Tag Archives: Emily P. Freeman

Prioritizing Your Goals (Guest Post)

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Prioritizing Your Goals

by Steph Beth Nickel

Now that January is drawing to a close, you’re likely reconsidering the goals you made at the end of 2023 or the beginning of this year. I know I am.

Instead of giving up entirely on those goals we haven’t yet achieved, it may be time to prioritize them. Of course, there may be those we have to set aside, but the answer could be to 1) categorize them, 2) prioritize them, and 3) choose one small step toward each goal we want to achieve.

I have goals in the following categories. You may too. I have prioritized them, although they are all important.

  1. Spiritual
  2. Physical
  3. Emotional
  4. Relational
  5. Financial

I also have goals that don’t necessarily fall neatly into one of these categories. For example, some of my writing will allow me to earn money, but not all of it will. To an extent, my volunteer responsibilities fall into the spiritual, emotional, and relational categories—and, indirectly, into the fifth category as well.

I very much enjoy Emily P. Freeman’s The Next Right Thing podcast and journal. These resources, among others, have helped me to break down big goals into smaller, more achievable ones.

As a Christian, my ultimate spiritual goal is to become more Christlike. For the first time in a long time, I’ve committed to making my way through the entire Bible this year (I am incredibly thankful for the audio versions of the Bible). Another goal is to use a prayer journal 5-7 times per week. (Thanks to Tracy Krauss, who created the Thirty Days of Targeted Prayer journal. I use it daily.)

I have yet to begin exercising, but doing so 3-5 times per week is my #1 goal in the second category. The odd thing is that I actually enjoy exercising. I just have to get started.

As an extravert, it’s important for me to spend time with friends and family. These times of connecting build me up both emotionally and relationally. Something as simple as watching a TV show with my hubby in the evening brightens my day. (Listening to audiobooks and podcasts also makes me feel connected to others.)

My hubby will be retiring at the end of the year. Therefore, it’s important that I continue to bring in funds so we won’t notice the loss of income as dramatically. This means taking on writing and editing jobs that come my way and completing the two books I’m currently working on so I can get them into the world.

These are my current goals and the steps I’m taking toward achieving them. Please note: Some days I spend more time vegging and watching YouTube videos than I do working toward my goals. I am definitely a work in progress. I’m far better at creating a list of goals than actually achieving them.

How about you? Have you prioritized your 2024 goals? What one step are you taking to achieve your top goal?

Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is a freelance editor and writer and an author. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at stephbethnickelediting@gmail.com.

You’re invited to visit her website: http://stephbethnickeleditor.com/.

You can join her Editing Tips Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351.

Review: A Million Little Ways, by Emily P. Freeman

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A Million Little Ways, by Emily P. FreemanA Million Little Ways, by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, 2013)

At first glance, you might think a book subtitled “Uncover the art you were made to live” was only for the painters, writers, sculptors etc. But it’s for anyone who wants their life to reveal God in “a million little ways.”

It’s about being close to Him, trusting that He is enough when we aren’t (and accepting that we really aren’t enough no matter how badly we want to be). It’s about discovering those things that give us joy and please Him (not running off to satisfy selfishness, but learning to recognize and embrace the gifts He’s given us to use in our lives).

This is a book about identity, calling us image-bearers of the God who created us and who calls us to reveal Him in our lives. What we do is to flow from who we are in Him.

Our gifts may be what’s traditionally labelled art, but they may also be preparing a meal, faithfully keeping a home, parenting our children. Waiting tables or fixing teeth. Part of the way we “live our art” is by being present in the moment instead of mentally jumping ahead to the next thing.

With honesty and transparency, the author shares from personal experience as she’s learning to apply these truths. As well as our identity and calling in Christ, she addresses topics like self-focus, fear of critics, and the anxiety of trying to manage future outcomes.

My copy of A Million Little Ways has plenty of page markers highlighting personally-relevant lines, and as always I’ve been blessed by the author’s message.

Emily P. Freeman’s website describes her ministry as “creating space for your soul to breathe so you can walk in step with your calling.” She offers a free 7-day ebook, 7 Little Ways to Live Art, and has an audiobook of daily devotions as well as other print books, plus a blog and podcast. For more about the author, visit http://emilypfreeman.com/.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman

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Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. FreemanGrace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, 2011)

This is a book for all the women whose honest desire to be good sets up impossible expectations and leads to hiding behind facades and fearing to be found out. Anxiety grows, and we struggle in our own strength instead of learning to rely on God. Hence the subtitle: “Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life.”

The author says, “Somewhere along the way, I got the message that salvation is by faith alone but anything after that is faith plus my hard work and sweet disposition” (page 13). Many of us fall into that trap, and Grace for the Good Girl can help us reset.

One of my favourite lines is about giving ourselves “permission to sit down on the inside and live like I have a God who knows what He’s doing” (page 65).

The book is in three sections: the hiding (in which we find out how we’re not alone in this after all), the finding, and the freedom of being found. It ends with a small group leader’s guide for an eight-week study.

Emily P. Freeman writes with transparency and candour about her own struggles, and shares the stories of other “recovering good girls.” The book is easy to read and encouraging. It points us back to relying on the character and grace of God, and to learning to live by faith instead of by feeling. It addresses core issues like anxiety, identity, emotions, and self-reliance, and while you likely won’t recognize yourself on every page, don’t be surprised to relate to at least a few of the stories.

The “try-hard life” is exhausting. Grace for the Good Girl points to freedom. Emily P. Freeman has also written A Million Little Ways and Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World. For more about the author and her ministry, visit emilypfreeman.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman

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Simply Tuesday, Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World, by Emily P. FreemanSimply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, 2015)

Subtitled “Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World,” Simply Tuesday calls readers to live in the everyday moments without the pressure to perform or to push on to the next big thing. Even the cover art, a quiet bench with birds and dragonflies, calls us to slow down.

Sections consider our home, work, relationships and souls, as well as a vision for what’s ahead. Readers are invited to find ourselves and our loved ones in the present, and to be present to Jesus with us. The book is part memoir and part an exploration of Christian living, shared by one who’s still learning through life (as opposed to one who’s nailed the answers).

It’s approachable and easy to relate to, an invitation to embrace and celebrate our smallness instead of condemning ourselves for our humanity. My favourite lines:

What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them. (p. 47)

True belief is movement toward God even in the midst of confusion or frustration or fear. (p. 78)

I can’t prevent storms from coming, but I can decide not to invent my own. (p. 209)

Emily P. Freeman writes with a transparency and a conversational style that will be familiar to anyone who follows her blog. Something I hadn’t noticed in her blog posts that made the book a little harder for me is the fluidity with which she shifts from past to present and back again. We do this in conversations, to add immediacy: “Fifteen years ago, I’m working at a local high school… It’s morning and the bell rings…” (p. 206) In printed form, I find this jarring. Maybe it’s the editor in me.

Simply Tuesday offers refreshment for anyone struggling in the try-hard life while her soul aches for a simpler pace and a bit of fresh air. It’s not anti-performance or opposing busyness. Instead, it’s a glimpse of what life might look like if we began to nurture the small things in our lives and if we accepted ourselves as who we are instead of always pushing to be more than we are. Highly recommended for weary souls.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Learning and Remembering

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“The problem isn’t that we aren’t learning. The problem is we forget.” (Emily P. Freeman, “How I Keep Track of What I’m Learning“)

Forgetting leads to remedial lessons and to missing the chance to learn even more. If you take time to read her post (well worth it, just click the link above) you’ll see her wonderful journal suggestion. journal and penI’d love one with graph paper markings (that’s the sort of paper I use in drafting my fiction ideas), but I went to Dollarama instead. Here’s the (straight-lined) one I chose.

I wondered why that particular colour resonated with me in the store. You’ll see in a minute.

I take notes at conferences and retreats. I even had a “listening journal” that I carried on a few trips, because God often speaks to me in snippets that string together over time. So why would I not have one for the day-to-day?

The idea is to review the notes regularly to reinforce the learning and discern any patterns. Of course, while it’s new and fresh, I’m extra alert. Here are a few recent online sources of my learning :

Janice L. Dick shares one reader’s response to her fiction that makes it all worthwhile: “The Power of the Spirit in Our Writing.”

God’s abundant supply involves far more than finances and material things. Check out the list Mary Waind includes in her blog post, “Abundance.”

When I put these two books side by side, I saw why the colour drew me:

Bible and journal... both the same colour

Bible and journal