Last week, I shared some of my 2017 goals and some habits I am working on. Today, I am going to share the rest of my personal goals (Motherhood and My Community) and my Big Dreams for 2017.

Marriage is one of the most beautiful relationships but it can also be one of the hardest. My husband Jonathan and I have been married for 16 ½ years and are still going strong. We have had many ups and downs in these years but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If I could give wives one piece of advice, I would tell them to focus on changing themselves. “Wait! What? Change me? Why? He is the problem!” This is the response so many women have given over the years, myself included. It wasn’t until I realized that I was the problem that things began to change.

Our words are powerful. They can be used to build up or tear down. The words we speak have a greater impact than we realize. In today’s reading found in Numbers 12, the words of Aaron and Miriam tear down Moses. It was just a little bit of complaining. This doesn’t seem like a very big deal, does it? But, it was a big deal. It resulted in a life-threatening condition for Miriam and negatively affected the whole Israelite community. What can we learn from this incident? First, our words reveal what is in our hearts. Secondly, there are consequences for the words we speak.

It’s a new year! This past weekend I worked on fine tuning my personal goals for 2017. I am excited to see what God has in store for this year. My goals are broken down by categories. This was something I learned from Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Year course. My four categories are Myself, Marriage, Motherhood, and My Community. In this post, I will share the Myself and Marriage Goals. I will also share about the Habits I am working on developing.

It has been a fast but fun week around here. How has yours been? These are the five things I am grateful for this past couple of weeks.

The other day we decided to rearrange the pictures in our living room. It is always a task because when you move one, it often means you move many pictures to help it all balance well. Jonathan pulled out the hammer and nails to hang pictures in the new spot. Caleb, our 4-year-old, noticed and declared that he wanted to help. The particular picture Jonathan was about to hang was up pretty high. So, he hoisted Caleb on his shoulders.

Prayer is powerful. It is something we can do anytime and anywhere. I love how God uses our prayers and answers in His perfect timing. One of the most powerful things we can do for our kids is to pray scripture over them. In 2013, I began a journey of praying scripture over our children. It…

 Do you enjoy having your toenails painted? I do. Especially in the summer when my feet are more visible. It’s fun to add a splash of color. Analiah, our 6-year-old, loves painted toenails. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. She just loves painting toenails! One day Analiah asked me to paint my toenails. It was just before I headed out on a Missions Trip. I knew my feet would be visible. I’ll be totally honest, I hesitated. I really didn’t want her to paint my toenails. When Analiah uses nail polish, more than my toes get covered. But the look of anticipation on her face was one I couldn’t deny.

It has been a fast but fun week around here. I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas. So exciting! Before jumping into the weekend, I love taking time to reflect on the last week. Here are my Friday favorites from this week.

Goals What are they? And why are goals important to have? Goals are helpful to have because they give you a focus. You will put your time and energy towards what is important to you. Goals help clarify what is important to you. Each year, my husband and I sit down at the beginning of December…