October Progress + November PowerSheets Goals
Happy November, friends! What a wonderful month this is here in Chapel Hill!
The leaves have turned the colors of a blazing sunset. The air smells of fireplace coziness. Our pansies are planted for the winter. And my focus has turned to preparing well for meaningful experiences ahead and the new year. Keeping a gentle eye on the number of days remaining in 2018 (59 as of writing this to you) has motivated me to get the right things done. A lot can happen in fifty-nine days, and a little intentional forethought goes a long way!
October was a month I’ll never forget. It was a month of learning to trust. We took a family trip to the farm a few days before the 2019 PowerSheets launch, which normally would have felt like terrible timing, but it was just right. I ended up getting an out-of-nowhere fever that had me in bed for most of our trip, but in retrospect I know it was a gift. The Lord knew I needed rest and to tangibly feel His power being made perfect in my weakness. Surrender is a sweet thing (Dear self, remember this always!). October, you were good for our souls!
My October Monthly Goals Progress:
— Throw off everything that hinders me and aim my arrows at doing life the way He wants me to. / This looked like trusting in His power over my own. There were significant walls placed in front of us in October with work and family, and He broke down every one in His perfect timing and unexpected ways. I am still a little speechless about it all!
— Enter into the most wonderful season of service and joy with our team and the good work He has blessed us with! / The 2019 PowerSheets are here and we have had a lot of fun as a team, feeling fired up about our work and mission! It has been a joy to serve you and so many women over the last two weeks.
— Share why I have the hope I have. / I loved this goal! Yes, I was thankful to share on several occasions.
— Bring the life of God to our children, which starts with us flourishing in faith. / Sally Clarkson shared something this week that stuck with me: “Little girls need to see big faith.” The little girls and boy in this house got to see that this month, and I hope those seeds take root. They saw and heard us pray through hard things, rejoice and praise in good things, and ask for forgiveness when we messed up. It was a good month of growing in faith for all of us.
— Get into a rhythm with homeschool. / Yes! Aside from a couple of missed days from sicknesses, we made good progress this month. I am SO grateful for this. The Cultivated Homeschool Planner has been a game changer for me.
Fun at Vollmer Farm with the kiddos!
October Weekly Goals:
— Take care of our temples of the Holy Spirit. Ari expressed wanting to grow in balance and wellness, and I want to teach our kiddos healthy habits too. We’ve already started cooking lessons with the kiddos, including knife skills for Grace so she can prepare fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. Here’s a great video we watched to learn the basics! / Yes! Progress here on all fronts. Little by little steps add up!
— Pray for a *few* friends. / I was not as diligent about this as I had envisioned I would be. I prayed for friends, but I think I would have done this more if I would have had my PowerSheets by my bed on the weekends to simply remember. Good lesson learned so I can adjust for future progress—and no goal guilt needed. : ) When you don’t make progress on a goal as you’d like, simply examine why and redirect for next time!
— All of them. / Yes! (Read my October goals post for more about this goal.) This was lived out on several occasions, namely our trip to the Farm! Even though I was sick for most of it, we really had a wonderful time making memories together. I hope to do this every year in October if the Lord allows us to. It was magical and simple retreat for us all. (Look up Vollmer Farm on AirBnB!)
— Believing a miracle happened in our lives and acting like it! Ari and I are not the same people we were several years ago. The heart and life change we’ve experienced is significant, but this fact is easy to forget in day-to-day life. I do not want to forget this. A miracle happened in our lives and remembering this spurs me forward to share the hope we have. His grace is a real thing and it changes everything! / Yes! Even something as simple as looking at old photographs together leaves us in awe of how much we have changed in the last 12+ years. Because of this, we have greater faith that more transformation can happen—in our lives and yours too!
They all LOVED the corn pit!
October Daily Goals:
— Bathe in the Word. I’m continuing my number one goal with this daily Bible reading using the Blue Letter Bible Chronological reading plan on YouVersion. / Yes! We’re so close to finishing the Bible! Yahoo!!!
— Seek Him in all things instead of doing them my way or without asking Him first. / This will always be a practice to keep, but I was especially grateful for the reminder to focus on this in October.
— Praise + joy! Working out with praise on my lips and joy in my soul! / Yes! There was a LOT of praise in October! I’ve already ramped up the working out part this month though—I slowed down a bit being sick.
— Speak restorative words. / Yes, and I found that the most restorative words are, as always, His. Several times I shared a scripture with someone and simply let it be—without adding any of my words too. The Word is powerful on its own!
Now to November!
November Monthly Goals:
— God + goals – study it, live it, give it! This is my top priority for November. Oh, this goal has me so fired up, friends! More to come on this one!
— Retreat to pray. In order to do anything well this month, I know it will take time in prayer to listen. He turns worries into worship!
— Prayer-led podcast recording. I lost my voice for a good part of October, but I’m feeling better now and ready to record. The podcast will launch in December!
I asked Grace if she would like to write the encouraging words in my PowerSheets this month and this is what she wrote: “1 thing is good and that is God.” No better reminder!
