Lara Casey's Blog, page 19

Ready to finally move forward on your goals?

I saw a sign recently that read: “Don’t count the days, make the days count!”

Let’s take a different spin on that together for a minute!

Let’s do both.

First, let’s count the days (like this):

We’re 131 days into the year. That means there are 234 days ahead to cultivate. There’s still 65% of the year left to live and fill with what matters. That’s a lot of days, friends!

 

Now, let’s make these 234 days count.

Take a look around. How are you feeling at this point in the year?

Tired? — It’s been a journey since January.

Excited? — New opportunities lie ahead in the next 234 days of this year!

Overwhelmed? —Not where you imagined you’d be by this point in 2018?

You may feel like you’ve messed up on your goals and it’s too late in the year to make progress, but here’s some truth: today can be your January 1st. Who says you can’t refresh you goals, change them, or start fresh right where you are? Not me!

See those words down there on my PowerSheets? Today could be your day. Many times, good change starts with one tiny step forward. One decision in a new direction.

(I love those flowers from my garden above that we used for this shoot in the fall. I’m planting my new zinnia seeds this weekend. Little by little, blooms will come!)

Maybe the gap between where you are and where you want to be seems wide. And maybe the thought of that gap has you stalling at the start!

Step into the garden with me. Let’s take a look around.

Good things grow little by little, and there’s magic in the middle ground.

We don’t like the middle ground though do we? It can feel incomplete, awkward, undone. We’d rather skip that part and get to the finish line.

Think about what we miss seeking instant results and overnight progress though.

If I plant a seed and the next day a full-grown plant appears, do you know what we’d miss? The best parts of gardening! We’d miss celebrating the sprout appearing out of the soil for the first time. We’d miss watching new leaves appear day by day. We’d miss the miracle of seeing blooms unfurl. We’d miss the good stuff.

It’s in the middle ground that life happens. It’s in the space from here to there that we grow too.

I’m digging in with you! Little by little progress adds up.

No matter if you are here on day 131, little-by-little you can have a cultivated rest of the year.

Want to finally move forward on your goals?

Get your Six-Month Undated PowerSheets if you don’t already have them (now is the time!) and join me next Wednesday for a FREE live workshop on How to Finally Move Forward on Your Goals. I’ll be giving you my 5 best practical steps (you are going to love step number 1!) for getting unstuck and making real progress! Save your seat here.

Your turn! Have you felt stuck on a goal or in life lately? Chances are, you aren’t the only one! I’ll share below too!

The post Ready to finally move forward on your goals? appeared first on Lara Casey.

April Progress + May PowerSheets Goals

When one woman chooses to cultivate what matters, do you know what happens?

Let me tell you about April (the month, not a person

Your Summer to Thrive!

Friends!!! We are THRILLED to introduce The Cultivate Summer Collection, and overjoyed at the response to our launch already! Turns out, you are just as excited as we are—if not more!

You believe in the power of little by little progress.

You know that good things grow slow.

You want to live on purpose, instead of by accident.

And you are SO PUMPED about getting started!

I am too!

Let’s do a little cultivated dreaming together for a minute, shall we? The kind of dreaming that points to what matters in the big picture.

When you think of summer, what do you see?

Family vacations? Trips to the farmer’s market? Evening walks through the neighborhood?

Often we think of summer as time off.

Here’s a crazy question for you: what if we turned summer into intentional “time on”?

Now, not to worry. We’re not adding MORE things to our to-do lists (no way!).

Quite the opposite.

Cultivating what matters is about doing less to make room for LIFE.

So, let’s flip the script together and live out a summer of intentional “time on,” right where we are.

We’ll start with the most important element first: uncovering what you want to cultivate this summer.

If you already know, wonderful!

If you’re not sure or feel like you have too many things you want to accomplish (so many of us feel this way!), thePowerSheets are back (YES!!!) and they will help you simplify your life, uncover your unique goals, and live them out.

Our Six-Month Undated White PowerSheets are back after we sold out in January (hooray!!) and ready to ship from our new warehouse in Kentucky. Once this batch is gone, though, they are gone till we release the 2019 versions in the fall. Now it the time to get a set to finish the year intentionally. It’s a perfect time to start a 6-month set!

Want to focus on a specific area of life that needs to be cultivated—taking your PowerSheets journey to the next level? Our NEW Wellness Goal Guide and Finance Goal Guides are incredible tools! (It’s funny how God always knows what we need—these are two areas I want to focus on this summer myself.

March Progress + April PowerSheets Goals

Do you know what it feels like to rely on your own strength?

Yep. It’s fleeting.

Frustrating.

Exhausting even.

I stood on this beach last week and my thoughts felt tangled as I tried to fix everything on my own. Worries. Fears. A mess of various thoughts.

Then Ari asked the kids, “Do you know who made this ocean?”

It was simple and it was powerful.

If God made this vast beautiful teeming-with-life body of water, surely my small challenges were easy. Light. A delight for Him to help me with, just as I delight in helping these three.

Something I’ve been chewing on lately: how these three fully rely on Ari and me. For direction, for food, for comfort, for safety, for love. And how often I fail to rely on my Father who gives me 1000x as much.

Taking care of my tangled thoughts and fears and worries was already done before I even asked.

Before my kids ask, I know they need food. Before they rub their eyes, I know they need rest. And before I put my feet in this sand, He knew I would need the simple reminder that God is big and I can LET GO.

These three had fun together on vacation last week!

Lord, in this new month of April, help me to rely on Your voice over the world. Your strength over mine. Your power over my total inability to calm my inner storms on my own. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you for loving us right where we are. And thank you for never giving up on us, even when we are a teeny weeny bit stubborn!

A look back at my March goal progress (read March’s goal post here!):

Monthy Goals:

— Pray + Praise! These two things keep me on track for the rest of life! I marked this as my top priority for March with one of my favorite Goal Setting Sticker Book stickers. — Yes! There was a lot of both that happened.

— Gardening 101 series + garden prep. I am waiting till the recommended time (after April 15th here in Chapel Hill) to plant the garden, but there’s a lot to prep in March—clearing out old plants, cleaning pots, and it’s time to replace the garden beds themselves. I discovered several critter colonies and most of them are falling apart now after the winter. I resisted replacing them before (as you know if you’ve read Cultivate), but they are not functional in places now. So, new cedar beds are in our future. — Yes! The garden has been cleared out, the Gardening 101 series has been a huge success (the giveaway ends Monday!), and new cedar garden beds from Gardener’s are waiting for me on my front steps. I can’t wait to dig in!

— Prayer journal date. — Yes!

Photo above by Gina!

— Celebrate 12 years of marriage! Our anniversary always falls on the weekend that the Making Things Happen Conference kicks off, so we’ll be celebrating with lots of friends at dinner that night.  — Well, the best friends in the world surprised us big time! Cards, balloons, a gorgeous bouquet from Rhi (!), and best of all, prayers for our next twelve years together. I love you all so much! What a blessing this was!

If you need encouragement in your marriage, download my free marriage guide that includes links to read our story. We’re two imperfect people who know for sure that grace is a real thing and that the impossible is possible.

— Lead our best-ever MTH conference. — We’re nine years into making Making Things Happen happen and it just keeps getting better! It was our best conference yet, and we have so many ideas for the fall conference to make it even more impactful. So grateful for this time and all the women who joined us!

Photo from MTH above of me and my friend Shunta by Rachel Coffey.

— Have a meaningful Purim and Passover. — Purim was great and Passover was not what I planned, but it was good in the end! We had come home from an exhausting travel marathon the night before and the kids were tired. Really tired. We showed up to a beautiful Passover meal that Ari was leading and I couldn’t keep the two little one’s quiet or still, so I took them home and put them in a bubble bath. It was needed quiet time for all three of us! Ari and Grace got a ride home and everyone was happy. : )

— 2019 project finalization. — Here’s where my April priority comes in. We got a lot of new products off to print in March, and now it’s time to cut some projects ahead. More in April…

— Onboard new team members. — Yes, we have welcomed two new team members and they got thrown right into the good stuff: MTH, a team summit, a big shoot, and more! Why do we wait 90 days to announce them? We want to fully equip each new team member and give them time to settle in before they do forward-facing tasks. This has been so helpful and much-appreciated on their end so they feel confident in their roles when they are announced. We can’t wait to introduce them in a few weeks!

— Spring Team Summit prep. — Yes! The Cultivate Team Summit this week was all about digging into our vision, our heartbeat, and cultivating what matters in our own lives so we can give the same to you.

— April Cultivated Calendar prep. — I missed a lot of this but I don’t feel bad about it. I did what mattered most!

Weekly goals:

— Strength training 2x/week — I did this twice and definitely got my strength workout in other ways the last two weeks (carrying kiddos while traveling, paddling a boat, biking a LOT!).

— Write + study He + Waw (Psalm 119) — Now that the weather is getting warmer, I’ve been outside after church instead of inside trying to stay warm. So, I’m scrapping this for this season to make room for garden time.

— Undistracted + cultivated homeschool — We missed a lot of school this month with travelling and spring break, but when we did school, it was great.

— Re-creation — Yes. Biking a lot in Watercolor was really helpful time to sort though my thoughts.

— Pray the Word — Yes, I prayed the Word several times.

— Finish implementing Traction — praising the Lord for this book and all we’ve learned over the last year! — Almost there! So close!

— 2 days “on” + vacation — I ended up having to work on my days “on” but we did complete our vacation.

Daily Goals:

— Chronological Bible reading — Yes!

— Soul care at night — A little. There were a lot of busy nights this month with MTH, our Summit, and shoot!

— Kiss Ari — Yes.

— Pray over the kids — Yes.

— Family worship — We realized that we would love for this to be the focus of future family trips. We’d love to take a trip with another believing family and make it more of a retreat to be with God together! It really doesn’t matter where we go as long as that’s the focus.

On to April! 

This week has been a turning point for me. A new season of letting go. Letting go of control to make room for life! What generally precedes a turning point for me isn’t hard work on my part or big events or great achievements or perfect timing or circumstances; it’s surrender. Weakness. Being broken down so God can build me back up again—new and different.

It was a perfect month for a goal refresh! Every three months in the PowerSheets, we refresh our goals, and I LOVE what I uncovered. Here’s a peek:

And here are my refreshed goals for the next three months. A certain little kindergartener helped me add the stickers!

These goals make me so excited and grateful! Next, I filled out my April Tending List to start bringing these goals to life…

April Monthly Goals:

— Choose less. A radical move to less so there’s room for life. As I wrote about last week, there are inevitable times of overload that will creep up in our lives. These times are not cause for guilt or worry; they are opportunities. I’ve found myself in one of those little-margin seasons and my top priority in April is pruning. Choosing less to make room for life!

— On that note, I’m reading Emotionally Healthy Spirituality this month.

— Plant the garden.

— Decide on office space.

— Lead a prayerful summit and shoot. — I can already update you on this and tell you it was the best week! Lots of prayer, digging into our vision, and helping each other cultivate what matters so we can give the same to you.

— Lead a prayerful summer launch (coming April 24th!).

We loved our time together at the Carolina Inn this week!

April Weekly Goals—keeping it simple here!:

— Praise + rejoice!

— Prayer journal dates

April Daily Goals:

— Bible

— Pray over the kids

— Exercise hard

I already love this month of making room!

Seeing these kiddos using one of our new products at the shoot yesterday with Gina made me cry. You see, I don’t see these as just products, they are seeds. We are seed planters, sowing hope and joy and what lasts longer than us. So very grateful for this work we do and for this week of cultivated change.

Mark your planners: the new products release April 24th at 10 am ET!

Your turn! Do you have goals for April? What are you cultivating in this new month? I’ll pick one of you to send a special surprise box of goodies to from the Cultivate What Matters shop. I love sending real mail, and I love hearing your thoughts! Congrats to March’s winner, Tara Verrico!

The post March Progress + April PowerSheets Goals appeared first on Lara Casey.

How To Get Unstuck in Times of Overload

Spring is here, but maybe you’re not feeling so springy. Spring brings new growth and forward motion, but maybe you just want to put the brakes on and start fresh. (I’ve been feeling it, too!)

Maybe you’ve been feeling overloaded and stuck.

Stuck in the expectations of others.

Stuck under a mountain of to-dos.

Stuck knowing there has to be something more.

Photo by Gina Zeidler

I know this feeling well. And here’s where we cultivators get to flip the script! There’s no need for shame or guilt about being stuck or overwhelmed. It doesn’t mean you are flawed; it means you have an opportunity.

There are inevitable times of overload in our lives that are bound to creep up—times of change or transition or times where there’s simply too much to do and not enough time to do it (are you feeling that?). These are opportunities to shift. Opportunities to say yes to what matters, no to what doesn’t, and to let God do the heavy lifting.

The most powerful way that I get unstuck in these times is to do the complete opposite of what the rest of the world tells us to do (and the opposite of my natural instinct!):

Instead of working harder, I surrender.

Instead of trying to do it all, I do what matters and let go of the rest. 

Instead of relying on my own strength, I rely on His.

Sound impossible? I know how you feel!

Practically speaking, this means I do two things:

1. I pray. I simply ask God, “Will you help me to Your path for me? Help me get unstuck, Lord.” No fancy words or elaborate prayers needed. Just tell God how you are doing and where you need help.

2. I get right into the Word. Now, I know the Bible can feel overwhelming and you might be wanting to check out right now, but getting into the Word is a lot easier than we make it seem.

I prayed one morning for God to give me a simple way to connect with him, right in the thick of it, and He led me to write out the Word. It was hard for me to focus on even a few sentences of the Bible in times of overload, and I needed a way to put the train brakes on and slow down when the last thing I felt like I could do was slow down.

The Write the Word Journal was born out of my own personal need for perspective in the inevitable storms of life–to see them as refreshing showers instead of the downpours they felt like!

You can use your own paper to write the Word if you like too–no journal required. Just grab whatever paper is near you and give this a try!

There’s something that happens in our brains that travels right to our hearts when we write out the living Word of God. Again, use whatever paper you have for this if you want to give it a try.

(You’ll get a great list of scriptures to try in the comments at the end of this post!)

Each day in the Write the Word journal, there’s a selection of key verses to write out (the “write the Word” part!), along with space to write your thoughts, prayers, or anything else God places on your heart.

I’m sharing about the journals today because they have been a powerful tool in the lives of many of my friends and because they are finally all back in stock (SO many people have been waiting for this day!), and because we decided to put them on sale this week to help you get started writing the Word. (Read on for a discount code.)

I have loved seeing how you write the Word–and especially how you use the On My Heart pages. We have seen you use those pages to write out prayers, to journal daily thoughts, to get creative and illustrate your faith or dig deeper into the scripture you wrote out, to write notes to or about your children, and to give all of the distractions in your heart a place to become untangled.

Mostly, like me, you love soaking in the powerful truth of every bit of the Word you write out.

This allows me to slow down (it doesn’t take a vacation or a whole hour away–just a few minutes adds up!) and get unstuck. Every word of the Bible is powerful. Even writing one verse, something shifts in me. It’s like planting a seed. I think about the big picture instead of the day-to-day to-dos. I am reminded that I am not in control; He is. 

To my long-time Write the Word friends, have you ever flipped back through to see what prayers you were praying that have been answered? What things were laid on your heart then that have since come to fruition? I’d love to hear!

The Write the Word journals, and EVERYTHING in the shop, are 25% off from now until April 2nd–no code needed for the 25% off. If you spend $100 or more, use code HAPPYSPRING at checkout for free domestic shipping.

Here’s a peek at each journal and what’s inside:

Write the Word// Cultivate Faith contains a selection of scripture that is fundamental to faith, making this volume a perfect gift for someone who is new to their faith or looking to cultivate a fresh or renewed faith. If you are doing the journals in order, start here! This is by far our most popular journal and sells out quickly.

Write the Word// Cultivate Joy is filled with scriptures specifically selected to help you delight in the goodness of God. Perhaps you’re in a season of craving fresh joy. This volume is full of scriptures to help you celebrate the joy that’s yours in your faith.

Write the Word// Cultivate Gratitude is filled with scriptures specifically selected to help you grow in contentment through God’s promises and assurances to us. Full of scripture on thankfulness, this volume will help you get after grateful.

Write the Word// Cultivate Hope is filled with scriptures specifically selected to help you find God’s peace and assurance in seasons of waiting, challenge, or unknown.

Write the Word// Cultivate Renewal is filled with scriptures specifically selected for those who need a reminder of God’s promise to make all things new. Get still and reflect on His life-giving truth with this volume.

We designed these to be used as a full collection to take you through each season. Order your ALL SEASONS COLLECTION and get 25% off an already discounted full collection (no code needed)!

SHOP THE ENTIRE WRITE THE WORD COLLECTION HERE

The Write the Word journals (and everything else in the shop!) are 25% off from now until April 2nd. Plus, use code HAPPYSPRING at checkout for free domestic shipping on orders over $100.

Write the Word is for everyone. It’s for the busy mom, wife, young professional, business owner, and student. It’s for the seasoned Bible-reader and for those opening their Bibles for the very first time.

Here are some thoughts from long-time Write the Word friends!

Suddenly my mornings involve scripture, reflection, and prayer…without any difficulty! I can fit this into any morning and the longer I keep the streak going of writing the Word, the more excited I get to dive even deeper and work through each different journal in my different seasons of life. – Kay

My family gathers around the table after dinner and we each get out our own Write the Word journal. When we are done we share our verses and talk with our kids about what these verses mean. – Meredith

The Write The Word journals have been such a blessing in my daily life. I can not imagine my day without them! – Rachel

Here’s to letting God turn our challenges into opportunities and to getting unstuck!

Your turn: I’d love to hear! What is your favorite verse in the Bible? Bonus points if you share why. These verses you share might be a great starting point to try writing out yourself!

The post How To Get Unstuck in Times of Overload appeared first on Lara Casey.

Gardening 101 + I’m giving away a garden!

Have you tried gardening? Interested in starting one?

Perhaps, like me, you haven’t always had a green thumb (I have killed a lot of plants in my life!). If that’s you, my annual Gardening 101 series just might get you growing this year.

Photo in Gracie’s Garden by Gina Zeidler

I’ve updated the popular series with new info and an exciting giveaway. I’m giving away a GARDEN! Yes, a real garden, complete with raised bed kit, lots of veggies, flowers, and everything you need to get started. How fun is that!?

Read part 1: The Story of an Unlikely Gardener

Read Part 2: Seeds, Supplies, Soil, and Sunlight

Read Part 3: Garden Plans

I’m excited for you! No green thumb required!

February Progress + March PowerSheets Goals

I’m going to take a wild guess that you and I have a few things in common.

We think differently.

We want to make the most of this life.

We’re cultivators.

A cultivator uncovers her own unique goal and path. Instead of looking to other people’s goals or social media feeds to define her own, she puts in the hard work of uncovering a path that fires her up.

A cultivator embraces little by little progress. She doesn’t believe in quick fixes or overnight results, and she knows it’s okay to grow slow.

A cultivator gets her hands dirty and takes action. Waiting can be good and a time of ripening, but she knows that sometimes it’s worth it to dig in right where she is with what she has.

A cultivator examines where she is in order to leap to what’s next. Instead of ignoring what isn’t working, she takes the time to intentionally evaluate and uncover the path forward.

A cultivator creates a long-term vision and gets after it. She refuses to keep going through the motions, doing the same things she’s always done. Instead, she steps forward into a new path.

A cultivator sets out on a purposeful path by uncovering cultivated goals. She’s tired of wandering aimlessly.

A cultivator finds joy in the journey instead of placing all her value in the finish line.

A cultivator doesn’t just embrace imperfect progress; she celebrates it. She’s tired of abandoning ship at the first bump in the road, and she knows that the best things in life grow slowly.

Whether you realize it or not, we just described YOU.

Ready to dig into March, fellow cultivator? Let’s do it!

February was a month of learning to trust—trusting in times of unknown, trusting in taking little steps forward without a finish line in sight, and trusting God’s crazy plans over mine!

Here’s a recap of my February progress and what I learned:

February Monthly Goals:

— First things first. My top priority for February was to spend more time with God than with the world. — This is a perpetual goal, but I did a lot of praying in February as I faced many unknowns. Some of those things are still unknown, but I have a peace and trust now in place of the worry that was there before I started praying and seeking His wisdom. Prayer changes things.

— Prayer journal date. — Done! I have a recurring task on my Things app that reminds me to prepare my prayer journal a few days before the new month.

— Prayerfully hire new team members. — I’m so grateful to share we’ve hired two new team members who start on Monday (we’ll be introducing them in the weeks to come!). We’re still hunting for two more though, including this one.

— Start seeds indoors + garden planning. — Yes! Seeds have been started and my Gardening 101 post and giveaway goes live soon! More to come here!

— Write the 2019 PowerSheets. — DONE! Eeeeee! So excited about this! We have some big changes coming, which always amazes me. Every year I can’t imagine making it better, but there’s a big process shift I wrote in this year that I hope you love as much as I do! 2019 PowerSheets will be on sale in October.

— 2017 corporate taxes completed. — Progress was made, but not done yet.

— Pray over the plan for books. — Done! I’m so so so grateful to have clarity and next steps in motion for all of the long-form projects we have had in mind. The other book may be developed for 2020, but the Gracie’s Garden book is hopefully coming your way next spring. Up next for me is writing the draft text and finding an illustrator by April!

— Set strength training plan + start. — I got this over-the-door contraption and I love it. More about this goal coming in my March goals below…

— Identify budget steps and goals. — I finally got unstuck here, and all it took was one intentional step forward that led to the next. Our budget is set and I added the Mint app to my phone. This month we’re focusing on praying together regularly about finding giving needs and meeting them. We started praying about this last week and it has already been fruitful.

— Cultivated Calendar prep. — I have been so grateful for this shift in how I prepare for meaningful celebrations and events. Get the free download at the Cultivated Calendar replay link and go through the process—so helpful!

Someone turned two this week! We now officially have two to-year-olds!

Weekly goals:

— Write + study Gimel + Daleth (Psalms 119). — I only did this once this month because our Sunday afternoon times got taken up by other things.

— 2 Days “on.” – Yes!

— Undistracted + cultivated homeschool. – Yes! This is us below doing some notebooking.

— Re-creation. – Yes, we had some dance parties in the kitchen, spent lots of time outside, and we took several outings (trail walks and exploring Jordan Lake) that were a treat for everyone.

— Read Traction with Emily. – Yes, we are on the last chapter and our whole team has worked hard implementing the Traction model in our company. I can’t recommend it enough!

— Pray the Word. – Yes, there were several times I prayed for guidance and cried out to God using Bible verses as my prayers.

Daily Goals:

— Chronological Bible reading. – I continue to love this daily reading time!

— Soul care at night. This means spending time with my prayer journal, in the Word, preparing for the next day, or doing anything that doesn’t involve my phone. — This is an area I want to continue to improve.

— Kiss Ari. — Yes! We went to our church’s marriage retreat in February and had several date nights as well.

— SLEEP. — Another area I need to improve in (mainly going to bed earlier and turning my brain off.) Ari and I started reading Tim Keller’s Prayer which has been helpful to get my brain to unwind. Random fun fact: I used to live in the same apartment building as Tim Keller about 14 years ago and would often say hi him when we were both getting our mail.

It’s Okay to Grow Slow

Maybe fast isn’t the goal.

Maybe cultivating an intentional life means aiming for what happens over time—like the richness of relationships—rather than getting to the finish line.

When something matters to you, you don’t focus on how slow the journey is to get there; you keep moving forward because the path forward is worth it.

The world says do more, grow fast, be big, use these tricks, analyze, do it like those people, get ahead. But that’s not how good things take root.

Maybe, despite what everyone tells you, slow is richer than fast.

Maybe a slower pace will help your roots stretch deep and wide.

It’s okay to grow slow.

– Excerpt from Cultivate: A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life

——

Get your copy today.

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It’s Okay to Grow Slow + Cultivate is on sale!

Maybe fast isn’t the goal.

Maybe cultivating an intentional life means aiming for what happens over time—like the richness of relationships—rather than getting to the finish line.

When something matters to you, you don’t focus on how slow the journey is to get there; you keep moving forward because the path forward is worth it.

The world says do more, grow fast, be big, use these tricks, analyze, do it like those people, get ahead. But that’s not how good things take root.

Maybe, despite what everyone tells you, slow is richer than fast.

Maybe a slower pace will help your roots stretch deep and wide.

It’s okay to grow slow.

– Excerpt from Cultivate: A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life

——

Cultivate is only 1.99 on Kindle today (regularly 16.99)!

Get your copy today.

Also available in audio and paperback.

The post It’s Okay to Grow Slow + Cultivate is on sale! appeared first on Lara Casey.

January Progress + February PowerSheets Goals

We don’t like imperfect starts, do we?

We want perfect right out of the gate.

But all plants grow through the dirt, and so do we.

Making a mess doesn’t mean you become one. – Cultivate

Feeling guilty about not making progress on your goals or not starting them at all?

February 1 can be your January 1!

Some guilt is good—it can spur us on to make good choices. But, there’s another kind of guilt that doesn’t help you or anyone else: imperfection guilt.

You know the feeling. You mess up and immediately go into I’m-the-worst-person-in-the-world mode thinking, Why can’t I just keep it all together? Why do I have to be so flawed? Why can’t I just do it ALL and do it all well? Why can’t I just be like so-and-so? 

Here’s the thing. We are imperfect. Me, you, all of us! And the truth is that all progress is imperfect progress. Good things grow through challenges and missteps and slow growth.

My peonies literally cannot bloom in the spring unless they go through many weeks of bitter cold in the winter. They grow little-by-little, and they grow through the dirt.

So, my friend, I propose we let go of the imperfection guilt and embrace the perfectly imperfect ground we’re standing on, right where we are. This is our GROWING ground.

Goodbye goal guilt.

Goodbye, quick fixes.

Goodbye, expecting overnight change.

Goodbye doing too much at once.

Hello little-by-little steps.

Hello trying new things (and redirecting when something isn’t working!).

Hello progress not perfection.

Hello slow rooted growth.

Hello bravery. Because it takes a lot of guts to live intentionally.

Hello knowing that our worth is not based on our performance. Who made up the rule that you had to make perfect progress on everything in January?

Hello doing this differently.

Hello what actually works.

One way to give the imperfection guilt the boot is to embrace the truth and tension of “and.”

Ready?

You can be a goal getter and embrace imperfection.

You can grow slowly and make significant progress.

You can make imperfect progress on a goal and still achieve your goal.

You can grow tomatoes in your garden and have weeds.

Are you with me here? What “and” do you need to embrace to move forward?

For me: I can do less and be more effective. More giving. More productive in the things that are important to me. More at peace.

January was a month of embracing these truths, digging into new habits, and setting out with a clearer direction. Anc clarity breeds action! I shared my Top 10 Tips for Getting Started on Your Goals, How to Get Unstuck, and in taking my own advice, I made some significant changes to how I use my time.

Here’s a recap of my January progress and what I learned:

Monthly Goals:

— Seek God first. Before seeking answers or wisdom or comfort anywhere else, I tried my hardest to go to God first this month (instead of to my phone or snacks or to complaining) and I pray that continues.

— Add 2018 goal steps to the calendar. I took 30 minutes in January and added all of my goal starting steps from my PowerSheets to my iCal and my Things app. For example, doing my Cultivated Calendar prep each month (preparing for birthdays, holidays, milestones) is important to me this year to help me grow several of my 2018 goals. I created a one-hour time block on my calendar each month to do it. I also created a yearly recurring task on Things that pops up a few days before the new month to remind me what birthdays or milestones to prepare for. A little intentional forethought has already gone a long way for me!

— Memorize Study Aleph + Bet. This is one place I redirected! I realized I bit off more than I could chew with memorizing Psalm 119 and reading the Bible this year, so I’m studying it instead. This is do-able and also challenging, which keeps me motivated! More here.

— Prayer journal date. I’m trying something new with my prayer journal this year. I’m having a longer prayer date to write out my prayers for the month and pray them right then instead of waiting for times later in the month. It’s one big prayer session to kick the month off, and the two times I’ve done it so far have been fantastic! I bring my prayer journal to church every Sunday and to our Sunday afternoon Bible study, so I check in on my prayers and add new ones (and notes about answered prayers) then as well.

— Have a day “on.” So, this is new. And this was not an easy one for me at first, but I knew it was necessary. This is something that came out of feeling spread thin in December and wanting to prevent any burnout on my part for my family and my team. In helping to write new employment contracts this year, it dawned on me that I’ve never taken all of my own allotted vacation days. I’ve certainly worked hard to not grow too much at once and to have strong boundaries, which has been wonderful, but I’ve come to a place in my life where I need more (to use my word of the year) light space. So, two Friday’s a month, I’m taking a day “on”—not a traditional day off, but a day to spend intentional time with God, the kiddos, and to step away from regular work so I can be refreshed and refueled for Ari, the kids, homeschooling, and work. I’ve done it twice so far and it has been helpful. It’s certainly tricky for me though. I am trying my best not to use these days to get one more thing done or clean or organize, but to really make it about soul care and being my best for others. I’ll keep you posted on how this goes throughout the year.

— Pray over new hires. Yes, many prayers have been offered up and I’m excited to see where God leads us.

— Pray over 2019 product development. I’m writing the 2019 PowerSheets this week and have been praying over our production process. By the way, we just sold out of all of our 2018 PowerSheets this week, but more 6-month sets will be back in May to help you finish out the year.

— Finish clearing out the attic. I made progress here, but I haven’t finished. There are two more bins of old college books that I need to go through!

— Take 1 step forward on 2018 budget. My one step was identifying my “block” on this goal. What’s been causing my inaction: I haven’t had clarity on the end goal or exactly what steps need to be taken in general! More below in my February goals.

— Cultivate Calendar prep for February. Yes! You can catch the replay of my live class about this with Emily Ley here.

Weekly Goals:

— Re-creation. Yes, progress was definitely made here. More about this goal here.

— Pray over each of our children. Yes, I’ve been praying over them out loud most mornings and evenings.

— Read Traction with Emily. Yes, we have implemented most of the book so far and are about to dig into the Process chapter to start tieing it all together. If you have employees, I can’t recommend this book enough! It has changed the way we do just about everything in our company.

Daily Goals:

— Chronological Bible reading. I am LOVING this! I decided to do this differently this year and do what’s called a “Plan with Friends” on the YouVersion Bible app. There are about a dozen of us and it has been awesome to share our thoughts with each other as we read each day. Doing this with a small intimate group has been wonderful!

— Kiss Ari. I shared a little about this here, but yes, this goal is going well and I’m so grateful for how it’s affecting not only us but our kiddos who smile so big when we kiss! Joshua has started giving me kisses too.