2020 – What. A. Year.
There was a lot to deal with, wasn’t there? I won’t mention the big events that have been talked about over and over. We all know what they are. Instead, here’s a quick recap of my year, personally.
Early on in 2020, work got overwhelming. My very first post was to let everyone know the blog would be on hiatus for a while. Turned out it was almost the entire year. I didn’t post again until late September, but things were looking good. Work got lighter. I was preparing for NaNoWriMo in November to work on my very first novel. I was looking forward to a lot of things personally and here on the blog.
November arrived. I started NaNoWriMo. Then work got weird again. I got a little behind, but I was determined to push on and hit 50,000 words! Then I got sick, and we couldn’t figure it out. Doctors, blood work, an ER visit, and over a month later I’m finally starting to feel better. I spent roughly a month not wanting to do more than sit in a chair and stare at the television. Reading? Writing? Nope. Didn’t happen.
I read 16 books of my 24 book goal for the year. I didn’t hit my goal, but that’s ok. Life happened. Favorites for the year were The 5th Wave series for fiction, and Humble Calvinism for non-fiction.
2021 – Looking forward
My reading goal is staying set at 24 books. I like to set that as my minimum goal, because I know I’m capable of reading more than that when my life isn’t so mentally exhausting. Setting anything less feels like a cop-out, even if I end up not hitting the goal… which happens. I’m using the Visual Theology Reading Challenge to help me select books to read, and I already have 25 books picked out. I also have several books that I started in 2020 that I want to finish before starting on the challenge.
NaNoWriMo is gone, and the next is far off, but my novel is still calling. I so very badly want 2021 to be the year I finish my first draft. I want to expand my comfort zone and practice more with prompts. I want to enter more contests. I want to journal and create poetry. I want to write!
Most importantly, I want to grow in Christ. I want to read more of the Bible. I want to study more and dive deeper. My goal is to work through the Legacy Bible Reading Plan with my journaling Bible this year, and try to go through Ligonier Connect’s Dust to Glory series as it coincides with the books I’m reading.
A Reminder
The New Year isn’t magic. It’s not a reset. It’s a continuation of our ongoing history. Change doesn’t happen just because the year on the calendar changes. It’s up to us, relying on God and His grace, to make the changes we want and need to make; for ourselves, for the world, and for His Kingdom.
What about you? How was 2020? What are your hopes and goals for 2021? Drop a comment and let me know.
Header photo by Tairon Fernandez from Pexels
Jess Boudreaux 