HOPES + AMBITIONS

Are you entering a new season? Check out my tips for reflecting and planning + download two helpful resources.

Scroll to the bottom for your free resources!

Look Back and then Look Forward

You may be chomping at the bit to start looking ahead, either because you are an excitable person like me or because you are “over” the last season of your life and eager to put the past behind you. However, let me encourage you to slow down and pause and reflect on your past season. Giving yourself this time will create an opportunity to learn from the good and challenging times you have faced in your last season of life. 

This is not the time to dwell on old mistakes and heartaches or to puff yourself up about how great you are. Instead, it is meant to be a time to acknowledge your experiences and ask God to reveal how He was with you and what you have learned. Depending on your past season, this practice may feel intimidating, but I encourage you to see the hand of the Lord in your life. Never once will He leave or forsake you. Not only will this practice strengthen your faith, but it will also help you navigate your new hopes and ambitions. 

At the end of this blog, you will find a Bible study called “Here I Raise My Ebenezer.” It is a one-day study that can be done alone or in a group setting. The handouts include reflection pages to record your past season’s highlights and challenges and identify the Lord’s faithfulness through it all. 

Goal Setting: Big Picture to Little Picture 

Yearly: I paint broader goals for the year, which I call my “hopes and ambitions for a new year.” I make categories for different areas of my life (i.e., personal, family, ministry, homeschool, etc.). Then I begin prayerfully brainstorming what broad goals I have (introducing a new extra-curricular in my homeschool routine, reading three books I own before purchasing a new book, etc.). I don’t create any specific deadlines or timelines (except to be done by the end of the year) for myself because, at this moment, I don’t know all the specifics of what will happen in this next year. However, painting a big picture helps to give my year some focus and direction when I plan out the specifics at a later date. 

Note: If thinking over a whole year is too intimidating, consider making goals for half a year or quarterly. 

At the end of the post you will find Hope + Ambitions worksheets to help you prayerfully prepare for a new season.

Monthly: Throughout the year, I refer back to my hopes and ambitions goals as I set monthly goals. I pick a couple of the items I listed for the year and attempt to accomplish these goals sometime during the month. If for whatever reason, I do not complete all of my monthly goals, I can readjust and plan for them the next month. I do not beat myself up about these goals and focus on the successes and seek to improve and improvise in the coming month. 

Weekly: My weekly planning is more specific. Before the new week, I write out my Monday through Sunday plans and include my monthly goals in these detailed weekly plans. For example, if a goal for the month was to write one blog post, then, if my week allows for it, I would choose to schedule my writing time for a specific day or two in my week. Each week I would try to add one or two other monthly goals that would fit a specific day and time. Again, I always allow room for grace in my list making and goal setting. 

Find What Works for You

I genuinely enjoy planning and organizing. It brings freedom and enjoyment to my mind and heart as I look forward to activities or develop healthier habits. My hope in sharing this process with you is that you will seek to live intentionally by carving aside time to reflect, pray, and plan. God leads these times of planning, but He also adjusts them. My encouragement to you is to spend time listening to His leading and seek His kingdom and righteousness first (Matthew 6:33). 

The handouts below are meant to assist you, but by all means find what works best for you.

Blessings!

Printable: HERE I RAISE MY EBENEZER

Printable: HOPES + AMBITIONS

Reflect and Connect