A Farm Fresh New Year

 

Howdy-do darlin’s! Well it’s been a busy start to the new year! I had a wonderful holiday season with all 4 of my kids, their spouses and babies! I was so thrilled they all came home for Christmas! There was lots of food, fun, games and laughter! We made some wonderful memories that will keep my heart warm for years to come! It was like old times sitting around the supper table every night! Every once in a while I would sit back and just watch as my family ate, talked and laughed…treasuring every moment.

My son J.J. and his adorable wife Tiffany, who came out from California, left the day after Christmas and then I had a second wave of company arrive that same day… my brother and sister-in-law from New York. That evening, after we got back from picking them up at the airport my daughter Summer had an allergic reaction to something so we had to take her to the ER around midnight. (She’s fine now) Then a few days later I had to take my hubby to the ER in the middle of the night. We got back home at 4 in the morning. It turned out to be a bad case of the flu…I’m so glad it wasn’t Pneumonia. (Thankfully, he’s all better now too!). Whew!

Once our company left I had a mountain of laundry, an empty cupboard (like Old Mother Hubbard!) and of course all of my Christmas decorations waiting to be put away… not to  mention my little shop at Spring Creek Antique mall that needed attention. Eeeeeek! Boy did I have a lot of work to do!

I usually take the days after Christmas and just before January 1st to sit down and reflect the past year and to plan out my new goals, which, by the way, I LOVE to do! But with all of the merriment of company, frequent trips to the ER and taking care of hubby, there just wasn’t time. Then with the above mentioned and monumental task of bringing order back into my home (which I had to tackle first) I felt like I was so far behind with my fresh start to the New Year. But sometimes things just happen and we have to be flexible! No sense in fretting! It’s doesn’t help anyway! In fact it makes things worse! So I  just decided that it was a great idea to use the whole month of January to pray and plan for the upcoming year. That made me feel so much better! Now I don’t feel like I’m “late for a very important date!” like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland! The good news is while I was doing laundry, driving to the market and putting away all of the glitter and garlands, I listened to some podcasts with such great content about goal setting that I truly believe is going to help me become more productive this year! And I’m so excited! (I ‘ll share the links to these podcasts below!)

Like clockwork, a word seems to always pop in my head around this time that becomes my theme for the New Year. My word this year is “Simplify”. Plain and simple. I truly want to pare down, (and I mean way down), any excess stuff. I want to clear out all that extra clutter from my closets and cupboards that requires time consuming maintenance (which can be  very distracting) so that I can focus more on cultivating and savoring a simpler life, full of vintage values, and old-fashioned goodness. I want to bring the simple goodness of the Mayberry kind of life back! Serving up homemade pie that’s been cooling on the window sill AND southern hospitality that’s fresh-as-a-daisy-in-a-mason-jar while whistling-a-happy-tune kind of life!  I want to preserve the best from the past in every aspect of my life. And I want to have more time to share these joy-FULL, nod-to-Mayberry, down-home ideas, recipes and thoughts with YOU!

So in order for me to simplify and bring back the sweet goodness of that “Mayberry” kind of life, I had to set goals for myself. Not having the best success in the past in reaching all of my goals I decided to search for a little help.  One of my favorite podcasters and bloggers regarding personal productivity, is Michael Hyatt. If you haven’t discovered him yet you MUST check him out. He’s got so much wisdom and he shares it generously. Here’s a couple things that I learned from him in regards to goal setting:

1. In order for us to achieve our goals we must write them down. This will clarify what we want. When we write down our goals we determine our destination…our desired end result. It becomes our roadmap. This “roadmap” helps us get to where we want to go. What’s a gal to do if she has a dream but it just keeps swirling ’round and ’round in her pretty little head, and it never comes true? She needs to get it down on paper. And then little by little start taking those baby-steps to making that dream a reality!

2. Ask yourself “why is this goal important?”. (Michael says “You need to answer the “why” or you’ll lose your way…your motivation”). Ask yourself what do I have to gain if I achieve my goal? What do I have to lose if I don’t?

Take our home for instance. We all want a happy, clean, sparkling, nurturing home that smells good, feels cozy and joyful, where nutritious meals are served and  where our family loves to be, right? Why? Because we want to provide a healthful place where our family feels loved, blessed, cared for, and comforted in their body, mind and emotions.

 

 What do we have to gain if we achieve this goal? We’ll have a happy, clean, sparkling, nurturing home that feels cozy and smells good (from the yummy meals prepared) which will be a blessing and a comfort to our family! Where happy memories of HOME will be made! That’s a lot to gain!!

 

What do we have to lose? Well, if we neglect to tidy our nest, letting clutter rule the roost, are careless to provide nutritious meals for our family, have no interest in creating happy memories with our loved ones (including our grand-littles)  then what we end up with is a sad, messy, stale, gloomy, and perhaps even, angry environment.  We lose out on the best for our family. Oh no! We don’t want that! No-sir-ee!

 

So you see darlin’, writing down what we want and why we want it makes so much sense! On those days went we don’t feel like doing laundry, cooking dinner or cleaning the toilet we need to go review our “why” to this goal. We need to remind ourselves what we have to gain and what we have to lose. Reading the rewards and the consequences again will give us the motivation to help us pull up our cute, cowgirl bootstraps to get the job done! Can I get a YEE HAW?

Here’s the thing…we have to change our mindset especially if we have a tendency to procrastinate…and that would be me! Somewhere I heard this statement “If you want to be…DO!” In other words, if you want to BE something then you have to DO something about it. For example, if you want to be strong and healthy, then you have to eat healthy foods, exercise and drink plenty of water. If you don’t, then you won’t be healthy.  Or, if you want to be organized then you have to clear out the clutter, and put things in the proper place. If you don’t, then your house may look and smell like a pig-pen (oink-oink!). If you want to be the best pie baker ev-ah, then you need to research recipes, techniques and practice making pies.  It’s a pretty simple concept really. We must DO whatever it is that will help us BE the person we want to be. It’s our choice!

So, here’s what I did: I got a cute binder and wrote down 10 categories…one category per page… and then made a list of a few goals under each category title:

1. Bless The Lord (My spiritual goals): My relationship with Jesus comes first. I’m getting up early to spend time with the Lord, read His word, pray, and write in my journal. “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then all these things will be added  to you.” Matthew 6:33

2. Fit-As-A-Fiddle (My physical goals): I made a list of specific things I MUST do every day to stay healthy. This also includes ways to stay emotionally healthy by writing down what I’m thankful for daily.

3. Home Folks (my family goals): I made a list of specific things I can to do bless my family, including praying for them every day.

4. Good Mornin’ (my morning routine): I made a list of everything I MUST do every morning such as, get up early to have my devotions, drink water, write in my journal, exercise, make bed, listen to an inspirational podcast or audio book while getting dressed, eat breakfast, take vitamins, etc.

5. Home Sweet Home (my daily household chores): I made a list of my daily routine for keeping my house clean ‘n’ smelling good and creating a happy home atmosphere.

6. I’m Fixin’ To: This is my simplify /get clutter-free goal page. I made a list of each room, closet and cupboard that I need to clean out. I made an appointment on my calendar for the days I’ll be working on these projects. One by one I’ll be checking them off! Yaw Hooooo!

7. Mayberry Goodness: I made a list of 15 things I can do to bring a little Mayberry back like; make homemade jam to share with friends, keep a good attitude, write something I’m thankful for every day, hum a happy tune throughout my day, be as-sweet-as-sweet-tea to my family and folks I meet, have a servants heart like Aunt Bee, keep on the look-out to help someone in need, live the Golden Rule, go for drives down country roads, sit on the front porch with my hubby, wave at the neighbors, watch an episode of Mayberry with my family every night…and a few more!

8. Sugar Pie Farmhouse: I’ve begun an idea notebook for blog post ideas as well as projects to work on for the 2014  (with deadlines for completion) to bring SWEET, WONDERFUL, YOU, the best content I can give ya!

9. Farm Fresh Dreams: This is where I listed the things I’m dreaming of for the future like raising chickens  (in a really cute chicken coop,) building a white farmhouse etc.

10. Nighty Night: This is my list of things I need to do before going to bed to insure a sweet nights sleep.

Life is short and I don’t want to waste a minute of it! I want to fulfill the destiny that the Lord has designed for me on this earth! I know you want that too! If you would like to learn more about goal setting from Michael Hyatt, here are some links to get you started to make this your best year EV-AH!

5 Reasons Why You Should Commit Your Goals To Writing

Replay Of Live Q & A Call About Goal Setting

How to Get Clear, Get Motivated, and Get Started in 2014

The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make In Setting Goals

Thank you so much for stopping by for some Farm Fresh New Year Pie! I hope my thoughts today give you just the nudge you need to create the life you’re dreaming of! As always, I pray for each one of you! As I read your gracious comments I speak your name out loud and say a prayer for you! God knows your needs and loves you more than you could ever know!

I would love for you to share a goal you’d like to reach this year

or any goal setting tips that have worked for you!

 God bless your darlin’ heart!

I’ll see you soon if the Good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise!

Sugar and hugs,

Aunt Ruthie

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