2024 Was a Year Of Preparation and Habit Building for The Long Term!
In 2024, most of my resolutions were centered around cleaning up my life to preach goodness and the gospel. They were about internal mindset shifts, a change in priorities, and identity formation. Rather than one off accomplishments. That's because it felt like it was going to be a preparation year for me, and it was! We switched jobs and cities from Omaha to Flagstaff, and therefore we changed up our friends, home and everything in between. Focusing on these foundations will then drive massive consistent behavior shifts and accomplishments for 2025. I'll take a whole year to focus on them, because I know the formational changes will stick and stay.
The Approach
Every year, I periodically pull out my Notes app on my iPhone and jot down reoccurring dreams, goals and aspirations for the following year. Themes start emerge from that list, I keep mulling on them alongside scripture, and I discern it with my people. For me, I discern with Bryant and my book club made up of Christian women whom I adore their all-in hearts for God. Those then become my focus areas for the next year.
Monthly I check in on these resolutions to keep me accountable. It's also so that I can celebrate God's faithfulness, because my faith has real bearing in my life. As we approach new years resolutions for 2025, here are a few of my own from 2024, how they played out, and if I'd recommend them or not. My hope is that they spur you on to think about your own!
6 New Years Resolutions and How They Played Out
Initial Resolution:
1. My aspiration was to create habits that helped change my identity. I want think and do things that help me look more like how Jesus sees me and who he made me to be. And who he made me to be is an image bearer of HIM! These include morning time with God first thing before anything else. Finding a long term community of other apprentices of Jesus as my inner circle. And sharing more of what God has done in my life regularly with people through answered prayers and his goodness.
Why? Well, Craig Groeschel summarized it well in his book The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most. He said ""You do what you do because of what you think of you." A major driver of our behavior is our identity. This notion comes from the bible: Proverbs 23:7a says "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."
Craig also is cited as saying: "Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now". I'm committing to attainable, attractive pathways for achieving this, knowing Hebrews 12:11: No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of rightousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. So I'll identity and stick with habits of a person like Jesus that cultivates loving God and loving others. I may not see the fruit of it this year, but I believe I'll be a more joyful and impactful 75 yr old Jenny because of them!
What I want most is to live fully the life God has called forth in me, for Him and others. I want to have the fruits of the spirit apparent so that nonbelievers say "what's different about you? Why are you all love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self control?"
I also want a healthy marriage. I want financial freedom. Hebrews 12:11 disciple is painful but afterward there is a peaceful harvest of right living for those trained in that way . So do you want the pain of discipline or the pain for regret?
I don't want him to say "depart from me, I never knew you. (Matt 7:23)" Ya know?
I believe habits are the building blocks of a healthy happy life. They empower us to pursue aspirations and help us align our life to our values. I seek to align habits with who I really am instead of expectations of who i should be. Growth is gradual and sustainable, like nature cues. Not quick fixes
How It Played Out In Real Life: This one was the only one I feel I confidently fixated on. And it truly changed my life. Read Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, and it will explain why.
2. Share my wounds with God and others. “The main question is not ‘How can we hide our wounds?’ so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but ‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’ ” Henri Nouwen. This platform is a start for me. "Naming our trauma is some of the most important work we can do". - On-site Workshops. How much it affects us is directly related to how much it affects our nervous system. Healing gets to more of a state of joy connection and security. My hope is that God can be glorified in what seems like a tragedy. Brokenness are chances to seek and glorify God. Because intimacy with God is most important — spirit filled people would look like this!
3. Be in the word of God daily and share it. Let truthfulness by paid attention to by others. I can do this more abut trading tings for freedom to nurture the gifts God has called me to do. God promises us that if we memorize, ponder, and speak scripture daily, and apply what we learn to our life, we can be confident that this kind of success is sure to follow (Joshua 1:8). Excessive consumption of things that induce negative thinking, bad habits and wrong behavior will thwart our potential. So give more time to God’s word than even to good things like friends or educators . Those aren’t bad, but they’re not #1.
4. Choose simplicity and presence as a new joy. Silence is a joy too and nature is a party also. Simple also means being present and not multitasking. To be present in the moment — every single day is a gift. We feel entitled to each day we are given but instead it’s only because God allows it and because there is some ok then in my lungs. Realistically we have control on only about 15% of our circumstances. But we can control our response and often our presence. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
5. Let God speak my identity louder than the negative voice of others. Don’t let ideas unproportionally take hold of you in your life. Don’t let people have that much power over you. Expect to be misunderstood and the negativity from others and not seeing eye to eye. Replace it with your mission and what God uniquely made you to do. And with life-giving activities, and your chosen inner circle who can give to your soul more than they take away from it.
5. See myself as who God made me to be. Then refining myself to head that direction, is my focus this year. Greater happiness is not the goal. That self fulfillment is not the end goal. Not quitting too soon solely because it is disappointing or unsatisfying. Remember the purpose of the thing. In marriage, it’s to be holier. In work, it’s to bring Eden here on earth. Being faithful to God’s obedience is everything. Endure pain for the sake of their belief in a great cause. Finding the hero in your husband) Matt 16:24-25 deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow him. So deny myself and willingly stay in a situation that is uncomfortable and unsatisfying. Very different than culture.
6. Give more financially to those in need. If I spent this year only looking inwardly at myself and upwardly to God, I would be in isolation and miss out. Everything mentioned should also be practiced in the context of my people and my community. And giving to others gives a grounding perspective and meets actual needs. I believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him - 1 John 2:4-6. Look the homeless in the eye. Pass out a peice of candy with my daughters downtown. Serve the soup and go out and eat with them at the table to build empathy. I can be one unfortunate decision or situation away from being on the streets, too. Let god build a love for the marginalized and the complexity of it all.
Looking Back, What Would I Have Done Differently?
Looking Forward, What Do I Aspire for Next?
Here's my faith-filled Resolutions for heaven to open in 2025!
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