The Natural Rhythms of Life and Seasons

Hello Friends!

It's the first Monday of January and normally I would be chomping at the bit to start something new, because after all...new year, new month, new week...you get the idea. But this year I'm learning something that I've honestly never thought about before and it's really going to change the way I look at time and seasons from now on. 

I (and seemingly the rest of the world), have always looked at January as the time to get our act together, start life again, do better, set goals, resolutions and be a better version of ourselves than we were just a few weeks ago. And you know what? Most of us fail within weeks of all the best laid plans. 

So imagine my wonder when just recently I saw something on Instagram that talked about the seasons according to God, not the world, and it really made so much sense. Now I've seen others talk about it (hi Billie Jo!) and it's changed my perspective in the best of ways.

For years, I would jump on the January bandwagon of self-improvement and fail soon after. I never really got my act together on the new budget, any kind of goal, or cleaning out last year's files, until around March - 3 months into the new year. Every year I felt like a failure for it taking so long to conquer these tasks that I knew were important, but every year I would keep the same rhythm and not get going until March or so. 

What I'm just now discovering is that this is the natural rhythm of life! I wasn't failing; I was reacting to the natural seasons, as God has laid out, with the winter months being slow and deliberately less productive, even regenerative for our bodies and souls.

Imagine a world where you allowed yourself to take January and February to relax more, hibernate, if you will, and slowly live in rhythms that coincided with the seasons. You slowly moved through your tasks, you slowly made plans for Spring, you slowly enjoyed this time of rest and renewal and allowed all of the frantic pace of the holiday season to melt away, one day at a time, by choosing rest over crazy. 

Essentially you would start your year off with renewal and not more stress-induced goals, after having lived through two of the most stressful months of the year. 

For me, this makes so much sense. It explains why I never felt like I was getting anywhere until months after New Years and it takes the pressure off of having to live in a constant state of stress. 

The older I get, the more I think doing the opposite of what the world deems necessary, is the way to live. The world is always striving and stressing; grasping for more. But the rhythm of God's word is that everything has a season and the things that need to happen will happen in due time. 

So now I can move through the next few months without guilt or insane expectations of myself. I can enjoy the slower pace of life without feeling like I'm behind and I can rest in knowing that Spring will bring new energy, new life, new excitement as the world comes to life at the proper time. 

And for me...this will make all the difference in how I enjoy my winter.

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

Looking Forward, Setting Goals, and Growing Through the Failure

 We are a universal people, aren't we? Most of us taking this week to look ahead, make goals, change what didn't work last year and contemplate what might work better going forward. 

We make plans, choose words, vow to do better, lose weight, ditch the bad habits, and a few weeks later we feel like we've already failed.

I gave up making resolutions for many years because I just couldn't trust myself to actually follow through. 

There have also been years when I've laid it all out - new goals, ideas galore, a chosen mantra to live by - and you guessed it...still failed.

But here's a different perspective for those of us who have that drive inside of us and yet, feel a bit timid about trying once again:

Do it anyway.

Doing it and failing isn't really failing if you learn and grow along the way. As long as you can look back and see what you might have done differently, then you're growing! Take that knowledge and go forward and do better next time.

I'll give you an example...

I love budgeting. I love playing with numbers and fitting all the pieces together, like a puzzle. Call me a nerd, but this is fun for me. 

But I'm actually better at the process of budgeting, than the actual carrying out of the budget. Can you relate?

So every month I give it a go. And sometimes I try cash and sometimes I realize that cash flies out of my wallet faster than the credit card does. And sometimes I try details and I fail at that because I'm not a detail kind of person. I'm a black and white - point A to point B kind of person. The shortest route always wins for me. 

But I keep trying. Why? Because every time I try something new, I learn. I learn what works for someone else, might not work for me and that's ok! I learn that simplicity is my friend and details trip me up. I learn that having too many methods is a recipe for disaster for me and others really thrive on them. That's ok too.

The same goes for goals for the new year. 

I love what Mrs. White said in this post, that she wants to be ready to do the work that the Lord puts before her each day, rather than make a bunch of goals (paraphrasing). I love that! And while I have lived like that for many years, this year I am setting some goals for myself. But only a few and only the ones I've prayed over for years and am finally getting up the nerve to try.

And you know what? If I fail at every single one of them, I've still grown in ways that I never would have, had I not tried. 

So here's to giving it a go! Whether you're going to sit this year out and just see what God places before you each day, or whether you're going to finally step up and do something he placed on your heart a long time ago. Either way, as long as you're seeking him and his plans for your life, you really can't go wrong.

Failure isn't trying and failing. Failure is never trying at all and wishing your entire life that you would have tried something. 

My friend, I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord what he wants for you in 2025. Spend some time listening to what he's saying. You don't have to follow the world and all of their crazy goal setting ways. Just see what God has for you or what he's been speaking to you, that you've been saying "no" to.  Be brave and trust that if he has laid something on your heart, he's going to continue doing the work in you.

I believe in you and so does he!

Here's to an amazing new year and many blessings along the way!

Until Next Time...

Blessings!