While this book does talk a lot about the the book is a sequel to (The Fred Factor) and is written mostly from the perspective of how to live with excellence in your career, I felt there was some great value in it for anyone who wants to live an extraordinary life.
His Word in my Heart — This book really inspired me to make Scripture memory a higher priority. It didn’t just give reasons why you should memorize and meditate on Scripture, it gave very specific ideas on how busy moms and women can find more time to memorize Scripture.
Sell Your Book Like Wildfire — If you are planning to release a book or ebook (or are thinking of doing so someday), I highly recommend this book. It’s packed with helpful advice and ideas for marketing your book, creating conversation around your message, how to get more speaking engagements, and so much more.
What did you read in January? What were your favorite reads?
These bars totally lived up what other people had told me about them — they are fabulous! And the icing is especially amazing!
I wasn’t as thrilled with how the granola turned out. I think I’ll stick with my favorite Lazy Granola recipe. It’s so simple and always turns out well.
