moving forward into 2023 (+ 2022 stats)

Posted On January 1, 2023

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Well, y’all, 2023 is here. Isn’t it weird how January first feels like a huge deal in some ways, but also is just another day?

To me, it’s a fresh start, a time to reset and reassess my life. My dad was talking to us about the idea of choosing our ‘big rocks’ for the year – the big things that we want to focus on. Choose my priorities. It’s a time to ask myself:

Where do I want to be by next January?
5 years from now?
What steps can I take today to get a little closer?

I’m a big dreamer, and sometimes I get so caught up in the big things I want to do that I don’t actually plan out how I’m going to make those dreams my reality.

Long-term, what is most important to me? I want to live a fully-alive life and know Jesus better than anyone, and be known by him! So what can I be doing right now to prepare myself? What tiny little steps can I take today? How can I say yes to him?

I can get so caught up in the little, busy things, that I forget to focus on what’s really important. So it’s this time of year, the chilly, grey, damp beginning of January, that I think about the goals I want to make.

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I’m not a huge ‘plan out my entire life in a list’ kinda gal, but I do like to list a few goals at the beginning of every year. Here are a few of mine:

• finish my novel (finally) & continue blogging
• immerse myself in the Word
• journal most or every day
• work hard at school
• be more purposeful in relationships
• grow in CONFIDENCE in who I am – a Child of God!!!

What a brain dump. Sorry, y’all.

All of that has been on my mind lately. I’ve been really trying to hone in on what it is I want this year to look like – I really want to be intentional about my life and using my time well. Listing those above goals, I’m finding that what I really want to do is grow and mature more in who I am. I want to be comfortable in myself and grow in confidence. I want to keep seeking the Lord and get to know him better.

Ya know, I think I’m going to write out a list of my short- and long-term goals and slap it on my mirror, where I can be reminded of them regularly. Too often they get lost in my notebooks where I don’t see them for a year and then lament the fact that I haven’t budged an inch in that area of my life.

Look, God is doing a new thing! He’s asking us to join him. Good things are coming this year – let’s live in expectation of his goodness and flourish in his Spirit! He is good. If you’re going through a difficult time right now and don’t have much hope, I pray that you can cling to him. He won’t let go.

Let this year burst with his exceptional goodness! Together, let’s move forward into the New Year.

Thanks for sticking with me this long, and I hope you’ll stick around a long while. You guys are amazing.

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And now, just for fun, here’s some blog stats from 2022!

Posts: 46

Views: 6,975

Visitors: 1,864

Likes: 77

Comments: 313

Mailing List subscribers: 40

WordPress followers: 10
(I don’t have a WordPress ‘follow’ button, so I was surprised at how many of you found a way around that! 😂)

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Top posts: I’ve been published!, QUIZ: what’s your superpower?, Young Writer Interview: Anna B.

Top pages: Community, About the Author, Abby’s Book Corner

Most-clicked link: PearlMag.co/sonia

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Before you go, what are some of your goals for the new year? What hopes and aspirations do you have? How have you grown over the past year? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.