Happy New Year + 2015 Goals

Photos by Handspun Photography

Friends, we are five days into the new year and I'm loving it already. For some reason, I've felt very excited to make some changes, share my goals and get into 2015! January is always a great time to pause and reflect on the last year; the good and the bad, the happy and the sad. I think it's always healthy to evaluate your past and make good decisions when moving forward! I've done some soul searching, thinking and dreaming to come up with a few goals for the next year, a year I think will be an exciting and sweet one. Instead of just posting these goals once in January, I'm also going to start posting monthly goals throughout the year. I hope in me sharing my goals, you can keep me accountable and perhaps find a few things you want to work towards as well. Here we go!

We will start with my word for the year: joy! (How can you type the word "joy" without an exclamation point after it?!) I want to live a life of joy; not a cheap joy where I put on an act and pretend to be happy even when I'm not, but a deep rooted joy that comes from Christ and my hope in Him. Making joy found in God as my mindset is different than being "happy". Trials will come, hard times and suffering are all around us, but we can rejoice in the fact that God loves us and walks through trials of any kind with us. We can rejoice in the fact that though we deserve nothing, Christ has offered us everything. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

And now a few goals for 2015:
- Continue to drink lots of water. Drinking tons of water has done wonders for the way I feel. Did you know I never have any caffeine?! I get all my energy from water and good sleep.
- Be more adventurous. I'll admit it, I like to stick to what I know and what I love, so I don't venture out much. I'm a picky eater, and while I don't see that changing, I want to become more adventurous in other areas of life!

- Read my Bible every day. I always have good intentions but often forget or place other things before my morning devotionals. No more excuses!

- Stop comparing. This means with where I'm at in my business, what clothes others can afford, how many DIY projects someone else cranks out every month, who gets to write a book here, who is getting featured there, who's getting married and having babies, who's relationship looks picture perfect on instagram. Just stop! Comparison is the thief of joy!

- Go on more creative dates with McCann. I already have a few ideas!

- Love better. One way I'm planning to do this is to spend more time hanging out with and getting to know the girls in our high school group at church.

- Learn calligraphy (Bloom will help with this as we have 5 workshops with calligraphy teachers in 2015!)

- Get both of my businesses (Michaela Noelle Designs and The Bloom Workshop) trademarked. 

- Save money! Hi...I often have a problem with this one. #noshame

- Grow my personal interior design business even more. I'm so excited to show off some client projects I have been working on soon.

- Continue to expand Bloom and prayerfully consider our future.

- Learn to cook better. I am known to burn things sometimes ;) Whether it be a class or just getting more creative in the kitchen, I want to become a little more comfortable with cooking.

- Use my unique gifts to serve more. 

- It wouldn't be a new years goals list without the addition of going to the gym more. I'm not going to kid myself, though. I probably won't make it to the gym often because of the snow in Michigan (don't judge me!) BUT my goal is to do workout videos from home, if nothing else. 

I think that does it. Just a few core things I want to try to work on. Some are fun, some are silly and some are really, truly important. What are some of your goals this year?!

Happy Monday and Happy 2015!!
xoxo

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