Why is this the mission of True and Lovely Co.?

Quite frankly, there is a need for accessible Biblical teaching. Studying the Bible doesn’t have to be boring or a total downer. It can be encouraging, fun, and it doesn’t have to be overly complicated. The Bible is not exclusive. It isn’t elusive. Being Biblically literate isn’t just for pastors or people in seminary. It also isn’t something that is ideal in quick-bite format.

While this ministry isn’t exclusively gender-specific, I firmly believe that Biblical literacy is a male-dominated subject. I want to help remind women that we can dig just as deep into scripture as men can. If you don’t believe me, walk through the aisles of a Christian bookstore and compare the “men’s” studies with the “women’s” studies. You’ll notice that the studies marketed for men have far more depth and meat to them. Women do not have to settle for self-focused, topical devotionals. We don’t have to rely on quick posts for Biblical truth. Women can (and should) study the Bible for themselves to gain an understanding of scripture and know the Lord well. This isn’t an “I am woman, hear me roar” point, so please don’t read it like that, but it is a “let’s remind women that scripture is for them as well” point.

The Goals of True and Lovely Co.

True and Lovely Co. operates with three main goals in mind.

The first goal is to teach the gospel and Biblical truth in a way that is accessible, encouraging, and edifying, while being true to the Lord and what His Word says.

Goal number two is to encourage others to study the Word of God in a way that allows for proper interpretation and application in order to grow in faith and relationship with God.

The last goal is to equip others with tools, tips, and resources to help them study Scripture and dig into the Word of God.

What True and Lovely Co. is Not

This is not a lifestyle page. I may share personal things here and there, but my intention is to show my life in a way that shows you I’m a person. I’m not here to influence you to do anything but know the Lord and his Word.

It is not a place for confrontation. This page doesn’t major in the minors. We will have different views on secondary things like worship music or Bible translations or what modesty is. That’s ok! My focus here is Biblical literacy. I may post about topics where people have differing opinions and interpretations but that is not the focus of this ministry. Many ministries post these things, and a lot of them address hard issues well. My goal is to teach you HOW to study the Bible, not which secondary theology is best or which side of a Christian liberty discussion to be on.

It is not your Bible. My words about God’s word is not God’s word. Just because I (or any other creator) share something doesn’t mean it holds the same weight as scripture. Test everything against scripture. 

In summary…

I want you to study the Bible and I want you to know how to study the Bible, but I am also a human. I make mistakes, but please know that I do my very best to test everything I share against scripture.

This is a space for growth and learning — for everyone. Growth isn’t always comfortable. I don’t sugarcoat the truth, I won’t tolerate watered-down Christian teaching, and I don’t tolerate hate and condemnation. 

My desire is to know God, know His Word, and help you do the same. 

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• I left higher education after nearly 10 years in the field and got a full time position doing graphic design and communications at my church. It has been the best change! I’ll probably write on this at some point, but it was a big change!
• I migrated most of my shop to Etsy and it’s been so much easier than hosting things on this website. I just don’t have the time to manage it on my own, unfortunately, so everything but downloadable items are in my Etsy shop.
• I started selling verse breakdown cards! These breakdowns always get a lot of good feedback on Instagram, so I started to make physical copies. They come in sets of 10 and, while they’re currently sold out, I’m planning on creating a second set to release when I re-release the first set!
• I wrote a book. Yep! A REAL BOOK! I wrote a devotional guide for DaySpring and it will be released in May of this year! I am so excited to be able to share more about it and show you the inside and all the things.

Of course, there have been the usual things – birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. We’ve been able to do a lot of really fun stuff, even with the pandemic, and I’m thankful for that.

I can’t promise consistent blog posts moving forward. I like to write here and I like to share things, but, honestly, I don’t want to spread myself too thin. My primary source for content is Instagram, as it always has been, but I’m hoping to make more intentional time to write, even if it’s just once a month. In the meantime, you know where to find me!

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March Recap

March flew by. I spent a lot of it sick, which is unfortunate, but many great things happened, too! The weather finally started to get warmer, and we have really been enjoying it. In February, we had two big winter storms come through. In March, it’s stayed around 65-70 degrees every day and has been mostly sunny! Talk about contrast.

With the weather as good as it’s been, we’ve spent a lot of time outside. We’ve gone on walks, had meals on the patio, and have generally just tried to be in the sunshine. I’m soaking it all in since I know it’s going to be 100 degrees in a couple of months!

Looking back on my Powersheets from March, I really didn’t track much at all. I spent a good 10 days of the month sick in bed, so I gave up on being proactive with things. I really needed the rest, and I managed to keep up with everything; it just wasn’t as structured as I had hoped.

This month taught me a lot about flexibility.

I am usually a pretty structured person- I have to be! But I couldn’t keep my routine for a lot of this month. I was overwhelmed but I took a step back, re-organized, and still got most of my tasks finished.

Sometimes things don’t go the way we plan or hope, but it’s important not to get so wrapped up in the schedule that we stress out even more. Plans are supposed to be helpful!

My April Set-Up

My main goal for April is to stay focused. I have some big projects in the works, and my workload for those projects will increase significantly. I need to make sure I’m managing my time well. In the midst of that, I need to prioritize intentional rest. I often run myself into the ground and rest when I’m worn out, and I don’t think that’s the most effective way to do things.

Since it’s starting to warm up a little, I want to make sure I’m spending time outside. I always feel great when I’ve spent time outside, so I need to make it a priority. Whether I’m hiking on a nearby trail, walking around the neighborhood, or just working on our back patio, I want to spend as much time outside as I can!

We started getting Green Chef meal kits delivered, and we’ve really enjoyed them, so I also want to keep that up so we can try new things and eat out less. We opted for the keto/paleo plan since it’s gluten-free. M is my little sous chef, and it’s fun to spend some time cooking together. So far, all of our meals have been delicious and only take about 30 minutes to make!

I realize this sounds like a sponsored ad- I promise; it’s not! I used a coupon I found on the internet to save money on our first few deliveries. I’m notorious for my lack of creativity in the kitchen. Before I went gluten-free, we used meal kits from our local grocery store. We loved the simplicity of just following directions and not needing to buy small amounts of random things, but had to stop using them because of my gluten-free diet. Tired of making the same 10 things, I signed us up for Green Chef because of their gluten-free option!

Wrapping it up

Closing out the April Set-Up, I’m really looking forward to the month. It’s been a full year since the world shut down. It’s so strange going into this month remembering how life was last year at this time. Things are so different this year, but the experience of 2020 has definitely changed the way I look at life, and, for some reason, setting up for April really reminded me of that. On to next month!

Questions for you- let me know in the comments!

1. What did you learn last month?
2. What goals do you have for April?

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I think a lot of Christians go through this at some point or another. Maybe we have questions about the Bible or we don’t understand why God would have us go through something we’re going through. Many of us might also feel a little bit guilty that we’re asking the Creator of the universe to prove He’s listening. Do I truly trust God if I have questions? Do I believe God is sovereign if I’m feeling scared? 

The Bible is clear- we need to have faith. We are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). We are told to trust in the Lord with all our hearts (Prov. 3:5). 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “ We walk by faith, not by sight.” Faith is a crucial part of our relationship with Christ, yet we still have questions. 

Having questions and needing reassurance isn’t always a sign that we lack faith. 

Gideon’s Story

As I studied the book of Judges, the story of Gideon, a judge who the Lord raised over Israel, stood out to me.  Before we get into how Gideon’s story relates to faith and having questions, let’s get a little background on what the judges were and why they were important. 

In the book of Judges, Israel went through a cycle of sin. They worshiped false gods and rejected the Lord, and, as a result, the Lord allowed surrounding nations to conquer them. Israel cried out to the Lord in their distress, and because He loved them, He would raise a judge to lead them out of their desperation. 

Judges 6-8 give us the story of Gideon. The Midianites overtook Israel, and the Lord called Gideon to lead them out of their struggle. This surprised Gideon, and he had a lot of questions. 

“He said to him, ‘Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family…If I have found favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me.'”

(Judges 6:15,17)

Gideon struggled to understand why the Lord chose him, much like Moses did when the Lord spoke to Him at Sinai through the burning bush. Once the Lord showed Gideon that it really was Him speaking, however, Gideon fell in worship. 

As his story continues, Gideon obeys the Lord, but we still see glimpses of fear in him. 

“Then Gideon said to God, “If you will deliver Israel by me, as you said, I will put a wool fleece here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that you will deliver Israel by me, as you said.” And that is what happened. When he got up early in the morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung the dew out of it, filling a bowl with water. Gideon then said to God, “Don’t be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground.” That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground. “

(Judges 6:36-40)

Essentially, Gideon pleaded, ” God, give me a sign!”

When I read this, I stopped and wondered why God treated Gideon differently than others who asked for proof from the Lord. God grew angry with Moses (Ex. 4:11-15) and silenced Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25), but He didn’t do either of these things with Gideon. Why?

God, Give Me a Sign

In chapter 7, we get more of the picture. Gideon prepared to take his small army of 300 to the Midianite camp. He was afraid but obediently did as God said. It’s here we see an incredible God moment. God knew Gideon was scared, so He told Gideon to go down to his camp and listen to some of his soldiers. Gideon did and heard some of his soldiers discussing a dream one of them had. A loaf of barley bread fell down a mountain, hit a Midianite tent, and flipped the tent over. Another soldier interpreted the dream: “This is no other than the sword of Gideon…God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 

Again, Gideon worshipped. Then he led Israel to victory against Midian. Gideon pursued obedience first, asking for reassurance and encouragement along the way rather than asking for proof before agreeing to do what God said. 

What does this teach us?

How often do we ask for proof before agreeing to do something? From buying things from others to the way we approach tithing (ouch), how often do we ask for evidence of what we stand to gain before agreeing to hold up our end of the deal? The story of Gideon gives us an example of why obedience to the Lord first is far more fruitful than expecting Him to prove anything to us before obedience. We will undoubtedly go through hardships in our lives, but we have to remember that God already has the victory. Life is scary. The unknown is not an easy thing to find peace in. It’s not our job, however, to know it all but to obey. This doesn’t mean we can’t ask questions or feel afraid, but it does mean we need to trust and obey while we wait for the Lord. 

Gideon knew the power of God and intended to obey, but he needed reassurance. He didn’t demand proof from God. He humbly asked for reassurance amid active obedience, and the Lord gave him that. The Lord loves us. He cares for us. When we hold our hands up and say, “God, give me a sign,” we need to remember that the Lord loves us, He cares for us, and that it is all for His glory, according to His perfect plan. 

Question for reflection:

How can you better choose obedience over proof?

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“The hustle” is something that works for some aspects of life, but it has migrated into aspects of life that don’t really need a hustle. If you’re working towards a goal, it’s important to have grit and determination. Where the hustle has been taken, however, is into the personal lives of individuals and we’re living in an era where, if you’re not hustling, you’re behind. If you’re not hustling, you’re lazy.

Friends, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is: the hustle has the ability to steal life from you. I’ll use myself as an example.

Before I go any further, I want to take a minute to recognize that hustle is required sometimes. I fully recognize that many people have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. If that is you, you are inspiring. This post, however, addresses the culture-perpetuated hustle. The hustle we CHOOSE.

A bit of context…

Back in 2011, I started a blog called A Guiltless Glutton. It doesn’t exist anymore, but it was a blog that took high-calorie, guilty pleasure recipes and made healthy alternatives. When people started reading it- like, really reading it- there was this immense pressure to keep up content. It was stressful and exhausting. In 2013, I shifted my brand into Keeping Carrie Fit which encompassed more overall fitness content. I posted workouts, food, inspiration, and those kinds of things. Again, the same issue came up. I stressed about content- even though the content was my life- and I spent a lot of time creating posts and taking photos worthy of the blogosphere. At the same time, I started a photography business because I enjoyed photography. Soon, I was photographing weddings, headshots, family photos; you name it. Guess what? It was exhausting. 

When I started my YouTube channel, I started it as an addition to my Keeping Carrie Fit blog. I quickly realized I didn’t want to be contained to the fitness niche as I had just had a baby, and I was in a new territory so my brand shifted again to an all-over lifestyle blog. My YouTube channel shifted to content about bullet journaling.

When we moved from Georgia to Tennessee, I lost my photography clientele and didn’t work to revive it. I backed off of the social media hustle for a while and just lived life. And you know what? It was really nice.

You may be wondering, “But Carrie, you have a blog and an Instagram audience now…what gives?” That’s a great question.

Here’s what happened:

Instead of putting unrealistic expectations on myself, instead of trying to get good at whatever was trendy at the time, I worked on paying attention to what the Lord was teaching me. It wasn’t about what was cool on the internet. When I started, I posted pictures of my Bible notes with captions to remind myself what I learned in my Bible study that day. 

Yes, there have been times where the “hustle” mentality takes over. Is my audience growing? Do I need to take out ads? What am I doing wrong? I was working at least 80 hours a week between my full-time job, Instagram, and other content. It got to a point where I spent more time with True and Lovely Co. than with my family and that was a problem.  I had to make changes. 

Less Hustle, More Life

Now, I take a full day off social media each week. I also set boundaries for what content I put out. I’m more intentional with what I do which means I’m not running on all cylinders 24/7. Is that anti-hustle? Sure. But is it necessary? Absolutely.

A few weeks ago, my pastor said something that stood out me. He said that “work is a gift, not an identity.” In Genesis, the Lord puts Adam to work and watch over creation (Genesis 2:15) . This was before the fall, so this work was not a punishment, but something of value. Everything we have is from the Lord, our work included, and we are called to work for the Lord (Colossians 3:23).

I still work a lot but it is far more fulfilling because I am constantly in the Word of God, I am connecting with Christ-followers on a regular basis, and I have clear boundaries set. There’s not as much pressure because I don’t really care what’s cool on the internet- I just want to teach the Bible and share the gospel.

What can you do?

Hustle and drive can be admirable, but you cannot allow your identity to be in your schedule. Put the phone down. Log off social media. Take a true Sabbath. Spend time in the Word or in prayer. Spend intentional time with loved ones. When we do these things, we remember that life is found outside of the hustle. True life is in Christ. 

We do a great job living in extremes and think not working means being lazy and I don’t think that’s the solution. On the contrary, there are things in life that require hard work. Marriage, education, a career, parenting, self-care, and a multitude of other things require hustle. Success requires some level of hustle. Your entire life, however, does not need to be dedicated to “the hustle.” Give yourself some peace and, more importantly, find peace in Christ. 

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

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Somehow, February flew by and dragged on at the same time. I had goals to clean a few closets, literally, spend intentional time with family, and work on adopting sustainable healthy habits. Little did I know, February would force me to do a couple of those things! My town shut down for a full week due to two winter storms that came through. We got over an inch of ice and 6” of snow. As a result, my daughter and I were home while my husband worked.

While I did manage to get both downstairs closets cleaned out, I am most thankful for the time I had with my family. M and I spent a lot of time together, and I really had fun with her. I plan to talk about this more later, but motherhood isn’t easy for me, and I’ve had to work through a lot of mom-guilt and pressure because of that. Because of the storm, I had some awesome one-on-one time with her that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. We played games, had dance parties, played with playdough, and just had a good time. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, but I am thankful for the time I got because it doesn’t happen often. 

My March Set-Up

You may notice that this month looks a lot different than last month’s goal post. It feels good to set up new goals for each month, but it’s also important that we don’t set them for the sake of setting goals. I fill out my Powersheets each month because it helps me focus on my big picture goals throughout the year, but not all of those goals are huge things. Some of them are simple, like drink enough water and remember to take my medicine every day. 

If those are the kinds of goals you have, that’s ok. Remember: life is not curated. Life is not what I post on this platform. I write and share things because I love sharing the Word of God and want to connect with as many of you as possible, but my entire life is so much more than what I share here. Set goals that are meaningful and helpful to you.

For me, this means my goal is to maintain a good balance between work and my personal life. I am a busy person, but I think I have some pretty solid boundaries. Maintaining those has proven to be beneficial and has kept me productive. It’s easy to fall back into a mindset of constant work, but I want to be mindful of that and make sure I stick to the work/life balance I have set. 

I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Psalm 119:48

If you like these monthly recaps, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter, The Summary! As a subscriber, you get bonus content, insight on upcoming things, updates on what I’m reading and what I’m learning in my Bible study, encouragement, and all kinds of other things!

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Bible Study Supplies – Updated

Bibles & Scripture Journals

My study routine changes depending on how much time I have and how I feel like studying. I don’t usually have all these things out at once, but these are the things I use most often. I am currently using an HCSB Interactive Notetakers Bible, an ESV Wide Margin Reference Bible, a Schuyler Quentel Personal NIV Bible, and various scripture journals. I have ordered the Cambridge Wide Margin ESV Reference Bible, and I will start using that in place of the ESV Wide Margin Reference Bible when it comes. They’re similar, only the Cambridge is a premium Bible I saved my pennies for, and the margins are far wider. I’ll do a review on it once I use it.

HCSB Interactive Notetaker’s Bible

My dream Bible is a CSB translation with references and room for notes. The HCSB Interactive Notetaker’s Bible is just that but, unfortunately, is no longer in print. It was gifted to me by a friend. CSB has a notetaking Bible still available; I used it pretty much all of last year. It’s a wonderful Bible, but it does not have references which I have learned are important to me. Currently, the HSCB one I use can be found on eBay or Amazon, but they are over $150 (far more than what they sold for when they came out) and you would be better off just spending your money on a different Bible.

ESV Wide Margin Reference Bible & Cambridge ESV Wide Margin Reference Bible

I purchased my Crossway Wide Margin ESV Reference Bible last year and loved it until I needed more room for journaling. Since then, however, my study style has changed, and this Bible fits my needs well. I use this back and forth with my HSCB Interactive Notetakers Bible. I will use the Cambridge in place of this once it comes!

Schuyler Quentel Personal Bible

My Schuyler is used for a specific part of my studying. I am using scripture journals to read right now for my main notetaking space, and I use the Schuyler to get references for when I have questions. It’s a personal size, so when I’m doing my initial study, all I really need out is the scripture journal I’m using and my personal size Schuyler. This is also a great one to grab for church because it’s small. I’ve also found myself picking this up when I’m just reading scripture without taking notes.

Scripture Journals

Right now, specifically, I am using the Hosanna Revival scripture journals. They have a set of gospels, and I’ve started working through those. I also have the CSB New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs in the scripture journal-style, and I’ll use those next. These are great for deep study because there are a TON of room for notes.

Other Bible’s I like to have around

CSB Spurgeon Study Bible

Pens and Highlighters

This is going to be fairly easy and straightforwards because I’m pretty much exclusively writing in red. I’ve found the red Sharpie pens are perfect for my taste- smooth, bold, and no bleed or smudging. I also really love the Zebra F301 Ballpoint pens. These are a staple for me, and I always have them around.

For highlighting, I’m either using a Zebra mildliner or a Tombow Dual Brush pen. I’ve stuck with the color yellow for simplicity’s sake but highlighting in a bunch of colors isn’t in my study routine at the moment so, if you’re looking for recommendations, check out my last post on what I recommend.

For lettering, I’m still using the Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens. I prefer the soft tip ones. They usually come in a pack of two that includes 1 hard nib and 1 soft nib. I use the hard nib for my cursive lettering and the hard nib for writing bolder, printed notes.

Notebooks

I used a Rocketbook for a while and really enjoyed it. I wasn’t a huge fan of needing separate pens, though, so now I use a super cheap coil notebook I found at the grocery store. It works for when I want to journal/take more in-depth notes about what I’m studying, and I’ve been doing a ton of my note-taking in the scripture journals.

As you can see, most of what I’m using is all about function. I stripped away all the excess of Bible journaling in January, and I haven’t really gone back. I’ll probably write about that in more detail in another post, but for me right now, this has been great, and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. One day I may go back to lots of colors, but I’m enjoying the simple approach right now. You can find links to all of these things throughout this post and on my Amazon storefront!

Questions:

1. What are some of your favorite supplies?
2. What are you wanting to get but aren’t sure whether or not it’s worth it?

Let me know below!

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Personal Boundaries

My identity as a mom isn’t a secret. I’ve talked about motherhood and parenting. I’ve posted little snippets of motherhood that may include the back of her head or her hand or something she made for me, but I make a point not to show her face or anything that makes her easily identifiable.

I hate to disappoint those who like juicy gossip, but there’s not any dramatic reason you don’t see her. Her father and I have been together for 11 years and will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary in May. We don’t live separately or anything like that. It truly comes down to our personal boundaries and the decision we made together about her privacy and safety.

When I started True and Lovely Co, I had a pretty specific focus for the platform and sharing about my family wasn’t a core part of it. However, as it grew, I realized it was important to make sure my audience knew I was a human being and not just an imaginary perfect person behind a screen. I wanted to be transparent to connect with my audience genuinely. With that came some adjustments and more posts about marriage and motherhood. It was clear, though, that I would not share pictures of our daughter.

Why I don’t share my child on Instagram

There are a couple of reasons for this. First and foremost, safety. This is a given, but people don’t need to know who she is. I’m not super well known, but I want to protect her as much as I can. I don’t want someone I don’t know to recognize her because she’s on Instagram.

Second, privacy. My daughter is young, and, quite frankly, 50k+ people don’t need to know who she is. That kind of audience is overwhelming for adults, much less a child on Instagram and, even if she doesn’t understand it, she doesn’t need to be under that kind of microscope. The internet is a crazy place, and my young daughter doesn’t need to be subjected to it in that kind of way.

Personal Choices

I said it before, but everyone handles this differently. Many people across social media that share their kids, and they’re comfortable with it. I know a few like me who choose not to. Will I share about her? Absolutely. She is a huge part of my life, and she challenges me every day. Growing up, I was never the kid who dreamed of being a mom. Now that I am a mom, my approach to motherhood feels so different from the Instagram standard (more on that in another post). Despite that, I have grown so much as a person because I’m a mother, and I take my role as one seriously.

There isn’t one right way to parent. What matters is that our kids are safe and happy. For my family, that means my daughter’s social media presence is restricted to family and friends.

What do you think?

Do you share your kids on social media?
If you don’t have kids, is it something you’ve thought about?

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That number rose in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, protests against systemic racism, the US elections, and a slew of other big things that impacted the world. All of these things happened, and we still had to manage our day to day and everything that comes with that. Anxiety is a real thing, and I think many people really felt its impact over the last year especially.

What does anxiety look like?

Anxiety looks different for everyone. I was first diagnosed with anxiety my freshman year of high school. At that time, my anxiety was internal and only reared its head in overwhelming situations. I would have panic attacks, but they would go away, and things would go back to normal. Once I went to college, my anxiety decreased, and it’s only been within the past five years or so that I’ve started struggling again. This time, however, I don’t muscle through the panic attacks.

Instead, I avoid the perceived causes of my anxieties altogether. This may sound like a good thing- someone avoiding things that make them uncomfortable- but it isn’t. It’s now to the point where I avoid any situation I haven’t been in before. If I don’t know where I’m going to park for an event, I won’t go. If I don’t know what traffic will be like to get to an unfamiliar place, I won’t go. Essentially, if I don’t have a baseline to let me know how something may go, I don’t do it. This has snowballed into crippling social anxiety, and, quite frankly, it sucks. It sucks for me, and it sucks for my friends and my family because I can be a big a fun-sucker.

This year, I want to try more. Trying things is tough for me because there’s always a possibility of failure. I don’t like when things go wrong. I’m the type of person who makes a plan and sticks to it because I know it’s effective and efficient. Trying things, however, encourages the idea that it’s ok if you try and fail. If you try something and don’t do well or don’t like it then it’s no problem. I want to work on my anxiety with the approach of trying.

Finding Joy in Anxiety

There’s another piece to coping with my anxiety that I need to work on, and that is joy. In Philippians, Paul was in prison. I’m sure he was pretty dang anxious. In the midst of that, though, his words to those who are worried were to rejoice. When I was young, the pastor of our church did a sermon on being joyful. I don’t remember the whole thing because I was like 12, but I remember him saying that we should say “rejoice” often because your mouth always ends the word in the shape of a smile. We should rejoice in times of struggle because God is sovereign. We should rejoice because we should know that His plan is best. What better way to cope with anxiety and fear than to remember that I don’t HAVE to be in control because God is?

I don’t think this is easy, by any means. It also may require medical intervention like therapy and medication (or, in my case, taking my medication regularly). However, I am hoping that I can consciously work on not letting my anxieties get the best of me this year.

Questions for you:

1. What are some ways you cope with your fear and anxiousness?
2. How can you work on your fears more this year?

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Let’s get started!

February Goals

Healthy Habits

I’m not a resolutioner and I don’t believe in diets. I do believe in creating sustainable habits, however, and January was pretty successful. I want to take those habits into February. This includes exercising at least 3 times a week, drinking enough water every day, and listening to my body’s hunger and fullness cues. I also want to make sure I meet my standing goal on my watch. I sit down at work all day and I can be more intentional when it comes to getting up and walking around in order to take care of my body and steward it well.

Deep Cleaning

This month has been very productive. I’ve been productive at work, productive with some home projects, and productive with content creation. I have clear, intentional goals (thanks to my 2021 Powersheets) and I feel more focused than I have in the past. One thing I struggled with was prioritizing. I needed to deep clean the kitchen but it didn’t get done. I reorganized my home office but ended up getting busy with other things and didn’t get to the kitchen. That in mind, in February, I’m going to do a deep clean of the kitchen and clean out on of our closets downstairs. It’s a catch all closet and desperately needs to be reorganized.

Intentional time with Family

In January, we got a few inches of snow which was awesome! Snow isn’t common where I live. We were able to spend some good family time together and enjoyed the fun weather. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in routine. I want to make sure I spend intentional time with my husband and daughter. Whether that means fun one on one activities with my daughter or date nights with Mike, I want to make sure those things don’t fall through the cracks during the busyness of every day.

What about you?

What was notable about this month and what goals do you have for February?

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.

Colossians 3:23

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