January 2025 Bullet Journal

I am determined to make this month more productive than last month. I won't be disobey trying to make Christmas magical for my adult children, and I hopefully won't be so sick that I land in the ER with asthma issues. I will, however, be working daily on my goals. I have made spreads in my bullet journal to do this. 

First, I have a page that lists my goals of the month and has a tracker to mark off the days that I have completed them:

Then, I have my Miracle morning tracker. On the opposite page is my affirmation for the month. 

Next is my "no spend" tracker. I could be more of a low spend type thing, but Chad and I came up with rules that we both agreed on that we feel will lead us in a better financial path. 

My next spread is for cleaning. This of course is the bare minimum. I hope that everyone else will pitch in. We'll see. 

The only other tracker that I am using is one I made last month for the book that I want to finish and implement what I have learned soon. 

I will be keeping track of my hobbies without a tracker, and the conference talks are being marked in the book. 

Be Still

 About 4 months ago, Chad and I went to the temple and prayed for guidance on what to do with our professional lives. After doing an endowment session, we sat and prayed and soaked in the peace of the Celestial Room. As we did so, I go the impression to "be still." The longer we sat there, the stronger the feeling was that I just needed to be still. 

We drove home talking about our impressions. He seemed to be given a clear answer, but I was quite confused about what I felt I was being told to do. What did "be still" mean? As I contemplated it over the next few days, I decided to lean into it and try to figure it out. I even bought stickers with a scripture about being still on them. I began to think that it meant that I didn't need to do anything other than support my husband in his endeavors. I had been going to school for quite a while, and he had supported me for so long. Maybe it was his turn to shine. As time went on, I think I became more chaotic in some ways rather than still and supportive. 

Fast forward to last night. I was reading, annotating, and highlighting a General Conference talk that I had chosen at random from my General Conference Addresses: Journal Edition book from the most recent conference. The talk it landed on when I opened it was, "Seek Him with all Your Heart" by Bishop L. Todd Budge. The theme I picked up on from it was the importance of being still. THIS WAS THE ANSWER I WAS LOOKING FOR! It had been right here in a talked given in October. How did I not catch that months ago? 

In this talk he has many nuggets that stuck out to me. First of all, he quoted President Nelson saying in 2021, "...quiet time is sacred time - time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace." He later points out, "The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us opportunities to return to Him often. These opportunities include daily prayers, scripture study, the sacrament ordinance, the Sabbath day, and temple worship...what may be needed is not necessarily more time but more awareness of and focus on God during the times we already set aside for Him." The final nugget that stood out to me was, "As we concentrate our hearts and minds on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost, we will have greater clarity about what is most needful, develop deeper compassion, and find rest and strength in Him."

I don't need to just do nothing. I don't need to sit back and support my husband. I need to be still as I develop a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. As I do so, I will have more clarity in my life and receive answers to my questions. I need to let go of the chaos and lean further into the light available to me through the gospel.

Hello 2025

Going into is honestly a bit scary. I have no idea what the future brings. All I know is I need more direction in my life. My hope is that by tweaking a few things, it will be one of my best years. 

This year, Chad and I will be working harder on our finances. We will be doing a no spend year (more to come on that). As we do so, we will work harder on paying off debt and building some sort of homestead on our kettle plot of land. I'm hoping this bring us closer together.

My crafting will have a new theme. This will be the gear of gifts. I will be making gifts for friends and family throughout the year. This will save money and break down my yarn stash a bit. I am already working on Eric's birthday present. I will for sure blog about this as I go as well as recap last year's theme, the year of the sweater, in future posts. 

I hope to finish my degree this year, but this is a very scary thing for me. All I have left is my internship unless I get procrastinate too long. Then, I will have to take a few more classes as well. I really want this to be done. I am just not good at being around new people and searching for something like this is terrifying. 

I will continue to work on my faith journey this year. I love that prayer and scripture reading have become a part of my morning routine. I want to incorporate General Confidence talks and regular "Come, Follow Me" study as well. My hope is to also make it to the temple at least once a month outside of our twice a month shift as ordinance workers. I am at a point in my life where I crave spiritual guidance. The more I learn about the Lord and His plan, the more I want to develop my relationship with Him. I hope I am in a better spot by the end of the year than I am now as I continue to grow my faith and knowledge. 

It is scary going into a new year. I hope that these goals will give me the direction and discipline I need in my life.