Yelena’s 2020 Goals + An Invitation To Abundance
Goal setting used to be easier for me, back when my life track was a little more clear: get into college, graduate from college, get into law school, graduate from law school, get a job, get promoted, get a different job that aligns more with my personal priorities ... I checked all those life milestones.
Along the way, I also accomplished personal dreams, including traveling abroad, going on a mission trip, writing a book, growing a ministry here at Tirzah, and reading through the Bible in full (and those are just the top few favorites!). I still have so many dreams and goals I want to accomplish, but unlike the previous decade, these dreams don't follow a clear path anymore. You know the one? Graduate from high school, go to college, graduate, get a job, work a bit, get married, have babies and grow old together.
It's like I got stuck half way on the path and I didn't know what to do next, because being unmarried in my late twenties feels a bit like an unknown path. Lately though, God has been teaching me that I don't need to know where the path is going as long as I stay the path and follow the One leading me. I don't need the world to give me life milestones to achieve, instead I need to focus on what I have now and make the most of this season without having an answer about where I'll be 5 years from now.
This is where my word for the year comes from: abundance. I want to give generously out of my abundance: in finances, in time, in my skills and experiences, in my talents, in my words, and with all of me.
I just finished "I Dare You" by William Danforth (highly recommend!), and he explains this principle of life: "Our most valuable possessions are those which can be shared without lessening; those which when shared multiply. Our least valuable possessions are those which when divided are diminished."
Danforth writes about how when we give from what we have in service to others, we actually get more in return. That the people with the greatest capacities are those who are the most generous.
For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. -Matthew 13:12
Remember the Bible stories about the loaves of bread and fish that Jesus used to feed thousands? In his book, Danforth points out that this story teaches us to have an attitude that takes account of resources possessed rather than of difficulties presented: "Don't count the multitude. Count the loaves...resources and powers are given to those who use what resources and powers they have."
For example, Dr. Fosdick writes in "The Meaning of Service:"
"The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are made of the same water. It flows down, clear and cool, from the Hermon and the roots of the cedars of Lebanon. The Sea of Galilee makes beauty of it, for the Sea of Galilee has an outlet. It gets to give. It gathers in its riches that it may pour them out again to fertilize the Jordan plain.
But the Dead Sea, with the same water, makes horror. For the Dead Sea has no outlet. It gets to keep. That is the radical difference between selfish and unselfish [wo]men. We all do want life's enriching blessings; we ought to; they are divine benedictions. But some [wo]men get to give, and they are like Galilee; while some [wo]men get to keep and they are like the brackish water that covers Sodom and Gomorrah."
We're called to be good stewards of what we have - to multiply, not to hoard what we've been given (Matthew 25:14-30). It doesn't matter what you think you don't have or what the world tells you that you need before you can achieve something. God says we have everything we need for a Godly life (2 Peter 1:3), He provides for all of our needs (Phil. 4:19) and equips us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17). His power is at work in us (Eph. 3:20)!
In Jesus Christ, there is no scarcity. There is only abundance and completion. Even if you have nothing material in this world, if you have Christ as your Savior and God as your Father, you have everything.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. -Ps. 23:5
For a long time, I saw my singleness as scarcity - an empty area of my life that somehow made the rest of my life feel incomplete. But, I'm learning that this is not so. I already have everything I need for today. My life is complete. My cup of blessing and provision overflows. So, I must steward well what I have in this season, and I do that by using what I have for the service of others and for the glory of God.
Technically, 2019 ended a decade, but 2020 feels more like that for me: a harvest, a sweet season of giving out of the abundance of the last 10 years of striving, hustling, learning, working and constantly chasing more and more. So, here are some of the goals on my list on how I hope to live this out:
Read through the Bible again this year (OT once, NT twice, Psalms/Proverbs 4x). I did this plan last year and although it was a challenge from my usual (read the OT and NT once each year), when I went to choose a plan for 2020, I just couldn't picture myself scaling back to read less of the Word. However, I do want to read deeper - so, the same amount of reading assignments, but more time spent in the Word, including more journaling of what God reveals to me.
Pray specific prayers and journal my prayers + how God answers (using this prayer journal!)
Build community locally and cultivate deeper friendships
Publish my first book on the single season (the manuscript is complete, now I need to figure out the next steps!)
Write and publish/print a devotional Bible study on waiting
Introduce two new Tirzah projects (announcement coming soon!)
Commit to volunteering and getting involved in my local community
Fill my mind and time with things that have eternal value and are edifying to me spiritually, mentally, physically and socially. This 4-square concept is from Danforth's book and ties in with my word of the year: out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. I want to be filled with good things so I can pour out encouragement and Light. Practically, this means spending less time on social media (taking a week off each month from social media), cutting out television, reading more edifying books and listening to podcasts.
Participate in Nancy Ray's contentment challenge (be content with the stuff I have!)
Run a 5k in May to support Girls on the Run (I'm on the board of our local chapter and am so passionate about the mission of this organization!)
Most of these goals are not "new" - these are things and projects I've been working on for awhile that I want to grow in and to take them deeper. Basically, I want to use what I have well and use it to serve and encourage others (sense a pattern here?!) instead of looking for something new and shiny.
You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. -Ps. 65:11
I'm also trying to approach my goals in a quarterly format, because I want to leave room for God to work. 2020 still feels unknown and uncertain, but I do know what I'm called to do today. This month. This quarter. I want to be faithful in that. A lot of these goals will span the entire year (like reading the Bible in full and building community), but a lot of these projects I've already been working on so I just need to finish them in the next few weeks.
I would love to invite you to join me in approaching 2020 from a mindset of abundance. We live in a world constantly striving for more - the newest iPhone, the latest clothing trends, more followers, more stuff, more ambitions, more everything, but what if we lived as ones who already have everything? What if we lived content and faithful to what we've been given today? What if we lived a poured out life for God and in service to others?
In Danforth's words, "And when you have dared to develop this ability to share with others you have discovered the meaning of an abundant life."
What is your word for 2020? What are some of the goals you're working towards this year?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Or leave a comment on our social media channels!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yelena is the founder and editor in chief Tirzah. Yelena works as an attorney in tax and in her spare time, she is working on her first book for unmarried twenty-something women in extended waiting seasons and running Tirzah. She has a passion for pointing young women to Christ, and enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her family.