My 2024 Goals and Word of the Year

“New Year’s Day is a good time to fix one’s eyes on the only One who knows what the year is to hold.” — Elisabeth Elliot

Like my friend Erin, I, too, feel like I’m tiptoeing into 2024, taking it slow and carefully considering each step. You, too? December was full: a month of loss, continuing to recover from surgery, doing the holidays with as much meaningful intention as I could muster, and hosting family. I didn’t have my usual stretch of time or energy to reflect on the year, but these first days of January have given me some quiet time to think and consider my steps. I’m thankful for clarity and a slower start to 2024. The entirety of January is my “January 1″—a time to try new things and get set up for the year.

Read Part 1 of this 2-part series here.

A special treat this year has been doing my PowerSheets alongside Grace. What a full-circle experience after creating them when she was tiny. She has enjoyed the process (and the stickers!), and I love that we get to do this together. We’re chipping away at each page little by little together and hope to make our January Tending Lists this weekend (January Goals post forthcoming). Affiliate links are used in the post.

Tools I’m using for 2024:

— One-Year PowerSheets in jade green for me
— One-Year PowerSheets in crocus for Grace
— The Gratitude Journal
— The blue Reading Journal for me
— Grace has the original Reading Journal she has been filling up with favorite books
— A Season by Season Weekly Planner for me
— A Season by Season Daily Planner in the kitchen for the family
— Alllll the sticker books
Use code LARA for 10% off your order at the links above if you want to get any of these.

📚 More new books (and some favorite formation books) are linked here.

What are you using? I went back and forth on planners, having failed miserably using a paper planner for several years. Life was too tumultuous to stop and write things down. To everything, there is a season, and this is finally my season for pen and paper. The weekly setup will keep several of my goals top-of-mind. My 2024 stack below with a few books we’re reading.

After the year I just lived, God led me to take a different approach to writing my goals. I finished my PowerSheets prep work, penned a rough draft, and felt restless for days. In the middle of the night, verses came to mind to replace my own words and summarize each goal. My six scripture-inspired goals will allow me to focus on God’s Word and creatively bring it to life through small steps. I’ve listed action ideas under each that I’ll consider with each month and season—some are specific to-do’s, and some are general habits I want to solidify over time. I’m sure I’ll return to this post and add, edit, and fill things in as I go. For now, I’m grateful for this new beginning and to try new things. May these six goals help me love God and others in NEW ways this year:

1. Allow God to establish my steps (not me) (Proverbs 16:9)

Inspiration and encouragement:
– Seek God with my whole heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
– Love God with my mind, heart, soul, strength, and mind. (Matthew 22:37)
– Remain connected to God. (John 15:5)
– Seek God first. (Matthew 6:33)
– Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
– But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)
– Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Habits and action items:

— SOLITUDE – enjoy silence and quiet
— Go to a service at Duke Chapel
— Light Shabbat candles and do Havdalah each week
— Enjoy the Jewish holidays; host our Passover seder for friends
— Practice contemplative prayer – understand this with God‘s help
— Go to quiet places in nature—open fields, hikes, the beach, gardens—to listen to God
— Take three spiritual retreat days this year
— Embroider my newly-covered Bible
— List my spiritual habits in order of priority – make a list
— Cultivate gratitude in my journal daily
— Calm my nervous system through the whole of 2024 – guard my heart and mind by letting Him have more of my time than any other thing, worry, anxiety, or unexpressed tension/needs
— Unschedule and let myself rest – 2023 was full and it’s time to rest and process all that happened
— Use my planner to take sermon notes and plan all of the above
— Make my TBR list for this goal. Any favorites?

More action ideas to come on all of these as I pray and process more in these first days of the new year.

2. Number my days (Psalm 90:12)

Inspiration and encouragement:
– Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)
– Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. (Psalm 144:4)
– “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (Psalm 39:4)

Habits and action items – I had to make categories for this one to help me organize my thoughts:

Home
— Generously give 20-30% of the things in our house
— Enjoy the space and time this gives us back; make my version of minimalism – let God be our vision at home
— Do Sweedish death cleaning; get professional guidance with this from a local organizer I found
— Get better at cleaning the house – already started, but I am soaking up new cleaning techniques and rhythms
— Consider getting rid of our grass and replacing it with a lavender garden – our HOA may flip, but I think this is totally possible
— Consider renovating parts of our kitchen to love our kids in the future – bigger island area, fridge space, vent hood that actually vents to the outdoors
— Get a ‘slow children at play’ sign approved for our cul-de-sac

Family
— Enjoy our nightly family liturgy and character reading to plant seeds of faith and legacy in all of us – you’ll see this pop up under several goals
— Finally finish the photo albums for the kids
— Finally finish the family movies and have a big movie viewing night in the spring with popcorn and movie tickets!
— Help the kids memorize scripture together and love good words

Grief
— Take time for my grief – noted above about grief retreats, but also take time on various grief milestones
— Take the final step to begin hospice volunteering
— Make my project idea – just for myself at first and maybe to share with others

Health and Wellness
— Do the good habits I know I need to do each day to have energy for the family and continue to heal: red light, infrared sauna, brisk walking outside, breathing, music, weights, and SLEEP
— Focus on longevity with Ari in our health and wellness – begin trading ideas
— Grow in strength – begin my strength training again on January 15th (hopefully getting the doc’s clearance next week)
— Finish Why We Sleep and Outlive with Ari – gifted to him for Christmas
— Make this the year of SLEEP to continue to heal – morning sunlight, afternoon sunlight, in bed by 7:30, lights off in the house after dark, gratitude journal at night to close the day worshipping God
— Heal my gut again after antibiotics – this will take the majority of 2024
— Grow more herbs to cook with – I loved this last year and want to grow more!
— Refresh my skincare routine for my age

3. Love others as I have been loved (John 13:34)

Inspiration and encouragement:
– And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
– And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, … (Acts 2:42-47)
– For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; … (Romans 12:3-13)
– Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16)

Habits and action items:
— Finish Made for People
— Get to know people at our new church
— Grow in covenant friendship
— Organize our Memorial Day BBQ with neighbors
— Pray with friends regularly – on the phone or in person on prayer walks

4. Renew my mind (Romans 12:2)

Inspiration and encouragement:
– Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
– Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
– But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (John 7:24)
– I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. (Psalms 119:11)

Habits and action items:
— Read the Word – we just started the whole Bible in 3 years again
— Hide God’s Word in my heart – memorize the book of Ephesians
— Study my Word of the Year (at the end of this post!) in the Bible
— Read wisdom to be discipled by others – two chapters / day
— Become a better reader by practicing – read the Kindle in dark mode for my eyes
— Get my eyes tested for vision therapy needs
— Read poetry to the kids, and for me
— Enjoy our nightly liturgy and character readings
— Make my TBR list for this goal. Any favorites?

5. Be generous; live the life that is truly life 🌟 (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Inspiration and encouragement:
– As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:10)
– In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
– As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
– And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:38-40)

Habits and Action Items:
— Delight people 🙂 : ) : )
— Have a gift closet
— Cook for fun to delight the family and worship the Lord : )
— Plan the spring garden party with Em
— Write children’s books for others – I have wanted to write another children’s book and have a few ideas to try
— Be generous! ⭐️ ✨ 🙌 🎉 ❤️

6. Let all I do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14)

Inspiration and encouragement:
– This goal is centered on our family. Grow in relationship with our children and Ari. Take less offense in tension—see each person’s need before my own. Love others out of God’s love for me.
– A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
– Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (1 Peter 3:8)
– Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Habits and action items:
— Grow in relationship with other families at church
— Dig into therapy with Ari – we just started sessions with a therapist who specializes in helping special needs families
— Grow our marriage frienship and fun – take 3 small trips together this year, set a date night every week, and encourage each other daily
— Test out a different vacation plan this year, focusing more on individual time with each child and fewer big group trips that are hard for one of our kiddos
— Embroider the kids’ Easter gifts again – new sweatshirts 💗
— Set two weeks for homeschool planning in June instead of July; start school on August 1
— Enjoy our family liturgy reading time at night in the living room: knit, talk, connect, pray and relax
— Do more fun and simple weekend things here locally and at home
— Set up more play dates with friends
— Make gluten-free sourdough each week for the kids – any advice for this beginning baker? I just started my starter today!
— Make a life-giving school plan for next year, syncing everyone up instead of everyone going to various locations for out-of-the-house lessons

There you have it! I’ll return and add to these action ideas as the month continues. I’m so thankful for this new start. My 2024 Vision Board brings so much of this to life visually for me and is my favorite from all the years I’ve made them! Find more on my Pinterest.

For my Word of the Year, I wrestled with the words ‘abundance,’ ‘peaceful,’ and ‘formation.’ I want to experience spiritual formation, maturity, and connectedness with God and community like no other year before. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Then I landed on one little question in the PowerSheets: “What does success look like at the end of 2024?” My answer: evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my life for others to enjoy. Instead of fretting, joy. Instead of rushing, patience. In place of control, gentleness. I reframed my thoughts and asked, “What needs to grow in my character this year? What do I want to be more of by the end of 2024?” I want to enjoy God abundantly and be made new—walking in the newness of life with our family. This will take doing new things, resting in what’s already been made new, and enjoying His Word and presence with anew each day.

My word for 2024:

NEW

Happy NEW year, friends. I’m grateful for you and His wisdom to direct our steps.

Your turn! What are you focusing on in 2024? What is your word for the year? Any favorite goals? I’d love to hear.

---

Up next: my January Tending list.