2016 Goals

I am so excited to be sharing these goals with you! Ever since I started goal planning and using the powersheets I have gotten more accomplished and become a more intentional person than I imagined. Living a life that I know I will be proud of takes being intentional and this is how I am doing it.
“I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”  1 Corinthians 9:26-27


1. Build a smooth running business & exceed customers expectations.

As I think about the year ahead and all I’d like to do, I know that building systems, creating procedures, and organizing the physical things will be vital to growing my little business. This year I’d like to spend time building a solid foundation that I can grow with and that will help me to spend more time on the important things and not the daily back end activities. And because I feel so fortunate to get to connect with women all over, I’d love to figure out ways to exceed your expectations, whether it’s through your purchases or interactions through the blog, instagram, or periscope.

Colossians 3:17 ; Colossions 3:23


2. Write 3 devotionals.
When I wrote “Wholeheartedly”, I never imagined that I would write any more devotionals. All I knew was that the Lord was calling to speak to single women. Now I see how that devotional was just the beginning. He has been teaching me and growing me for years for the purposes of sharing His truths with His people and I believe that it will be through devotionals. God has put 3 new topics on heart and I anticipate writing them and launching this summer! This is one of my favorite and most intimidating goals. I constantly question whether I have it in me to do this, but then I remind myself that it’s not going to be possible to do because of what I have in me, but because of WHO I have in me.

2 Timothy 2:15 ; Acts 20:24 ; 1 Corinthians 12:7 ; John 6:38-39 


3. Build a brand & website that I love. And a tight knit encouraging community.
I started this process a few months and honestly thought I’d be done by now! I found the process to be much more intimidating than I thought and I don’t think I was fully (and still am not) sure what I wanted. And now that I will be getting married this year and changing my name, I have that to think about as well. My goal is to really spend some time discovering what I love and what is the most true representation of who I am. This would help to I can launch a brand that has staying power and that I won’t get tired of in a year. The second part of this is to create a community.  of encouragement and freedom to feelI also, have tons of ideas for a new website that will incorporate the new devotionals in a fun, unique way!

Hebrews 10:24-25 ; Galations 6:2 ; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12


4. Minimize distractions & clutter. Physical & Mental.
I am amazed by the amount of time I waste on things that just don’t matter. Whether its just the attention I give to it or the stress that it causes. With so many things on my heart to accomplish, my aim is to minimize things that have little to no value or things that are just excess. Some of my plans will include Social Media free weekends, TV free weeks, building a capsule wardrobe, regular tidying of my spaces.

Philippians 4:8 ; Mat 6:24 ; 1 Corinthians 7:35 ; Gal 5:16-17


5. Build a foundation for a marriage according to God’s design.
This is a topic so close to my heart. As I have studied about marriage and relationships, in preparation for my next devotional and for my own relationship, I have discovered how meaningful & life giving relationships CAN be. But what I know to be true is that just because God designed them to be a wonderful thing, it doesn’t mean that they automatically are. 2 people must be intentional and willing to put in the work to be able to reap the benefits of all that God has planned for you! For us this will include things like pre-marriage counseling, making couple goals together, praying together, etc. I feel lucky that I am with someone who strives to make the same effort as me in our relationship!


6. Plan a simple & intimate wedding.
As I worked through my goal planning in December, I knew a wedding would be on the horizon, but I was still yet to be engaged. After only one official week of wedding planning I see why this goal is so important! Because we want a short engagement and are toying with the option of a destination wedding, this week has been very stressful, just trying to figure out a venue. (If anyone know any affordable Gulf  Shores, Destin, 30 A wedding locations, please help a sister out!!!)  When I came to write this post, it was such a good reminder that what we want is simple & intimate. A wedding is an important thing, but not more important than the marriage, and not enough to turn me into a crazy person. That’s why I listed Luke 16:15b for my verses. It may seem like an unusual one to pick for wedding planning, but I want to keep reminding myself that the things the world places so much importance on are not at all important to my heavenly Father. My goal with our wedding is that people will feel God’s love in a real way and that they will see Christ, maybe for the first time.

Luke 16:15b ; Galations 1:10 ; Corinthians 13:4-7


7. Value my health & recognize how it serves my life.
You gotta have a health goal every year, am I right?! Lol. This may be a weird way of putting it, but I watched some documentaries a it was eye-opening to see how much impact what we eat and how active we are effects our lives. When we change our viewpoint from eating to make us happy to “eating to give me the strength and ability to accomplish things” then it’s much easier to make all those food and exercise decisions.   My goal is to make decisions for my health that will empower my body to be able to be used well for the purposes of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ; Proverbs 31:17


8. Be a good steward of my resources.
This is the area of the most weakness for me. I constantly plan budgets and have a really hard time sticking to them. Knowing that Josh and I will soon join finances and will need to work as a unit has be anxious to get this figured out, so that we don’t cause unnecessary tension over finances. I hope to read books that will inspire me to plan well for the future and shed some light on our “money habits” and I might need to change. 

1 Timothy 6:10 ; Luke 19: 13 ; Matt 6:24 ; 2 Corinthians 8:12 ; Luke 19:26 ; 2 Corinthians 8:12 


9. Pray continually. Surrender everything.
Prayer changes everything. It’s not just a saying for me anymore… the Lord has proven this to me over and over the last few years. I’d like to continue to cultivate a spirit of immediately going to God for every need, even before talking to others. He brings such peace, transformation, enlightenment, and discernment, that I wonder how I ever skip over prayer and go to other people. My goal is that I not only prayer or talk at God about things on my heart, but that I would bring them to Him. I want to offer them up to Him, so that He can move in my life like only He can. I never want to resist what the Lord wants to do in my life, by holding onto anything that is not mine to hold.

Luke 11:9 ; Jeremiah 33:3 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ; Phil 4:6 ; Matt 26:41


10. Study the Bible & saturate my heart and mind in truth.
I have never experienced such intimacy with the Lord as I do when I am regularly studying the Bible. We know that the Bible is alive and that the Holy Spirit speaks to us through it, so to not take advantage of this source and live fully as the Lord intends is such a shame. As I prepare to write more devotionals, my goal is to be so saturated in Scripture that the words I write are not my own, but only that of the Lord’s. Sharing His truths with His people (you guys!) is my desire and I believe my purpose for my time on earth, so I want to do it well and do it fervently. I pray for myself and for you, that we would never be tripped up by the worlds thinking, but that our minds would be so transformed to the mind of Christ that no other ideas can stand. 

Psalm 25:5 ; Matt 4:4 ; Psalm 119:49 ; John 10:27 ; John 10:3 ; 2 Tim 3:16-17 ; Matt 24:35 ; Hebrews 2:1 ; Psalm 1:1-3 


#GoodToGoalfor2016 Series

Monday – 2015 Book Reviews
Tuesday – 2015 Top Blog Posts
Wednesday – 2016 Word of the Year
Thursday – 2016 Goals
Friday – 2016 Book List

For more goal setting goodness, check out Val’s #GoodtoGoalfor2016 posts too!

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  • Hello Natalie!
    I love the visual you created of your yearly goals. It is a great idea to even print it out and frame it!!
    Also, what translation of the Bible did you use in the mention of 1 Corinthians 10:26-27?

    • I know! I kind of have a photographic memory so I figured a visual would help so much in remembering my goals! ANd thank you for catching my mistake ! It’s actually 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 and I used the ESV version!

  • Hi Natalie! I live right on the Gulf Coast (in Pensacola, Florida) and our local Lee House would be a beautiful venue for a destination wedding. The venue has a wide and uninterrupted view of the Gulf of Mexico, plus the size of the venue would lend itself to the intimate goal of your wedding. Blessings in your season of planning and preparation! http://leehousepensacola.com/

    • Thank you so much for the suggestion Catherine Ann! We actually decided on a venue in our hometown of Lafayette, but thank you so much for the recommendation :) We actually go to Perdido Key (the Eden) every year for our family and our girls beach trips, which is near you guys! Absolutely my favorite thing to do every year !!!