He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
We have just a little over one week before Christmas and a little over two weeks before the New Year.
Looking back on the beginning of this year, I remembered taking time to do a values report around the primary areas of my life.
In my notebook, I made a list of areas of importance to me—faith, family, health, ministry, church, work, community, finances, home, relationships, and leisure—to determine if I was aligned with my core values in each of these areas.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I evaluated where I was in each of these areas and how these areas represented who I really am and support who I want to become.
Postponing becoming who I am or not showing up in ways that I value is beyond a new year’s resolution. Besides, I stopped making new year’s resolutions long ago.
I began my values report by asking myself: What’s working? What’s not working? Which areas do my values feel misaligned or inauthentic? How happy, satisfied, or fulfilled am I in each area?
The areas of my life that scored low, I then asked myself: What areas of my life is most out of alignment with my core values? Why? What would these areas look like if they scored higher? What would the cost be to score higher? Is the cost worth it?
Before the first month of this year had ended, I walked away from work to enjoy retirement life. Then around mid-year, I began the ongoing process of downsizing to embrace my exciting next chapter.
Reviewing each household item, I asked myself: Do I need this? Does this bring any value into my life? Does it bring any value for my next chapter?
What I didn’t realize was that downsizing is more than decluttering possessions. It is about letting go of everything that is decluttering my life—relationally, emotionally, financially, physically, and most of all, spiritually.
With the 2023 New Year fast approaching, I grabbed my journal to end this year as it begun—performing a values report.
Turning to a new page in my notebook—looking back on 2022 and looking forward to 2023—I asked myself these questions:
What lessons did I learn this year? What do I choose to let go of from this year? What do I choose to bring with me into the New Year? What needs to change so that the year ahead will be better? What do I need to do to live each day in alignment with my core values?
Perhaps you might want to grab your journal or notebook and ponder some of these questions. It’s a wonderful time of the year to reflect on how to return to your core values, revisit your core values, or redetermine your core values to reclaim or redefine living your best life. (Go ahead Debbie with your “r’s”—lol).
I am extremely grateful and humbled for how God has used this ministry this year to help women to pursue Jesus to become like him.
What will I do with another year? I plan to rock out 2023 becoming more beautiful for Jesus and positioning myself for happiness and a beautiful life.
I’m ready. You ready? Let’s do this!
Prayer: Lord, I can’t believe it’s almost a New Year. I don’t want to waste it and not seize everything it has for me that you want for me and want me to become. Regardless of what this past year has looked like, you make all things new and beautiful. You love new beginnings, and you love me. Thank you for a new start.