Lara Casey

“The trees tremble with delirious joy as the breeze greets them, one by one—now the oak, now the great sycamore, now the elm.” —From the poem “In August,” by Hamlin Garland

Hello, August!
A new season is around the corner.
A season for new rhythms.
A season to choose rest.
A season for aligning our lives with the big picture.
A season for getting back to what matters.

Maybe you’re feeling this right now, too: so much has changed since the start of the year and you need a little time to catch up with yourself. I’m right there with you. This month, we’re going to do just that together.

New seasons give us opportunities to do things differently. To live more simply and refocus on the things that last. To number our days and gain a heart of wisdom.

This month, we’re going to focus on getting back to what matters together!

How was your July? What goals did you inch forward on? I’d love to hear! A quick progress update from my July PowerSheets goals and what I learned is below. I hope this encourages you to celebrate even the tiny victories!

July Monthly Goals:

— #GoalSettingIsFUN! — Moving forward on the things that matter feels great and it can be a lot simpler than you think! / Progress and it was fun to spend time on what matters!
— Write the book with JOY! — Yes, I’m writing a book this month! After two years, it’s finally happening. Sometimes, you just have to wait and wait and wait some more for the Lord’s timing. I’m so grateful for the waiting that got me ready for this month! Any guesses what book this is??? ☺️/ You all had some great guesses on my last post! Yes, progress here and continuing into August.
— Summer fun with the kids. — We’re working through our summer bucket list from the Cultivate shop and it has been so simple and fun. Next on our list: picking blueberries today at a farm we love! / Such a sweet month with the kids. We picked peaches, played in the sprinklers, saw fireflies, and had fun with my mom who came to visit for a week.
— Be a generous host. My mom AND Gina are coming to visit this month for big chunks of time and I want to love them so well! (Gina is coming to photograph our 2020 PowerSheets Collection that launches in October! Yahoo!!!) / It was the best visit with my mom, complete with lots of gardening and pulling weeds together—which doubled as a great time to talk together. We really had the most lovely time. These are days I won’t forget.
— Finish The Out of Sync Child. We have a sweet kiddo with Sensory Processing Disorder and this book has been incredibly helpful so far. / I am almost done with this book. Highly recommend.
— Release the NEW Cultivated Homeschool Planner. SO MANY OF YOU have asked about this and emailed me wondering if there’s a new one coming. We are only days away from releasing the new one and it’s so good! Stay posted—it’s coming so soon! / YES!!! UPDATE: The NEW Homeschool Planner is HERE!!
— Make our fall homeschool plans. / I didn’t complete this one. Moving to August!
— Work heartily for Q4. I’m working ahead so I can do work with excellence and clear out my time around the holidays. / Yes, we had many conversations about how to do things differently this year and I think you are going to love it, too!

July Weekly Goals:
— Sabbath: surrender and be renewed / There was one Saturday I had to take my mom to the mall and Target. In the dictionary, under Sabbath antonyms is “the mall.” Enough said! 🙂
— Lead the kids to the Word. / Yes, Grace loves her NEW Write the Word for Kids Journal!
— Spread joy around like manure—encouraging young things to grow! : ) / I have proof on this one! Listen to the first 10 minutes of this. I love surprises!

July Daily Goals: / Progress on all of them below!
— Bible reading
— Run! Praise!
— Slow down and soak in the summer
— Write the Word at night.

Don’t miss these from July:
—You LOVE the new Write the Word journals—this bundle is going fast!
—Learn 3 ways to refresh your faith with the amazing Ruth Chou Simons. I was so inspired by this free class!
—Have you ever made plans—and they didn’t go as planned? Listen in to my story here and get 3 steps to move past frustration and disappointment. A must-listen (and my last podcast episode for a few weeks—you’ll get that story in this episode, too!).
—Join me and Shunta Grant to learn how to cultivate your calendar! You’ll get the formula for going into this next season with intention, planning ahead, and making space for what matters most! Register here.

Onto August! It’s a new month with new rhythms on the horizon. I’m excited to get intentional and dig into these August PowerSheet goals.

August Monthly Goals:
— Do the Fresh Faith Challenge! Join me!
— Number my days and gain a heart of wisdom
— Prepare for fall homeschool
— Finish the first draft of the book
— Take a month of rest from the podcast. Hear that story here.
— Teach the How to Cultivate Your Calendar class with Shunta!

August Weekly Goals:
— Prepare for Q4
— Enjoy the garden right where I am (listen in here for more!)
— Delight in our home

August Daily Goals:
— Cultivate my days
— Bible reading
— Run! Praise!
— Write the Word

Your turn! Do you have goals for August? Comment below and I’ll pick one of you to send a special surprise box of goodies to from the Cultivate What Matters Shop! I love sending real mail, and I love hearing your thoughts! 

P.S.  We’re almost completely SOLD OUT of 6-month PowerSheets. Now is the perfect time to set yourself up for clarity and intention for this next season. Buy yours today for 30% off—no code needed!

We’re 3 days away from the half-way point of 2019!

Does that fact catch you a little, as it does me?
Maybe time feels like it’s flying and you aren’t where you want to be at this mid-point of the year.

You’re craving refreshment, but you feel like it’s too late.
You’re too overwhelmed to get motivated again! You just want to take a nap.

I know these feelings! Traditional goal setting would tell you to WORK HARDER, strive, wear yourself out, or try to convince you that it is too late.

Cue the CRAZY TRAIN BRAKES!

Making the most of the second half of 2019 doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. In fact, it’s quite simple! It starts with one small step. Then another. Then another. (And you can totally nap in between!)

This month, we’re going to focus on the power of little by little progress together—it really does add up. And taking small steps forward is FUN! Making progress on the things that matter to us feels really good!

We don’t need any more towels added to our laundry piles, do we, friends!? 😁 We’re going to make the most of the rest of 2019—no matter how it started. We’re going to take it slow and act intentionally, knowing we’ll be so thankful for our small steps forward come December 31!

A quick progress update from my June PowerSheets goals and what I learned. I hope this encourages you to celebrate even the tiny victories!

June Monthly Goals:
— Seek His wisdom, ask for His wisdom, pass on His wisdom. / Progress! From our Summer Team Summit to teaching to speaking at a conference this month, I was very grateful for the opportunity to be stretched as a leader, rely on His strength instead of my own, and pass on good things!
— Enjoy the garden. / Listen in to Episode 21 of the podcast for an update!
— Train leaders—pass on wisdom. / Yes! We made some great strides in our company this month putting people in new leadership positions. It has been hard work, but so worth it.
— Dig into summer homeschool. / Yes! We are taking it slow this summer and have enjoyed it!
— Do all of the new goal guides! / I thought I’d be able to do these in the long car rides through the mountains with Ari, but the mountains were so captivating, I couldn’t look down at anything! We did complete the Couples Goal Guide, though, and it was AWESOME! We had the best month of marriage ever in June! Praising Him for this.
— Learn to number my days (life is short—play in the sprinklers!) / Yes! We played in lots of creeks and had a ton of fun on our hiking trip!

June Weekly Goals:
— Sabbath rest / Yes, we have loved this.
— Spread joy around like manure—encouraging things to grow! Ha! / You all laughed at this goal, but it was so fruitful! I did lots of small little things to spread joy, like getting peaches from the Peach Truck for the ladies I work with on the first day of summer and surprising the kids with ice cream on our hiking trip! I’m continuing this goal in July, too!
— Love people well. / We had many opportunities to do this in June—hosting my women’s small group, giving peaches away to neighbors, praying for friends, and small steps I took in relationships to make people feel loved.
— Simplify + systemize my work. / SO MUCH PROGRESS HERE! When you get clear about your goals (like we do with PowerSheets!), your efforts become more simple and streamlined. There’s not as much time wasted because you are using it well!
— Finish reading Letters to the Church, Rocket Fuel, and The Out of Sync Child. / I finished Rocket Fuel, am one chapter away from being done with Letters to the Church, and I’m continuing The Out of Sync Child in July.

June Daily Goals:
— Write the Word (P.S. Brand new Write the Word journals are coming July 17 and they are so good!) / Yes, progress!
— Bible reading. / Still my number 1 goal! I can’t wait to celebrate at the end of the year with the group of women I’m reading with! I love texting with them every morning about what we’re reading.
— Run!! / I am so pumped to say I made progress here! I ran maybe 5 times this month, and I call that a big win!
— Read aloud to the kids. / Yes! Little by little progress here, too.

Don’t miss these from June:
—Two of your favorite podcast episodes launched in June: 10 Things We’ve Made Happen (And Some We Didn’t!) and How To Say No were two of the most popular episodes! Be sure to listen to them in order—they go together and they are so fun.
—Learn how to make the second half of 2019 count—no matter how it started—in MY FAVORITE LIVE CLASS I’VE EVER DONE (thanks to YOU bringing the party!).
—Join me for the ultimate way to set yourself up for success in 2020! Cultivate Your Year LIVE Tickets went on sale this week and close in a few hours. I can’t wait to see so many of you there!

On to July! It’s a new month and I’m so grateful for the PowerSheets summer refresh—it was right on time! I’m excited to dig into these July PowerSheet goals.

July Monthly Goals:
— #GoalSettingIsFUN! — Moving forward on the things that matter feels great and it can be a lot simpler than you think! Follow Cultivate What Matters on Instagram for easy #GoalSettingIsFUN tips all month long.
— Write the book with JOY! — Yes, I’m writing a book this month! After two years, it’s finally happening. Sometimes, you just have to wait and wait and wait some more for the Lord’s timing. I’m so grateful for the waiting that got me ready for this month! Any guesses what book this is??? ☺️
— Summer fun with the kids. — We’re working through our summer bucket list from the Cultivate shop and it has been so simple and fun. Next on our list: picking blueberries today at a farm we love!
— Be a generous host. My mom AND Gina are coming to visit this month for big chunks of time and I want to love them so well! (Gina is coming to photograph our 2020 PowerSheets Collection that launches in October! Yahoo!!!)
— Finish The Out of Sync Child. We have a sweet kiddo with Sensory Processing Disorder and this book has been incredibly helpful so far.
— Release the NEW Cultivated Homeschool Planner. SO MANY OF YOU have asked about this and emailed me wondering if there’s a new one coming. We are only days away from releasing the new one and it’s so good! Stay posted—it’s coming so soon! UPDATE: The NEW Homeschool Planner is HERE!!
— Make our fall homeschool plans.
— Work heartily for Q4. — I’m working ahead so I can do work with excellence and clear out my time around the holidays.

July Weekly Goals:
— Sabbath: surrender and be renewed
— Lead the kids to the Word
— Write the Word for Kids with Grace (there’s a new volume coming for kids on July 17th! (Text CULTIVATEFAITH to 55222 for sneak peeks every week!) UPDATE: The NEW Write the Word Journals are HERE!
— Spread joy around like manure—encouraging young things to grow! : )

July Daily Goals:
— Bible reading
— Run! Praise!
— Slow down and soak in the summer
— Write the Word at night. — And mark your calendars, friends! The Fresh Faith Challenge (31 days of writing the Word) starts again August 1 and I can’t wait to do it with you!

Your turn! Do you have goals for July? Comment below and I’ll pick one of you to send a special surprise box of goodies to from the Cultivate What Matters Shop! I love sending real mail, and I love hearing your thoughts! 

P.S.  Now is the PERFECT TIME to start a 6-month set of PowerSheets. Buy yours today for 30% off—no code needed!

We’re almost to the half-way point of 2019 and you’re feeling it.

Life keeps happening.
Daily pressures keep pressing.
You want to make progress on the things you’ve always wanted to do. But, you’re starting to think it’s not possible to achieve your goals this year—it feels like it’s too late.

It’s no surprise you feel this way! The world tries to convince you that that, in order to have a meaningful life, you have to do it all and be it all. You have to have made perfect progress on your goals from January 1 to now. You have to have it all together. You have to take big shiny steps forward. You have to do “big things” to have value.

Ugh!

I’ve been there, too. Feeling like I have to do it all and be it all. Escaping to social media, to distractions, to comparison, to whatever we can find to avoid that voice that keeps telling us we’re not good enough.

There’s a better way forward! A simple way. Like my garden, it’s the way of growing slow and well.

Starting next Monday, I’m going to guide you through 3 steps to finally make progress on your goals—no matter how your year started. Ready for a life reset without the pressure, guilt, or that feeling of never catching up?

Welcome to your LIFE RESET.

Whether you’ve made progress this year, completely forgot about your goals, or never set them in the first place, Mid-Year Goals Prep Week is for you—and it’s going to be FUN!

3 steps to get ready for your Mid-Year RESET:
1. Grab your PowerSheets—no matter where you are in your goals, I’ll help you get refreshed!
2. Follow Cultivate What Matters on Instagram for Mid-Year Goals coaching and fun all week.
3. Sign up for my free live class next Monday at 1 pm ET. Let’s make it a date! I’ll guide you through the 3 steps to make the rest of 2019 count—no matter how it started (and of course I’ll send you the replay if you can’t join live!). Save your spot now.

And now, a quick progress update from my May PowerSheets goals! May was a big month! Grace finished 1st grade, all the kiddos started the transition-to-summer, and Mommy eased lots of big emotions for sweet little hearts who don’t love transition! : ) We had a refreshing trip to the beach, planted the garden, and ate breakfast outside. It was a good month!

May Monthly Goals:
— Love the Word (above all else!) – One of our work benefits is an allowance for books, so I got a new ESV study Bible and have been loving it alongside my Write the Word Prayer journal, which I’m almost done with!
— Make our family summer plans – Done! We’re headed to the mountains in June and August and have simple summer fun plans thanks to many of your suggestions and the Summer Wildcard Page pack.
— Train team members (2 Corinthians 3:2 is my verse for this!) – So much progress here that I am very grateful for! I work with amazing women.
— Make our summer homeschool plan – Done! We ordered all of our 2nd-grade books, too! (By the way, the new version of the Cultivated Homeschool Planner is coming soon! Stay tuned!)
— Plant the garden + Josh’s farm – FINALLY!!! Listen in here for the story of how this almost didn’t happen.

May Weekly Goals:
— Weekly family Sabbath. – Many naps with Josh transpired! And we had an especially sweet Shabbat with some friends at the beach, complete with a seder meal and singing!
— Do something for the joy of it—HIS joy! – Goodness, I loved this goal. It was a reminder to live with joy! From being silly with the kids to telling funny stories to making fun things for breakfast, this was a delight.
— Be in the Word with Ari – This was pretty simple – a reminder to have spiritual conversation with him!

May Daily Goals:
— Old Testament Bible Reading – Yes, and continuing to LOVE this reading time with friends each morning!
— 10k steps every day – Progress not perfection here. I’m so glad I set this goal—it motivated me to move!
— Read aloud to our kids – We already finished some of our second-grade books and made some good library trips. Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea has us rolling in laughter every time!
— Write the Word – Yes, little by little steps forward here, too!
— Exercise it out! – Progress! I’ve been walking and running in our driveway while the kiddos play in the garden.

Don’t miss these from May!
—One of your favorite podcast episodes launched in May! In How to Let Go of A Dream, I share the story of letting go of Southern Weddings and the surprising thing that happened next.
—Learn how to take back your summer before it starts!
—Feel like it’s too late to start a goal since it’s not January 1? Here are 3 reasons to start your goals today.
—See big change in 5 different goal areas. Check out our NEW Downloadable Goal Guides in friendship, finance, relationships, parenting, or wellness!

On to June! It’s a new month and I’m ready for that mid-year reset! I’m excited to dig into these June PowerSheets goals (Goal Setting Sticker Book in hand, of course!)!

June Monthly Goals:
— Seek His wisdom
— Ask His wisdom
— Pass on His wisdom (There’s clearly a theme in June! ☺️ )
— Enjoy the garden
— Train leaders—pass on wisdom
— Dig into summer homeschool
— Do all of the new goal guides! Ari and I are halfway through the Couples Goal Guide and it has been AMAZING.
— Learn to number my days (life is short—play in the sprinklers!)

June Weekly Goals:
— Sabbath rest
— Spread joy around like manure—encouraging things to grow! Ha!
— Love people well
— Simplify + systemize my work
— Finish reading Letters to the Church, Rocket Fuel, and The Out of Sync Child

June Daily Goals:
— Write the Word (P.S. Brand new Write the Word journals are coming in July and they are so good!)
— Bible reading
— Run!!
— Read aloud to the kids

Your turn! Do you have goals for June? Comment below and I’ll pick one of you to send a special surprise box of goodies to from the Cultivate What Matters shop. I love sending real mail, and I love hearing your thoughts! Congrats to May’s winner, Tiffany!

P.S.  Let’s have a coffee date on Monday! Join me for the free live class where I’ll guide you through the 3 steps to make the rest of 2019 count––no matter how it started (and of course I’ll send you the replay if you can’t join live)––save your seat now.

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