Making January Happen

Besides January being the month of "new beginnings", it also happens to be the month where the gym membership attendance spikes for two weeks and then turns downward afterwards.
The good news: it is a good time to refocus and start anew, with a plan for what your year is going to look like.
The bad news: it is easy to get caught up in new years resolutions that don't last for the entire year and you only have motivation to do them for the first 5 weeks of the year.

There is nothing special about January 1. Yes, it's the start of a new year, but this year's goals are not about perfection. It's about progress. February 1 can bring completely new goals than what you started out with in January.

So being that it's a new year in everything...I am gonna make 2016 happen. One month at a time.
Each month we will go back, review the progress from the past month, and make new goals for the coming month. I wanna make these goals happen, ya'll. I am naming 2016 as my year of victory. It is the year of victory because I am going to be intentional about growing closer to my Savior, which will as a result, bleed into every other aspect of my life. Because I have not been growing in my relationship with Christ, I struggled a lot with my time on the internet and that not being spent wisely and not always honoring to the Lord. During 2016, I want to go back and share that journey with you more in depth and how this year I believe will be the first complete year with victory over this sin. In short: I wasted a lot of valuable time and I have a lot of regrets in that area: but God has forgiven me of my sin, however, that means I should not go back into it. I believe that in God's strength, not my own, He will allow 2016 to be my victory year: where I do not fall into this sin because I have been freed from it.

January Goals:

1. Start 2 Bible studies with two of my friends separately and constantly meet up with them every Monday/Tuesday. I want to start out this year diving into God's word on my own, but also with other people. Accountability, prayer partners and learning from others is also very important aspect of this journey. We aren't called to live this journey alone: God has given us a community of believers for a reason. 
2. Read 2 Books. Some of my top title choices that I'm interested in reading include Choosing to See, Seven, Every Bitter Thing is Sweet, Writing in the Margins and Home of our Hearts. I haven't been reading as much recently, and I want to gain that back. Whichever 3 books I don't get too, I'll put those titles under the reading goal for next month.
3. Read from God's word every single day this month. I should do devotionals everyday of the entire year, but I think that can become closer to happening if we take it a month at a time. I want to be intentional about not wasting time, but rather using that time for things that have eternal benefits, and this is one of the ways I am going to do it (along with Bible studies). It's crazy ya'll, we are so blessed with a Bible in this country, but we take it for granted.
4. Memorize scripture. This month, I want to memorize some verses. Three verses seems doable, don't you think, to start out? Any suggestions on what I should memorize?
5. Write a 5 day devotional series. Not sure how this could look/will look, but I want to be creative with this. Maybe just maybe I can also do something with this collection on my blog. I'm not sure the theme, the content or anything yet. I just want to pray and see how this opportunity could be used by God.
6. Bake/create a dessert I've pinned on pinterest. I really love food and dessert, so why not take the opportunity to make something to enjoy? Sounds good to me, I just need to do it. Follow me on pinterest here!
7. Hit 90 followers. I would really really love it if I could make it to 90 followers here on Victory this month. I will be intentional about finding other blogs and putting my blog out there. If you enjoy what you read and would like to share it with others, feel free!

What do you want to make happen in January?