This is the last post of the year. Christmas has just been celebrated and now the new year beckons! Are you ready for 2017? Has the Lord given you a word for the new year? Are you looking forward to, or dreading the new year?
I have my word for 2017 and have been thinking through how I can stay focused. Here are some ways I am preparing for 2017. Maybe they can help you as we all head into the new year.
Getting Ready for 2017
1. Routines and Systems
The first thing is to get my systems and routines down pat. This way, I don’t have to think! Everything is on auto-pilot. Have you read about the Make Over Your Mornings or Make Over Your Evenings eCourses by Crystal Paine? If you haven’t, you ought to check them out. I wrote about how it has helped to clarify my own routines in my post, Setting up routines to beat the overwhelm. If you have bought the courses …. have you implemented them? Don’t worry, I know all about buying books/courses, reading them, and never taking action. January 2017 is a good time to start!
2a. Meals: Menu Planning
I know, I know. I sound like a broken record but having a menu plan is a lifesaver. It is a pain in the you-know-where to set up but once it is set up, it is set up. No more decisions to make! Grocery shopping is faster, too. If you need inspiration, check out Menu Planning Central. Or ask Mr Google for help. Either way, get at least one week’s worth of meals planned at the start of each week. But do be realistic. Keep your plans simple or you will fail.
2b. Meals: Freezer Cooking
But Menu Planning still means that I have to prep and cook daily, three time a day. So, I finally decided to invest in a freezer cooking plan. Yeah. For real! I had always resisted buying any plan. I had always thought it ridiculous that I had to pay for a service I could very well do on my own. So in theory yeah, I could have done it. But in theory I could also have lost all my baby weight since my “baby” isn’t a baby anymore. 😀
What I had previously done was to cook once but double the recipe, and either freeze the second portion cooked or raw. But it was always hit and miss affair. Come 2017, I need to be more intentional, so I succumbed and paid for a plan.
MyFreezEasy Monthly Membership Programme for the win!
There are plenty of freezer meal plans out there but I chose to purchase the MyFreezEasy plan. Why? Because she promised that I can prep and freeze 10 meals in ONE hour.
Did it really take one hour? Not on my first try because I got distracted and because I am slow 🙁 Still, it took about an hour and 20 minutes, and I did get 10 meals into the freezer!
I will blog more about it and how it works (or not) for us after I have experimented a few more times. But so far? I love that I have 10 meals prepped in the freezer, and the kids love the recipes. Win-win, I say!
But if you cannot wait and need a plan now, check out how MyFreezEasy works by clicking on the image above. In a nutshell, it costs $7/month for the basic plan, which gives you 8 meal plans plus shopping lists, assembly instructions and a full-length video each month to guide you on putting it all together!
3. Household Chores
Setting up systems to beat the overwhelm outlined what I do with household chores. But honestly, this system is the least of my worries this season of my life since I have a lot of helpers compared to a few years ago.
4. Feeding the Soul
Speaking of a Bible Reading Plan. While getting the house in smooth and efficient running order is important, I must also nourish and feed my spirit man.
In 2016, I used Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest Devotional Journal and have kept to it close to 90% of the time. It was my second time using it. I really like it. It has a lot of “meat” in it and it challenges a lot of commonly held but erroneous beliefs. You can also get the devotional online at My Utmost for His Highest.
For 2017, I plan to read through a chapter a day from the Bible and use the S.O.A.P devotional bible study method. S.O.A.P is what I used to teach the older children to use in their own daily devotions. It stands for :
- Scripture: A verse or verses that popped out to you in your reading.
- Observation: What did you observe about the scripture that struck you.
- Application: How can you apply that observation so that it affects your life today.
- Prayer: Write out a prayer to God based on what you just learned and ask him to help you apply this truth in your life.
Onward and Forward!
As mentioned to my newsletter subscribers (have you subscribed? Click here to be added), the two biggies that loom ahead in 2017 are PSLE and the MOE mandated P4 Exams for homeschoolers. This will be on top of the usual challenges of running a large household, managing children with growing and different needs as they mature, blogging and, supporting my husband in his work at Archippus Awakening.
So I pray that having the 4 points above in order, will allow me to be ready to take on 2017, and fulfil my ministry in the Lord (Colossians 4:17) with boldness and joy.
In the Trenches
For you mamas in the trenches – nursing baby, interrupted sleep – I know your topmost goal for 2017 must be to sleep more than 3-4 hours at a stretch! Because that certainly was my goal when I was in the trenches! Plus not yelling at the kids and losing the baby weight and so on and so forth. 🙂
This is your season of sowing and training. You may not see any fruit yet but don’t give up! Keep keeping on! I have been there and did what you are doing for many long years. I can assure you that these years do come to an end. Then you will be looking back at them in wonder. That you survived to tell the tale and are now able to help other mothers going through the same thing. And you marvel at the grace of God and His faithfulness. I know I do.
He is in Control
As we get ready to face 2017, let us face it knowing that the Maker of Heaven and Earth holds the future in His Hands. He is in control of everything that is going to happen. We need to put aside our fears and worries and put our trust in Him. Oh, and keep a journal-planner to record 2017’s memories and milestones! So that you will have a record of what He did.