may goals.

It's hard to believe it's May already! Only 20 more days till my birthday!!

My goals from last month:

PHOTOGRAPHY:
-do a fun photo shoot with friends -- unfortunately, this didn't happen. I will have to see about getting that done this month!
-do this 20 day nature photo challenge (change a few things) -- Jess did this challenge with me and we had lots of fun together! I will blog the photos soon!
-watch/read 1 tutorial on editing -- I actually can't remember when or what I read, but I'm guessing it was helpful. LOL

HOMEMAKING:
-try 2 new recipes -- I made: pumpkin spice muffins & banana chocolate chip muffins. I will probably blog one of these recipes soon!
-sew a dress -- I did not make a dress. April seemed a little crazy and it never got done.
-make a caramel mocha milkshake -- I randomly decided to go on a coffee fast, so I didn't make this.

AT HOME:
-help mom with meals more often -- I was able to help mom with meals a lot more last month which was lots of fun! Need to keep helping when I can!!
-journal 3-5 times a week -- This is always something I love doing! I've been writing in my prayer journal the most. Trying to spend more and more time with Jesus. :)
-keep room cleaned + organized -- I think this happened! Some days are better then others! :P
-learn a new song on the piano -- I learned Canon in D this month. Still trying to perfect it. 
-go a week without coffee -- Yep. Did that. 
-send thinking of you/encouragement cards to one friend a week -- I love doing this!! I encourage you to do it as well! 

SPIRITUAL:
-memorize 4 verses -- I think I memorized two verses last month.
-read Psalm 48 - 57 -- Mmm I love reading through Psalms! One of my favorite books of the Bible. 
-read Romans 1 + 2 -- Read those two chapters. I plan on reading two a month until I finish the book.

BLOG:
-post 1 recipe -- I blogged strawberry + cream pudding cookies. Find the recipe HERE.
-blog 1 interview -- I still didn't get this blogged!! I'll see about blogging that this month.
-post 1 guest post -- I had Rebekah from More Radiance do a guest post. Read it HERE.

FUN:
-paint canvases with Jerusha (try something new/different) -- Like I said, last month seemed a little crazy, so Jerusha + I didn't get together and paint. Maybe we'll do it this month!
-try a new craft -- I didn't try a new craft either. :/ 
-get a cactus succulent -- I went to a local green house and looked through their succulents (I wanted to bring all of them home with me!!) but wasn't able to find a cactus-looking one that I liked. I decided to try and take cuttings from the succulents I have and see about growing my own! 

I decided to set less goals for myself this month since I didn't get some of them done last month. 

May goals:
HOMEMAKING:
-sew a dress
-try 2 new recipes

AT HOME:
-journal 3-5 times a week
-learn a new song on the cello
-go a week without coffee

SPIRITUAL:
-read Psalm 1 - 18
-read Romans 3 - 4

BLOG:
-post 1 recipe
-post 1 blog interview

FUN:
-re-pot some of my succulents + take cuttings and grow my own
-plant herbs 

Let me know what some of your goals are for this month! 

. . . 

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. Psalm 35:9

april goals.

Hey y'all! I'm here today with my completed march goals and also my new goals for April! I'd love to hear your goals, so please share them in the comments below!!

From last month...

PHOTOGRAPHY:

-watch/read 1 tutorial on editing --I didn't get time to do this. :/ Will try to this month.

-read 2-3 articles on posing --Got those read. Very helpful. ;)

-figure out pricing for sessions --So glad to have figured that out.

HOMEMAKING:

-try two new recipes --I made one new recipe this month -Brown Sugar Muffins- Mmm they are *so good*! I will hopefully blog the recipe later this month.

-collect more recipes for my recipe book --It's been fun filling my recipe book! I just got some new cards and am waiting to fill them!

-make a double chocolate chip frappe --I made this when my cousin came over and we drank it while painting canvases. ;)

AT HOME:

-journal 3-5 times a week --I think this happened each week...love writing in my journals!

-message/text/email a friend each week --again, I think I did this each week. I strive to send an encouraging verse or note to a friend every week. 

-go a week without coffee --This one may have been a little hard. ;) It's always good to go without coffee now and again... ;P

-play my cello 3 times a week --Hmm not sure this always happened. I did play my cello more this month then I have been, which is a good thing! 

SPIRITUAL:

-memorize 4 verses --Memorizing is something that is hard for me to do. But I've found it is so helpful when writing a note to a friend and wanting to share a verse with them. I can remember one I memorized. :)

-read Psalm 30 - 46 --So many good verse in these chapters, y'all! I underlined and wrote many out. I encourage you to do the same. :)

-read Romans 1 + 2 --I did not get this done. I will move it on to reading this month.

BLOG:

-post 1 recipe --Ahh! I did not do this! I will try to post more in the future as I love baking!

-post 1 blog interview --I didn't get this blogged either. Look for a blog interview + guest post later this month (Lord willing!)!!

-post a Q + A --Yes! I'm sure most of you read my answers, but if you missed it, go HERE.

Wow! I'm surprised at how many I actually got done! LOL Looking forward to my goals for this month...

PHOTOGRAPHY:

-do a fun photo shoot with friends

-do this 20 day nature photo challenge (change a few things)

-watch/read 1 tutorial on editing

HOMEMAKING:

-try 2 new recipes

-sew a dress

-make a caramel mocha milkshake

AT HOME:

-help mom with meals more often

-journal 3-5 times a week

-keep room cleaned + organized

-learn a new song on the piano

-go a week without coffee

-send thinking of you/encouragement cards to one friend a week

SPIRITUAL:

-memorize 4 verses

-read Psalm 48 - 57

-read Romans 1 + 2

BLOG:

-post 1 recipe

-blog 1 interview

-post 1 guest post

FUN:

-paint canvases with Jerusha (try something new/different)

-try a new craft

-get a cactus succulent

That's all for this month. Looking forward to hearing your goals for this month!

. . . 

Be of good courage, and he shall s t r e n g t h e n your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

march goals.

I am very behind on posting these!! ;) 

I'm going to try and post goals each month. Hopefully in the future I will get them posted closer to the beginning of each month! ;)

Since this is so late, I've already started working on my goals and excited to get them done!

So...onto my goals for this month:

PHOTOGRAPHY:

-watch/read 1 tutorial on editing

-read 2-3 articles on posing

-figure out pricing for sessions

HOMEMAKING:

-try two new recipes

-collect more recipes for my recipe book

-make a double chocolate chip frappe

AT HOME:

-journal 3-5 times a week

-message/text/email a friend each week

-go a week without coffee

-play my cello 3 times a week

SPIRITUAL:

-memorize 4 verses

-read Psalm 30 - 46

-read Romans 1 + 2

BLOG:

-post 1 recipe

-post 1 blog interview

-post a Q + A

That's all for this month! I will blog completed goals + April goals next month.

. . . 

But I will hope c o n t i n u a l l y, and will yet praise thee more and more. Psalm 71:14

{What are your goals for this month? Would you like to see more goal posts in the future?}

four tips on setting goals.

Setting goals can be fun, but also overwhelming. I used to set too many goals for myself and would get discouraged when they never got done. I realized I need to set less goals for each day. 

Now I have a list of things I want to get done in the next couple of days/weeks and pick one a day. This may sound crazy and like I'd have a lot of extra time, but lately with school, chores, and normal life, I'm happy to just get one goal done a day! 

School is always first on my list. Once done with that, I work on chores/house work, then tackle my goals. Some goals may take time to get done, so I try to do other things in between.

Here are 4 tips on setting goals:

  [1] - Make Jesus your first priority. The first thing I do each morning is pray + read my Bible. This really helps to get my day started off on the right foot. It also gives me something to think about throughout the day. Ask Him about goals He wants you to set.

  [2] - Don't set too many goals a day. Like I said above, that can be overwhelming and discouraging. Start out with a few goals and work towards more. (This will all depend on whether you are setting daily/weekly or monthly goals. If monthly, or even yearly goals, you can set more than if you would for a day/week.) 

  [3] - Make it fun. If you have a big project or are feeling like all you are doing is working on goals, take a break. Make some coffee or tea to sip on while you work. Listen to some instrumental music. Talk to God while you work.

  [4] - Don't get discouraged! If you feel like you have so many things that need accomplished, don't panic! Pray and ask God for help in multiplying your time or help in getting the most important goals done first. 

I hope this is a little helpful in setting goals and getting them done. Remember that goals aren't always important. We may need to take a break at times and encourage that hurting friend or spend time with a sibling. Don't loose sight of what is most important in your life. 

{do you think this post was helpful? would you like to see more posts about this? did you set any goals for this month/year?}