Let's Talk About New Years' Resolutions

But it's only December 15!!! Right?

Well, I propose that you start drafting your new years' resolutions right now. In fact, I propose you even consider starting on them right now. The reason is simple: ANY DAY is the right day to start following your dreams.

What is the direction that you want your life to go? That is the most important question you could consider when it comes to exploring your life's purpose. And the question takes a lot of consideration and brainstorming to answer.

So, get out a pen and paper and start. Give yourself a solid 30 minutes to 1 hour to really dig in. Write out a list of the things that you value most: your family, God, your home environment, helping people, etc. Write out what your goals are as they pertain to each of your values. Your goals and values should be aligned so you're not just starting new projects arbitrarily. In other words, don't adopt another goldfish if your life's ambition is to travel and don't spend an extra hour at "work lunches" every day if your family life is a priority for you to cultivate.

The benefits of defining your goals right now is that you'll have a head start come the new year. You can get all the details prepared, you can "test" out your resolutions and refine them, you can narrow your focus, and you can build up your excitement and motivation.

I would also strongly recommend going through Chalene Johnson's 30 Day Push to refine your goals. It's a free online program that will push you toward your life's goals. It will help give aim to your ambitions.

Now, if you have fitness goals for this year, please contact me and I would love to help you reach them.

New Family Tradition: Jesse Tree

So, in years past, I have put together a fun Advent calendar for Kayne to make the countdown to Christmas meaningful and intentional. You can see some of our activities HERE and HERE. This year, I didn't know if I'd be able to maintain that level of involvement with our big move and everything. We'll still do a lot of those activities anyway, calendar or not. I was also thinking about how to make the countdown a bit more meaningful to the reason for the season.

So, I hopped on Etsy and typed in "Jesse Tree." My final decision came down to this set of ornaments. I just LOVE them. They came all wrapped up in a burlap sack with a printed scripture guide.

Starting a new tradition tonight with our new handmade Jesse tree. Wanted our countdown to Christmas to be extra meaningful this year. I found the ornaments on Etsy from Inspired Traditions. I can't wait to be able to pull these out each year! What are your family's favorite Christmas traditions? #christmastradition #jessetree #adventcalendar

A photo posted by Jessica Collins (@boun_seejess) on Dec 1, 2015 at 3:50pm PST

We've been sitting down every night, reading the verses in the guide and discussing the themes. Then, my son will place the ornament on the tree wherever he wants.

I can't wait to keep this tradition going. I'm thinking of buying the kids each their own set and tucking them away for when they move out of the house. I'm hoping that this is one of those traditions that they take with them for their own families and find comfort in the familiarity of the "back home" tradition.

Does your family do any sort of countdown to Christmas traditions? I love hearing stories about them!

Blessing Our Family's New Home

Guess what??? We moved!!! Well, if you couldn't guess that from the title of this post...

We found a country home where I know we'll be closer to where we really were meant to be. Hubster and I definitely do not feel the calling of the city in our bones, we feel the openness and organic nature of the country. We feel like we will be in a much safer, calmer place. We will be in a much more closely connected place.

What the view looks like from our new home.

A photo posted by Jessica Collins (@boun_seejess) on Nov 5, 2015 at 10:33am PST

I will save the details of the home for another post, but I'll just tell you we are very blessed and it was definitely meant to be. When we were putting our offer in, I prayed that if it was meant to happen, it would happen. And it happened, so I am at peace with it.

I felt a strong stirring to pray a blessing over our new home before moving in. I just think that God needs to be the first person to occupy it, to set the standard for our new place. We are just stewards of this home that is really God's. When we got the keys, we took a truck- and camper-load to the house and I planned to take some quiet time to pray over our new space.

In order to give my prayers a sense of permanence, a way to reuse them, and a way to reference them later, I wanted to put them in writing. So, I gathered a group of Bible verses that spoke to me about our new home the most. I printed them up in a document, cut them out, pasted them to some scrapbook paper that I had on hand, and tied them together with a piece of yarn. On the back of the scrapbook paper, I wrote a note or two about what the verses meant to me.

For example, "peace be to this house," not only means having our home protected by the Spirit, but it means a peaceful environment, one filled with warmth. I am hoping candles, blankets, artwork, and elements of nature will make our house feel like a haven. I want my home to be peaceful for my family in as many ways as possible.

If you would like to use my printable for your own home blessing, feel free to print it HERE. The very last page is where I hand wrote what I wanted to pray about.


This was the starting point of my prayers:

Lord, please
Bless our new home.
Bless the walls that hold our children and keep us safe.
Bless the memories that we will make here.
Bless our neighbors and our relationships with them.
May this be a place where people feel welcome.
Let every person that walks through the door know you are in our midst.
Lord, be where we are. Your presence is welcome and desired at all times.
Help us to honor you in this home as we start fresh in a new place.
Help our children grow in their knowledge of you here.
Help us raise them under your care and guidance.
There are reminders of your presence all around us here, inside and out.
Help us to really "see" them.
Help us to see you when we see your treasures in our backyard and inside our walls.

Amen!