A New Kind of Goal for 2019

Anyone who knows me (Laurie) knows I’m a planner-wielding, goal-setting kind of gal. But 2019 has been different. 

Instead of the usual color-coded list of goals and measurables for the year, I’m asking God to show me how to reinvent my processes. To create new rhythms based on who he shows himself therein to be.

Instead of setting out to finish another manuscript or blog twice a week or double my platform, I want proximity with the Father. I want to be so close to him that I can feel his heartbeat. 

So I will do the work, but my time, habits, successes, and worth won’t be decided by what I check off the to-do list, but by memorizing and moving in HIS rhythm. 

Everything else comes from that goal.

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One of my favorite writers and podcasters, Emily P. Freeman, aired an episode of her show late last year that had me pausing in my kid's school parking lot to take notes on a napkin I found in the glovebox. And not just because its title is my very favorite word: Collaborate. In the episode, she shared qualities of a wholehearted creative, someone who works from a place of wholeness and health.

If you have creative goals this year, I would invite you to listen to this episode and join me in examining your processes. Learning to refill your creative well before it can run dry, if you struggle with this like I do. 

Feel free to download this PDF based on her podcast episode. I printed mine on a pretty piece of paper and framed it in my office. 

We are praying a life-giving 2019 for you, Alley Pals! We'd love to know what you're up to in the comments.

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 Laurie Tomlinson is an award-winning contemporary romance author of That’s When I Knew, With No Reservations, and The Long Game, currently featured in the Once Upon a Laugh novella collection. She believes that God’s love is unfailing, anything can be accomplished with a good to-do list, and that life should be celebrated with cupcakes and extra sprinkles. You can connect with her on her Website, Facebook, Instagram.