My quarter 3 goals update

This year I’m trying something new. In the past, I’ve updated goals monthly and felt that was way overkill and then completely stopped updating. I think it’s helpful to see how goals ebb and flow throughout the year in real life so I hope this is encouraging as you look forward to the next 3 months. 

Here’s a recap of my goals for 2021 and what I did in Q3 as well as Answered Prayers. Next week, I’ll share the 10 books I read in Q3!! 

1. CREATE ENOUGH CONSISTENCY SO I’M ON A PATH TO LOSING 20 POUNDS AND KEEPING IT OFF. 

This might feel too wordy. Just say, “lose 20 pounds,” right? Nope. I really want to lay a good foundation for healthy changes so my goal ultimately isn’t to lose the weight but to be headed in that direction. My ideas for mini-goals (broken down quarterly):

• Take supplements consistently 
• Pilates
• Lower stress

Q3 Update: 

• I recently finished the first round of gut healing. It wasn’t easy and the most difficult part was keeping up with it through a really stressful work season and surgery.  Funny enough, I did lose 20 pounds in total and am sticking to the food protocol with the exception of a few splurges here and there! Having that much weight off me has been incredible for my mindset. I’ve shared before, I’ve never really lost weight through anything I’ve tried so it was hard for me to even imagine that I could potentially get healthier because I had never seen enough results to help me keep moving forward. Coming off the strict protocol even slightly meant my weight has fluctuated but I’m no longer negatively believing that the good choices I make for my body won’t make a difference. 
• I’ve also gotten really excited about veggies. My goal now is diversity so I’m aiming for 30 different veggies and fruits a week! 
• I joined The Balanced Life Sisterhood for pilates and I’m loving it!
• I started seeing a counselor! I’ll be sharing more about this soon but it’s been so helpful for the uptick of anxiety and stress I’ve been experiencing this year. 

2. RELEASE THE PRAYER BOOK AND HAVE 10,000 COPIES PRE-ORDERED.

This is a huge goal for me! Many of y’all know, I’m praying for 100,000 copies of the prayer book sold. Which is pretty much impossible without the Lord. I felt Him prompting me to pray for this so I’m going for it. If it happens, you’ll know who gets full credit! Mini goal ideas:

• Release podcast
• Create pre-order bonus
• Host launch team
• Podcast interviews
• Record audiobook

Q3 Update:

• We launched our podcast!! This wasn’t even part of our 2021 goals when the year started so it’s been exciting to see this come to life! Check out Prayer in a Noisy World here. 
• Ah! The pre-order bonus! I am still sooo excited that we created this. It’s a guide to go through the book with a group but basically morphs the discussion group into a prayer group!! It’s perfect for anyone who is intimidated by the idea of praying with others and starts really slowly! We actually knew this guide would be really important to keep around for years to come so although it’s no longer available for free with pre-ordering 4 or more copies of the book, you can buy it in our shop here!
• We hosted a launch team and it’s always one of the best parts of launching a book! It’s so easy to get in your head right before you release a book so to have a group of supportive gals who want you to succeed and share in the joy with you is priceless!
• I don’t have exact numbers yet but we aren’t even close to our pre-order goal of 10,000. Funny enough, that goal of 10,000 started feeling off to me. Essentially, this is the number that if we hit it, I knew we’d be able to one day hit 100,000 based on Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday. That assurance kind of defeats the purpose of a goal only God can do. So here we are, with much less than we hoped but fully trusting that if or when we reach 100,000, we’ll be able to look back to this tiny launch and know it was only by God’s power. (side note: My hope is that this book spreads not because the marketing for the launch was top-notch but because women are reading this and can’t wait to tell their friends. We’re already hearing this a little and it’s just so exciting!)

A note: If you’ve read the book, would you leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads? This is so helpful in getting the book seen!

3. CELEBRATE FAMILY MILESTONES WELL. 

We are welcoming two new babies (one on the Met side and one on the Woerner side) and I really want to be available to help where I can. So often, I plan work and forget to leave room for big personal things, but this year we’re keeping the calendar pretty clear so I can do this!

• Be available emotionally (send prayers, verses, advice) and physically (babysitting, chores, cooking).
• Help celebrate my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary! (Q3)

Q3 Update:

• It’s been fun to watch Wren and Owen grow, and their parent’s too! 😉 Both were dedicated at church a few weeks ago! 
• My parents celebrated their 40th with a trip to Arkansas so we celebrated with them from afar. 

4. MAKE MUCH-NEEDED REPAIRS AND UPDATES TO OUR HOUSE.

We’ve been in our home for almost 7 years and have done almost no repairs even though there’s plenty of things broken. 

• Fence
• Screened in porch
• French doors

Q3 Update:

• We tackled our front yard and fence! This has been such an undertaking and took much more time than planned. It’s been funny to see everyone in our neighborhood (which is a very close-knit community) has been so invested and supportive of the final product! 🙂

5. SPEAK WORDS OF LIFE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND ME AND MYSELF. 

I can naturally go negative and catch myself saying jokesy criticism (jokesy makes it feel ok?) with Tyler and even the girls more than I hope. I also want to speak more positively to myself!

• Start the day with affirmations. Like the ones in our Best of VMP pack. 
• Send encouraging text messages to friends out of the blue. 
• Write a quick encouraging note to Tyler and the girls every week.

Q3 Update: 

• I’ve been practicing affirmations daily. I should really call them prayers because I’m not just trying to believe new Biblical thoughts but praying the Lord transforms me. 
• I’ve been sending lots of encouraging notes to the girls, but not so much Tyler or friends. 

6. TEACH THE GIRLS WELL

This goal shifted from finishing the parenting course because right now, I want to be implementing what I already know and need to focus attention on a few other things (below). 

• Homework – prep for school
• New rhythms 

Q3 Update:

• I read Take Back Your Family by Jefferson Bethke and it was sooo good. Lots of changes coming to the Woerner household because of this book! 
• Getting back into a school rhythm has been good! 

7. SPEND LESS THAN OUR PAYCHECKS.

This goal sounds very obvious doesn’t it? But with both our businesses, we take home modest paychecks but are able to do bonuses throughout the year. We also have a rental property but we’re working to get to a place where we’re less reliant on those bonuses and the rental to cover our expenses so that we can save that for our future and medical stuff. Health insurance and bills as two entrepreneurs is insane.

• Spending freeze in July

Q3 Update: 

• The medical bills from this year have been so discouraging but we made one big step forward that I’m not able to share!
• I did the spending freeze in July and took the Amazon app off my phone which has also helped things! 🙂

8. LIVE MORE SPIRIT-LED.

The end of 2020 was so difficult. I struggled to make decisions and feel confident in where God was calling me forward. In 2021, I really desire to live more fully “led, not driven”. 

• In-depth study of a book of the Bible
• Set up warroom

Q3 Update:  

• I went through a very slow study on Ephesians and it was so good after plowing through the whole Bible in 100 days!
• I didn’t get to set up the war room but still planning to do that this year!  
• I spent a TON of time praying WITH other people and oh my goodness. Game-changer. I tend to think growth happens in a vacuum and it just doesn’t work like that. I’m so grateful for some really desperate moments that had me asking for a lot of prayers these past few months!

OTHER THINGS ACCOMPLISHED THIS QUARTER:

• I had a cyst removed and discovered I have endometriosis.
• Had an endoscopy. Nothing serious found! 
• Tyler is flourishing as interim youth director and elder. I’m so proud of his willingness to step in and grateful we have the margin for him to add it to his plate!
• Hurricane Ida. It’s always hard to be grateful for not getting hit by a bad storm when that means other people are. 
• Went to The Gaylord Texan to ride out the storm and celebrate my birthday! 
• Celebrated 11 years of marriage and showed the girls our wedding video. 
• Executed journal photoshoot. These are always so difficult but so rewarding! 
• Launched new spiral journals
• Launched 2021 full collection
• Planned a LegoMasters birthday party for Vivi!

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ANSWERED PRAYERS

First off, I am LOVING using the Signature Prayer Journal and don’t think I could ever go back! It challenges me in the best way to write out prayers daily and the internal growth I’ve experienced these past few months has been more than I’ve experienced in a long time.  If you want to grab one get it here.

I wanted to share some answered prayers from this quarter. Some I’m not able to share because they aren’t my requests to share so I’ll just share the personal or ones I know I can share! 

• The cyst was not cancerous and no more were found.
• Our audio team was able to have me record in Lafayette (literally 10 minutes from my house) instead of traveling to Nashville, which would have been difficult after surgery. 
• During the recording, I had a few answered prayers that I shared about here. 
• Our photoshoot fell into place with the locations we hoped to get, both saying yes. 

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• Lots of peace in the midst of unknowns and anxiety. There were so many times where I felt I couldn’t handle more overwhelm, and the Lord was so kind to reorient my heart and relieve the burden. 
• Better sleep. I have been having awful, anxious-filled sleep lately and I had a friend pray over me for it. That night my sleep was better and it hasn’t been as bad since. Since then, I’ve talked to a dozen other women who struggle with sleep and have started praying for them if I wake up in the middle of the night. Leave a comment if you’d like me to add you to that list!
• I had an interview I was nervous about and it ended up going really well! 
• I had been having difficulty breathing and felt God prompt me to check my products for toxicity. I checked a few, then happened to check my epsom bath salts. I’ve been using these nightly for at least 6 years. Like for real. They ended up being an EIGHT out of 10 on the level of bad ingredients. I threw it all out and breathing was much better soon after! This was a cool answered prayer because it wasn’t that the breathing just got better, but that God spoke to me in how to address it! 
• Sunnier than expected beach trip! It looked like a possible hurricane or just a week of rain for our annual beach trip. And if you’ve read Pray Confidently and Consistently, you know last year was a terrifying hurricane for our week at the beach. It feels like such a small thing but the beach is a place I find so much refreshment and even healing so I am grateful we got to enjoy it this year! 

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• Lots of discoveries in counseling.
• A Sabbath day in prayer that was so life-giving. Lots of clarity and wisdom from the Lord. 

YET TO BE ANSWERED PRAYERS

• Complete healing with my body
• Youth pastor search