Farmgirl Paints: NURTURE

Hi friends! Happy New YEAR!! Can you even believe it's 2015!! Time keeps ticking away and here we are once again in another year. I have this HUGE feeling of anticipation in my spirit. Like HUGE! Maybe it has to do with some of the goals I've set for this year, or the word the Lord has put on my heart. Whatever it is IT's GOOD and I'm ready!!!

So let's just get right to it. You're either a resolution goal making kinda gal or you're not. I'm a GOAL MAKER! I honestly can't help myself. I'm a project person. I've always got to be doing something. It's probably a mental condition...mania comes to mind. Regardless I'm going with it:)

These are a few of my goals for the new year...
1.) Crack my Bible open daily and pray with the girls
2.) Date my honey on a regular basis. Maybe 2xs a month:0 I know!!
3.) Move my body at least 2 miles a day...totally doable
4.) Paint SOMETHING, anything, once a week. In a year I'd have 52 paintings!
5.) Sugar fast for the month of January. Joined Marta's group again:)
6.) Do my hot yoga class once a week
7.) BUILD community...more on this is in a minute
8.) Learn something new...more on this later;)
9.) Read more
10.) Feed my soul, Feed my soul, Feed my soul!!!

There has been a gigantic imbalance going on with me for a while now. And it goes along with the nature of my business. Because we are an occasional store we work like crazy people when the shop is open and for weeks after. CRAZY PEOPLE! I'm talking adrenaline rush...heart pounding out of my chest...not healthy at all imbalance. I've been brainstorming to try to figure out a remedy for how we do things and I have some ideas, but it's going to take some time. So for now we are going to keep doing what we do until we don't;) Makes sense right?

I always get a word. You know THE word that more or less defines the theme for the coming year. Last year it was DARE. And it's been THRIVE and BEGIN in the past. This year at first I thought it was going to be retreat;) We had just come off the hardest, most physically challenging opening. My hands literally did not stop throbbing for a solid week and a half after we shipped out our last order. And I really just felt done. Like kaput! Burnout is a real thing and I was so there. But there's nothing like burnout and pain to make you realize change is necessary and it's coming. I just have to keep open to His timing and His direction.

So with my goal making comes a lot of excitement and ideas and the words feed your soul and take care of yourself kept rolling around in my mind and then it came...nurture. My word for the year is NURTURE. I need to care for myself...plant those seeds (aka dreams), water, baby and watch them grow. Growth is pretty limiting when you're not getting any sunlight...when your soil is dry and parched. And girls let me tell you no attention equals a dead plant and I've been feeling pretty droopy;)

We can make goals and resolutions all day, but if we don't act on any of them it's just a big fail right?! So some key things that are helping me with my goals are alarms on my phone. Brilliant idea I know. Like Pavlov's dog a bell really can help train you. I've got alarms to remind me to pray for my family. To read the word. To move my butt! I'm using my phone's calendar (with alarm) to schedule in my yoga class, my paint day...that hot date night! And those days are set. No moving them. It's time to water that plant!!

Oh and building that community...goal #7! This is something that's been on my heart FOREVER. We moved here going on four years ago and there is still a void with community here. I saw my friend Lissa's IG post the other morning about starting a bible study in her house and it was BOLD and BRAVE and SO OBEDIENT and my heart started thumping a bit, and for me that's always a call to action. When my heart starts pounding I know I'm being challenged to do something. So I posted on IG my own invite for a women's meet up group. And guess what? A lot of you feel the same way:) So I'm now a group leader! Say what?! Just like that...we're going to meet once a month and do something fun...translation NURTURE...feeding our souls! That's never happened before, but it's a year of new beginnings and I can't wait to see how obedience pays off. SO...if you live in the Richmond, VA area and want to make some new friends email me at beckystrahle@yahoo.com:) I'd love to meet you too!

What's next for you. Do you have any goals? Is there a dream that needs nurturing? Are you dry and thirsty too? I'm all ears...

Be a blessing,