Happy New Year!
We say that so easily, don’t we? We are sincere (I am being sincere!), but if we dig into the phrase, it contains our hopes and anxieties for the coming twelve months. We sure hope we all stay healthy and everything keeps going fairly smoothly. We hope that the difficulties we have with finances or kids or jobs resolve in a nice, positive way.
We could live with such a cloud over our heads, couldn’t we? But here’s the thing we can always fall back on. God knows the plans he has for us. They are plans for our welfare. A positive, exciting doorway. We can relax, whatever happens. (Jer. 29:11) Whew!
What are your plans for the coming year? We know God has good plans for us, but we can have plans too. Think about your passions, goals, things you definitely want to do before the end of the year or something you’d like to at least start by then. It can be fun and motivating!
I’ve always done goals at the start of every year. I tend to do them one quarter at a time since they’re less overwhelming for me and I can tweak them each new quarter. Of course, I always have fiction-writing goals. You may know that I also write nonfiction, but made a decision that I want fiction to be the major part of my writing work. I plan to implement that by this summer, so it’s at least 50% of what I do.
Having decided that, I knew I needed to restructure other things. Give them less time to make room for a larger fiction commitment. I wanted to make room for the thing that mattered most to me professionally.
What about you? What matters most to you? Does it get enough time?
Currently, I’m working on a sequel to my book Prodigals in Provence. The new book also takes place in Provence but follows the story of Lauren instead of Bree. I haven’t found a fitting title yet, so if you’ve read Prodigals in Provence, feel free to offer a suggestion! (I know, hard to do when you haven’t read the actual book!)
After that, there will likely be a book coming that’s set in Italy. Then maybe I’ll do one closer to home.
Another decision I’ve made is to move to quarterly newsletters instead of monthly posts. That will probably start this spring, but I’ll keep in touch in between once in a while, too.
I really do wish you a blessed 2019 and I hope many of your cherished goals and desires will be accomplished! We have every reason to expect the best!