Prepare the Way for a New Year
Maybe like me, you see 2024 as a fresh start. After a relentless couple years of change and grief, are you a little more hopeful for this new year? Maybe?
But how do we start? As the famous saying goes, “Over and over, we begin again.”
And to begin again, we have to approach life with a learner’s posture and with intentionality. Here are some questions that have helped me “begin again”. I hope they help you too.
1. What lessons did I learn in 2023 that I want to bring into 2024?
In order to move forward, we have to look back. Our stories and memories are rich with so much wisdom if we only give God a chance to teach us something through them. Did you know that most of our learning happens in the debrief, when we reflect back on our experience? We grow when we build on what we have learned, and reflecting on the past year is a great way to start.
I created a special guide for this called Prepare the Way. You can get it here or by signing up button below.
Lessons Learned from Last Year:
As I spent time reflecting with this guide, I uncovered some lessons I learned that I want to take with me into 2024, particularly about rhythms. I hope these will help you too:
When I stop painting regularly, I get out of whack emotionally and start trying to control everything. Painting helps me to surrender to God. For more on this, check out this post.
What is something that brings you joy that also helps you practice surrender? Be gentle with yourself and carve time in your schedule for activities that help you let go. Your loved ones will thank you for it!When I stop doing regular artist dates (scheduled play) is when I start to lose sight of what is important and live like a machine instead. An artist date is a concept coined by Julia Cameron in her book, the Artist Way. Whether you are an artist or not, artist dates help us slow down and tap into the eternal pulse of things through beauty, play, and wonder.
Some of my favorite artist dates? Contemplative walks noticing beauty, watching Disney movies, taking a leisurely bath with candles, dancing to worship music, essential oils, getting take out at one of my fav. local restaurants.When I don’t pay attention to the rhythm and season I am in and respond accordingly, I crash. I want to embrace the rhythms and boundaries that will allow me to thrive. For example, after I finish a major project, I have to remember to give myself some time to recover before launching into the next big project. I also need to protect seasons for hidden work - the slower, but critical seasons where new ideas germinate out of the public eye and where God does the inner work in me. I need to make space to slow down for this, listen, learn, experiment, etc. before I start thinking about sharing it with others or turning it into a “product.”
Maybe for example, remembering that you are in a season of motherhood or caregiving can help you adjust your expectations of yourself. These seasons have extra demands and limits that need to be named and acknowledged. Or maybe this is a season of fruitfulness - press in and enjoy it! For me personally, after the intensity of ministry during Advent, I am taking January off to slow down and do the inner work. I am hoping God will help me enter a season of dormancy, and that new ideas will slowly germinate naturally on the other side. Pay attention to the season you are in and give yourself grace to embrace the limits of that season.
2. Who am I becoming?
Who has God already been shaping you to be? What has He already done in you? You have made it through some of the hardest years of our lifetime and you are still here. Well done.
When you look at yourself through the lens of your beloved-ness, who do you see God shaping you to be? Let’s take a moment to celebrate who you already are. Look how much you’ve grown! Practice Visio Divina with yourself right now - where is the divine manifesting in you?
When I look at myself through this lens, and how God has grown me…
I see a woman who is learning to trust the inner voice that calls her to create, even when no one is asking her to.
I see a woman who sometimes gets buried under the drive to perform and perfect, but who is learning to notice when this pattern shows up and make some necessary adjustments.
I see a woman who has been pressed through the wine press that God is using to make new wine.
I see a woman who has been broken by pouring that wine into old wineskins that are bursting, but is discovering new wineskins that expand and welome me and my work.
I see a woman who is actively seeking the face of Jesus through those who are marginalized and being transformed by the Jesus I am discovering there.
When you look at yourself through the lens of compassion and beloved-ness, who do you see you are becoming?
3. Who do I want to become?
What if you started 2024 knowing that God cared more about who you are becoming than what you do?
In the end, it is who we are that endures for eternity - not necessarily what we do. When we approach life with the perspective of who want to become vs. what we want to accomplish, it will change the choices we make. But more importantly, it helps us be aware of our WHY behind our choices. Our motivation impacts who we are becoming - and if we can start with the right heart posture, we are on the right track to become more like Christ. So let’s start dreaming with God about who we want to become and name the daily choices we want to make as a result.
Who do I want to become in 2024?
I want to be like a servant at the wedding in Cana in John 2.
A few years ago, when I asked God what role He wants me to play in His Kingdom, he gave me the image of the servants at the wedding at Cana. As I spend time in loving union with Him, behind the scenes I am gathering His living water into the “jars” of my creative work. As I pour it out in love for others, I trust that He will turn this creative offering into new wine that brings delight, beauty, and taste of the Kingdom of God.
This year, I want to become that servant. The one who hears Mary say, “do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5) and does it. Who is not afraid to go behind the scenes in the studio to create in the secret place with God. Who is willing to pour out my worship in the unseen and uncelebrated place, gathering the living water of God’s love into jars.
I want to then go forth boldly, lifting those heavy jars full of paint and water and words and pour them out in loving obedience, trusting that God will turn my offerings into new wine. A fresh encounter the boundless love of God.
In 2024, who do you want to become?
4. Given who I want to become, how will I define success in 2024 - at work, home, and in community?
“If the only two metrics we measure everything by is efficiency
and productivity, we are going to miss out on our deepest creativity.”
- Allison Fallon
A few mantras I am attempting this year to remember my definition of success based on what I want to prioritize:
At work: PROCESS OVER PRODUCT
Product and perfection may be the way the world measure's success - but what do we become when we live by these standards?
When I focus on productivity - I dehumanize myself and others. I push myself to reach beyond my limits and my work ends up becoming empty and lifeless.
But when I focus on the process at work, I remind myself to enjoy what I do. I trust that joy and play are part of the process and I stop taking myself so seriously. I pay attention to the rhythms and seasons I am in and adjust accordingly. I show up to love and create and I surrender the results. I become a joy-filled person who creates because I love to create, not because I have to or because I need to meet some kind of standard.
At home: PRESENCE OVER PERFECTION
When I focus on presence over perfection at home, I am more likely to put down the cooking and cleaning, stop the to-do list and just look my family in the eyes and really see them.
Really behold them.
And my life is so much fuller and richer this way. I have delighted in holding my boys close and treasuring cuddle time this last week.
In community:
PEOPLE OVER PROJECTS | PEOPLE OVER PLATFORM
When I remind myself that my focus is to serve real people, it helps me to not get sucked into the fame and affirmation drugs in order to truly love like Jesus. I can shift my focus off building my own kingdom, to start building His kingdom through focusing on his most valuable resource - people.
These mantras will be tricky to uphold given the intense pressure at every turn to produce at work, be perfect at home, and prioritize projects and platform over people in the creative world. But these outlook shifts are entirely necessary to engage in for the creative work and way of love I was made for. You too.
What are some mindset shifts you're attempting in 2024?
5. What are some boundaries I need to set for myself in order to become this person?
This is a key one. Let’s get really practical here. What are some boundaries you might need to create in order to become who you want to be - who God has made you to be? What might you need to stop or start in order to start living into this person? Here are some of mine I have set around how I spend my time:
I have started spending my mornings during workdays on morning pages, artist dates, prayer, Scripture, and creating
I plan to take an artist date 1 X a week
I have committed to detaching from email or social media before 11am or between 5-8pm. YIKES!
I am choosing to disengage from social media on Sabbath - Sundays
When I have finished a major project, I plan to budget 2 days off to restore my soul
These are going to be really hard for me, friends. I’ve already broken these rules. But I’m reminding myself to try, to give myself grace and invite the Lord’s help. Baby steps, people. Baby steps. Also - seeing how difficult it is for me to keep these boundaries reveals just how attached I am to certain things - like workaholism and social media. This is drawing me deeper into the heart of Jesus as I realize these things.
Closing Prayer:
What are my desires for 2024? Turn this into a prayer of surrender. Here is one of my prayers:
Lord,
I want to be the kind of person who builds Your Kingdom, not my own. Help me to be faithful to show up and stay true to the slow, inner rhythms that build into the long-term eternal thing You are doing. Help me to slow down at Your pace - to see and behold beauty, to be captivated by wonder, and create from a place of true belovedness and belonging. May I find You the process of creating, in the presence of those You love, and in serving Your beloved children imbued with your presence and stamped with your image.
Amen
