Happy New Year!! Well, 2024 was one for the books. It was a hard one: we had a ton of financial catastrophes, experienced significant spiritual warfare, lost important relationships and dealt with some scary health challenges. BUT. We made it through. This quote from Elizabeth Foss really resonated:
I give thanks — not in spite of the hard year, but because of it. I give thanks for the growth it has brought, the ways it has first challenged, and then deepened my faith, and the reminders it has offered about the things that truly matter. The moments of joy are sweeter because they’ve been hard-earned. The love feels deeper because it’s been tested. And the grace? It feels all the more precious because I’ve seen it in the places I least expected.
MY ONE LITTLE WORD FOR 2025
Year 13 for this OLW practice! (My previous words were Intention, Brave, Thrive, Learn, Slow, Roots, Notice, Gratitude, Light, Simple, Endurance and Abundance.) Each word has shaped me in its own way and I can’t imagine starting the new year without a guiding theme. For 2025, I went with a word with many diverse definitions: good.
good [adj] // [good]
morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious; of high quality; excellent; honorable or worthy; skillfully or expertly done; sufficient or ample; advantageous; satisfactory for the purpose; fertile; rich
The word actually started out as a joke between me and my husband. Have you ever seen Jocko Willink’s motivational video called Good? We started saying it to each other last fall when things would go sideways. Found a leak in the dining room that destroyed the flooring? Good. Had a separate home issue that cost $8,000 to repair? Good. Need to put our beloved boar down? Good. (Tears streamed down my face for that one.)
Anyway, the more I thought about my one little word, the more I knew this is what I needed in 2025. I need the re-calibration of my mind and emotions to seek out the good, true and beautiful. I’m also excited to dive deeply into the philosophical understanding of the word; I’m sure I’ll be sharing what I learn as I go.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9–10
A FEW GOALS FOR 2025
My goals for the new year ended up being more involved than usual, but I liked the idea of specific goals for the different “plates” in my life. I am a poor juggler but am hoping this will help me keep the most important things in view.
+ I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. – Psalm 27:13
+ Virtues to work on:
- Fortitude // the willingness to engage the arduous
- Perseverance // the virtue by which one persists in the arduous good until the end is achieved
- Patience // the ability to suffer evils well or the equanimity in the face of evils
- Humility // the willingness to live in accordance with the truth; refraint of the irascible appetite from striving for excellence beyond one’s state; not judging oneself greater than he is
- Hope // the virtue by which one awaits beatitude and has confidence in God’s aid
+ Mother Academia // Continue with the practice of pursuing knowledge.
This will ebb and flow throughout the year (busy times vs. less-busy times) but it’s not about the quantity. Wrestling with ideas, whether from one book or twenty, is the goal. On a tangible note: I’d like to continue (and hopefully complete!) my “Read 100 Books Off My Shelves Project.” So many interesting topics that tend to get buried behind new purchases!
+ Faith // Engage with the liturgical year in a deeper way.
I want to dig deeper into the Church’s feasts and fasts, saints days, novenas and prayers. Our tradition is rich and vast and I want to enjoy that inheritance in an intentional way.
+ Financial // Pay off that debt!
In the fall of 2020, we reached a significant milestone: minus the mortgage, we were completely debt free! Sadly, the past two years have been pretty rough financially and we’ve found ourselves back in debt. It’s been discouraging but if we’ve dug out once before, we can do it again! This will be another year of frugal living and reselling to get us back to that debt-free goal.
+ Farm // Begin again.
Another hard part of 2024 was the failure of many of our farm endeavors. We had animal death and crazy predator pressure and the breaking of expensive equipment. A very discouraging and tear-filled year! In 2025, we’ll concentrate on rebuilding our systems with a special focus on the garden.
+ Physical // Take care of myself.
I’m getting older and cannot continue to push myself to my absolute limit. I want to focus on good nutrition, getting regular blood work done and taking daily walks.
+ Home // Continue to cultivate a home we love.
This doesn’t necessarily mean buying more stuff! I’m thinking monthly declutter challenges will be helpful for this. I would also like to continue our DIY walls project as we have the time and extra money.
+ Creativity // Make things with my own hands.
I would like to prioritize seeing old projects to completion – I have multiple quilts to finish and supplies ready for projects I haven’t even started! Maybe I’ll even try a daily challenge?
You are inspiring with your words of hope and encouragement! God bless!
Thank you, Lori!
oooh, what kind of quilts?? That sounds like a fun project.
I have two hand-quilted projects that I really need to finish: one is a grandmother’s flower garden and the other is the scrappy “I spy” one I started a couple of years ago. I really should prioritize them soon since hand-quilting a massive blanket on your lap is pretty miserable in the summer, ha!
I resonate with the challenges you experiences in 2024. Looking forward to you experiencing good in 2025.
Wishing you lots of good things in the new year too, Dami!