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What's up, guys? Welcome back to another episode of Stay True podcast. I am your host, Madison Pruitt Trout, and welcome back to Stay True. We are having the first ever podcast in our new house. I feel like I need, like, a sound effect. Powder them. It's our new house, guys. This is not the Stay True studio. This is not what it's going to look like. We are improvising. This is like the one area in the whole house that's almost done. There are boxes everywhere. I have, if you're watching this video, broken a nail and I can barely breathe. This child is. This baby girl inside of me is pushing up on my lungs. And so if I take a lot of deep breaths in this episode, that's why. But this is exciting because this is the first podcast I'm recording in our new house, which is so fun. It has been such a crazy week. We've only been in this house for one week as I'm recording this podcast and I am obsessed with it, you guys. It is truly such a God story of how we even got this house and found this house. And it's what I've dreamed of. Like, it's an older home. It was built in, like, 1970 something, but it's so cute. And it's just the kind of home that you want to, like, kick your shoes off, run around. There's a. It's a big backyard. And that's really what I wanted for our little girl and for raising kiddos was I wanted to have a house that felt homey, that felt welcoming, and that had a yard that she can play in and that kids can play in. So I am so thankful. And apartment life is over. I'm also very thankful for that because. And that sounds bad. I. The apartment was great. It just is really hard when you're really pregnant. And you know what? We had a roof over our head, and I'm very thankful for that. But, like, going up and down an elevator and taking groceries with you up and down an elevator while you're pregnant, not ideal, let me tell you. And your girl orders a lot of packages and there was like a mail room downstairs. You had to go get your packages with, like, everyone else's packages. And they were constantly upset with us because I had a lot of packages in there. So I'm very excited that we have our own home now. And I can just like, pull up to the door. Packages come straight to the door. And this is definitely going to be one of those homes that's like your doing, like, little projects for a while. Like, it's a. Not a necessarily a fixer upper. Like, it looks. It looks good. It's presentable, but there's definitely a few things we're probably gonna continue to, like, fix and add here and there. Like I said, it's an older home, so it's just got. It's got character, guys. It's got history, and it's so cutie. And so I'm so excited about it. I am ready to put together baby girl's room. I am, like, itching to have this nursery done. That was the thing that was so hard living in an apartment was. I knew it was temporary, and I couldn't order any nursery stuff, and I just was like, what if she comes early, like, and she doesn't have a place to stay? And I'm like, okay, don't be ridiculous. She literally can sleep in a bassinet next to you in your room, and she'll be fine. She won't even know the difference. But the nestingness in me was like, we have to get into our home. I have to start in the nursery. So I haven't really started on it yet. I have been sent some sweet little gifts from friends and even some fun, like, very kind brands have sent some gifts, but we have, like, blankets and lots of clothes. Of course she's got lots of clothes. People have sent lots of clothes. Very kind. But no furniture yet. So she does not have furniture, but need to start ordering that soon. We are taking it, like, one room at a time. Our bedroom's done. The living room and kitchen is basically done. And then this is what we call our library room. And I could not be, like, I could literally cry right now. I love a library room. Like, just seeing a bunch of books just makes me really happy. Like, I was the girl who would always go into Barnes and Noble and just, like, sit in there and smile and, like, read different books off the shelf or even, like, start working in there. I would work on my book in Barnes Noble or, like, books a million. One of the bookstores. And it just makes me happy. It's like, you have so many different stories represented. You have so much wisdom represented, and it just. It's really amazing. So I'm very excited about this room. These chairs won't stay here, actually, so. So I just put them here for this podcast because it's going to take a while for the Stay True studio to come together. You guys, we have. I have a very exciting project in mind for it. Some of you guys have sent some really awesome things of ideas that you have for Stay True podcast studio. And so I'm excited to get started on it, but it is going to take some time, so it probably won't be done until after baby comes, like after maternity leave. So for now, we are bebopping around in still some different studios in Tennessee. I'll have a guest on next week that I'm excited about that'll be in a studio here in Tennessee. But honestly, most will probably be shot in here and we have a couple different chairs we could, like, switch out, but it's really fun. So, yeah, this is the library room. I'll have to do some kind of, like, house tour or something here soon to show you guys what we're working with. But right now it's honestly still a mess. There's boxes everywhere, and you guys would be just disinterested in seeing it right now. But anyways, I miss you guys. How are you? What's going on? What's new? How are we feeling? The. The year is done, you guys. What is. How. How is 2024 over? Like, that's insane to me. That's insane. I remember when I got pregnant and found out in. When did I find out? May. Yeah, I found out in May, and I found out my due date was, like, very end of January, and I was like, that's so far away. I have so much time, y'all. We're here. We're literally here. How insane is this? I can't believe it. I can't believe that the year is over. We're starting a new year. 2025, baby. I gotta get used to that. There's lots of good and fun things coming in 2025 that I can't wait to share with you guys. Lots of fun projects that I've been working on and spending a lot of time and energy and pouring my heart and soul into and just praying over and praying for thinking about you guys, and I can't wait to share them with you. But also, first things first, we gotta have a baby. So I'm just gonna ask every week if you guys think about me, pray. Pray for baby girl. Pray for this labor and this birth. No idea if she'll come early. If she'll come late. I've told you guys, the plan is to just batch out a lot of content so that I can keep this podcast going for as long as possible. And then we will take, like, probably two to three weeks off from posting so that I can kind of get my feet under me and get the podcast studio set up and start getting some fun interviews going and come back better than ever. So I am so excited for this next season. I can't believe. I mean, we're coming up on, like, a year of Stay True podcast. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's been, like, nine months so far, I think, and you guys have been so amazing. I mean, I cannot believe the way this community has grown and just the. Just the love I feel from you guys, the. The encouragement I'm hearing that it's giving you guys and the way it's challenging and growing your faith, it just brings tears to my eyes and makes me so happ. So I'm excited for the future of Stay True. Lots of fun things to come. But, yeah, if you guys think about me at all, just pray for baby girl. But anyways, let's jump into the meat of the episode. What are we talking about? Where are we going? Why are we here? What's up? So I was thinking it's the end of the year, it's the beginning of a new year. I don't know. When you're listening to this episode, technically I think that this is coming out December 30th. So you're either listening to it at the end of December, or you're listening to it at the beginning of January, most likely. Or maybe just some random time. Maybe you're listening to it way into the next year, 2025. But either way, I thought this would be a really, really good time to talk about vision, casting, and goal setting, because we're headed into a new year, and this is a time where I really like to reflect on the past year, reflect on 2024, and dream about and prepare for. And so this is something I do every single year, naturally, like, by myself and with my husband and with my family. It's something I grew up doing with my family and something that Grant and I do now together, and something we will eventually do with our children. And so I thought this would be perfect to do on stage. True podcast. And so we're going to kind of jump around into talking about 2024 and reflecting, as well as dreaming for 2025, setting goals, casting vision, and how we can set godly goals and how we can cast vision and set a vision before ourselves that we can actually walk out like that's actually attainable, and how to set goals that will last, how to set goals that will glorify God, how to set goals that we can actually be consistent in. Because what happens a lot of the times is at the beginning of the year, we set all of these goals and then we look back at those goals at the end of the year and we're like, I didn't accomplish any of those. And if I'm being honest, I've been there, I've done that. And so no shame, no shade, come as you are. But we're gonna continue to challenge ourselves, to create goals and create vision that can actually last. And to create goals that will glorify God and create goals that will promote our God given purpose and lead us down and closer to our God given purpose, create goals and vision that will lead us closer to Jesus. And so is what we're going to be talking about today, guys. And so first things first, we need to reflect on 2024. How was 2024 for you? Was 2024 a really, really hard year? Was 2024 your best year ever? Was 2024 exactly what you expected, not what you expected? Did you accomplish some of your goals? Did you not accomplish a single goal that you had for yourself? I mean, this is the time to be really honest and real with yourself. Because the only way we can become who we're meant to be is to be honest about who we are right now. And so you have to ask yourself, who am I right now? Then you have to ask yourself, who do I want to be? And then you ask yourself, what is it going to take to get there? And so you have to have a starting point. You have to know where you're starting in order to end up to where you want to be and to where your goal and where your vision is. And the way we do that is by reflecting on the past year, by reflecting on our past patterns and how, you know, if you want to go month by month, this is something Grant and I really like to do. We like to sit down and we kind of go through each month. And so this is something we will do or at this point, maybe have already done by the time this episode's coming out. But we'll sit down and we'll reflect on the past year and we'll just talk about individually and together. Like, if you're listening to this and you're married, I encourage you to do it individually and I encourage you to do it as like a couple and as a. And with your spouse. And so we'll sit down and we'll do it, you know, individually. I'll go through, like, professionally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, relationally, mentally, all of those areas. How I was in 2024 things that I was proud of, things that I accomplished, goals that I hit, and then things that I'm not so proud of, things that I want to grow in, things that I want to change, things that were weaknesses that I. That I realized. Um, also asking myself, like, what did God teach me in 2024? That's a really good question to. To ask yourself, what did God teach me in 2024? What was the biggest lesson that I can take away from 2024? And Grant, I will just sit there and we'll ask each other questions, and we'll go back and forth and, you know, look at pictures, like, go through the whole year on our camera roll. A lot of the times, you guys, my memory is so bad that I'm like, I literally have to look at my camera roll, or I have to look at my calendar, or I will not remember which, you know, we' we're praying for a better memory. But anyways, I really encourage you guys, like, before you sit down and you make goals and you write out a vision for this new year, I encourage you to start with reflecting on your past year. The things that you're proud of, the things that you're not proud of, the things that went right, the things that went wrong, the things that you liked, the things that you want to change, the, you know, growth areas, the strength areas. Write down all of those things and take time to really reflect. Like, take time to really sit still before the Lord and not just reflect on your past year, but take time to thank God. Like, take time to be grateful for the ways that he showed up for you, even if it was a hard year and even if it didn't go according to plan or what you expected to happen. I know because of the God that I serve that he showed up for you in some way. And maybe it was literally just to, like, keep you going and to help you. Just, like, to have another day. Like, to not give up and to not give in. You know, maybe it was that friend he put in your life this past year. Maybe it was, you know, that job you were hoping for, waiting for. Maybe it was the. The person you've been praying for. A spouse or a child you got into school. Or maybe for you, like, it was you'd had a strained relationship, and you had committed the entire year to praying for that relationship, and you're now starting to see reconciliation and restor in that relationship. Like, what has God done this past year in your life? And what can you take time to thank him for? Because we always want to we always want to come from a place of gratitude. We always want to come from a place of thanksgiving. And it talks about in Scripture, like, devote yourself to prayer and be watchful and be thankful. Be grateful. It says in another place in Scripture, like, we should be praying continually, always giving thanks, always rejoicing in the Lord. And so as we end this past year and go into a new year, take time just to thank the Lord, Take time to write down what you're grateful for. Something I've started doing lately with an accountability partner that has truly, like, changed my life because something I got convicted about was complaining. Like, I got really convicted about complaining and just being negative. I would find myself even doing things that I prayed for or, you know, an opportunity would happen or. Or a situation would happen that it's literally something I had prayed for, and I still found myself complaining about it. Like, I would have an opportunity to interview someone amazing on my podcast or an opportunity to do something for a book or an opportunity to meet someone new or I don't even know and speak somewhere. And it's something I've prayed for and hoped for and was excited about at one time. But then I found myself just getting in this, like, monotonous, like, bad attitude, ungrateful spirit and just complaining a lot. And I got really convicted about it. And so I grabbed a friend and I said, let's start texting each other every single day three things that we're grateful for. And y'all, it has been a game changer. It really has. And maybe that's something you should start doing in this new year, this next year that you should implement is you grab a friend and every single day, you text each other three things that you're grateful for. Because when you have a gratitude attitude, it changes everything. I promise you, it changes everything. What. When you used to struggle with comparison with insecurity, with fear, with complaining, with gossip, with whatever it may be, I'm telling you, having a grateful spirit and having a thankful heart, it changes so much about your day. You go from, like, thinking about something that's negative or complaining or something you're afraid of or something you're insecure about and you're thinking through a lens of, like, what is God up to? And how can I make a difference in someone's life? And what is God doing in. In my heart and in my life right now? And how. How good is God? Like, look at. Look at him and. And just changes your attitude. And therefore, then it changes your relationships and it changes your work and it bleeds into everything. And so having a gratitude attitude was definitely something that I knew I needed to work on. And it's something I've been working on and I'm very thankful for and couldn't do it without an accountability partner. And so, yeah, just like, reflecting back on this past year and thinking about all that God has taught me and all that, you know, I have had to surrender and all that I have had to let go of, and all that I have had to grow in, but also all the ways that God has come through in a miraculous way, and all the ways that God has come through just to continue to prove his faithfulness and his mercies that are new every morning. And I'm so grateful for that. And so I. I look back this past year and there's so much I have to be thankful for. There's so much I have to rejoice in the Lord for. And I will take time, you know, before this year is over to do that, to do that with the Lord, to take time in prayer and just thank him, to take time in journaling and just journal about what all happened this past year and all that I'm grateful for. And then to take time to sit down with my husband and maybe even some friends and talk about it, and talk about how God moved and talk about all that I'm grateful for. And so I really wanna encourage you guys again before we start talking about vision, casting and goal setting. What's gonna be really, really important is to reflect back on this past year, to really ask yourself the hard and the intentional questions. Search your. Search yourself, search your heart, look back on this past year and really ask yourself those questions. Because in order to get something different, in order to grow, in order to get better, in order to. In order for there to be change in any way, we have to do something different. We have to know what we're starting with, and we have to know where we're at right now in order to implement any kind of a. Or any kind of a vision or any kind of a goal, to take steps forward. And so looking back, reflecting, looking at past patterns of just like, who you were spiritually, who you were emotionally, who you were relationally, who you were physically, and taking time to ask yourself those questions, journaling, talking them out with people, highly encourage you guys to do that, because we shouldn't set future goals without taking time to reflect on past patterns, because great goals with poor patterns leads to a dead end. So if you had poor patterns in your past, even if you're headed into a new year and you have these great goals that you've written down and you've sent out to all of your friends. If you don't confront the poor patterns, that's just going to bleed into your next year. That's just going to bleed into this next chapter. And so you have to reflect and go back to these past patterns and ask yourself, where do I need to grow? Where do I need to improve? And two questions that I really love asking myself is, what is something or some things that I did in this past year and in this past season that were helpful that I need to continue in this next season that I need to continue in this next year? And then another question is, what are some things or what is something that I did that was hurtful, that was hurtful to my relationship with Jesus, that was hurtful to my purpose, that was hurtful to my relationships with others that I need to stop doing and that I don't need to carry into this next, next season and this next year. Those are really good questions to ask when we're talking about reflecting on our past year and looking at past patterns. Who was I spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally and looking back over this past year and asking yourself, okay, what are my growth areas? And then what were my strength areas? And what do I want to carry into the next year? And what do I want to break free from and not, not carry into this next year? Okay, now let's talk about vision, casting and goal setting for this new year, which is so exciting. I am so excited for a new year. Obviously, a lot in my life is about to change. I'm about to enter motherhood, which is crazy for the first time. And I just can't even put into words how excited I am for becoming a mom. Like, I could cry how much I already love this baby girl so much. I already feel so connected to her. I just can't wait. She's like my little bestie and she's the cutest thing ever. I tell everyone she's never made a mistake and she never will. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But you know, my goals headed into this next year are going to be very different than my goals from this past year because my season's changing and I'm about to become a mom. And so I've even been thinking so much lately, you know, some things that were convicting for me as I reflect back on this past year and I'm heading into a new year and a brand new season with becoming A mom is. I run at a really fast pace. Like, I am a very go, go, go, go person. I'm an activator. I get things done. I have a lot going on. You know, I'm constantly writing or recording or filming or. I don't know, of different things in a lot. And, like, there's a lot of different bubbles and there's a lot of different lanes. And I can often feel really exhausted, really worn out, really tired, really burdened, and, like, I can't do it all, but yet I still feel the pressure to do more. And I was just sitting with the Lord the other day and, you know, just was reflecting and his faithfulness and how he's been so faithful to me my whole life. But even stepping into this new season with, you know, about to become a mom and how now I'm gonna have this little angel baby, you know, looking up to me and paying attention to me and the, you know, the example that I set and the way that I. I model life for her. And in thinking about my life, you know, in this past year and really the past few years, I've been operating at such a pace that feels more worldly than it feels godly, to be honest, even though I'm doing work for the Lord. And this is me just, just being so honest and confessing to you guys, but I've just been running at such a fast pace because that's the pace that our world runs at. Because even in the Christian space, even in the Christian influencer space, quote unquote, even in the Christian pastor speaker space, quote unquote, there's this unhealthy pace to do more, to be more, to post more, to put out more content, to produce more. And it just leaves you in this endless cycle of feeling like you can never do enough and that you're trying to constantly keep up and that you're constantly trying to, you know, you're looking at the person to the right and to the left, and they're doing this and they're doing that and they're doing. So I gotta do this and now I gotta do that and now. And it's just exhausting. And that is not the way Jesus has called me to live. That is not the way Jesus called you to live or any of us to live. And so if you feel that way, hopefully this is encouraging as I share this. But I just was getting convicted. Because if I look at the pace of Jesus, if I look at the way that Jesus lived his life, he was never in a hurry. He Was never in a rush. He had very intentional ministry. Yes, he still spoke to the thousands. He still spoke to the big crowds, but most of his ministry was done with his closest people. And for 30 years of his life, his ministry was hidden. No one ever saw it. We don't know much about his 30 years of ministry before his public ministry, because what we read about in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that's his public ministry. That's when, you know, he became famous. Low key, like, everyone knew who he was. Brother was controversial. Like, everyone was talking about him. Everyone wanted to follow him or be around him or wanted to crucify him. And so he became this public figure. But for 30 years of his life, he wasn't. Like 30 years of his life was hidden. And we don't know much about those 30 years, but I know he was doing ministry whether it was in his home, whether it was at his local church, whether it was, you know, with his, with his friends. Like, he was, we know he was a carpenter. And so even looking at his public ministry, even looking at the three years that we do have to look at, it was still so slow. Like, it was still so slow and so intentional. And you look at the way he did ministry and the way he did life, and it was, he was so intentional. He had his 12 disciples that he was constantly pouring into. He was constantly pouring into his 12 people. And then, but then even within those 12 people, he had his three main people, you know, James, John and Peter. Those were his three main guys, and those were his guys that he took with him to, like, some of the most intense, crucial moments of his ministry that no one else got to witness or see. And which shows me not only is it important to have a circle of people that you're pouring into, but it's also important to have a close knit circle of those being like your people, you know, like your accountability, your. Your friends, your people. But then just looking at the way he did things, like, he, he walked everywhere and he was never in a hurry. He was constantly like being interrupted. He was very interruptible. Like he let people interrupt. And so people would come up and constantly ask for healing or engage in dialogue and conversation. And he would even go out of his way sometimes to go to, to meet people for a ministry moment. He would withdraw constantly and get alone with the Father. We see this all throughout his, his public ministry life. His pace was very slow. It was very intentional, it was very interruptible. It was very flexible, and it was, was very submitted to the Father. It was very submitted to the Holy Spirit. And so I am very convicted that my pace should not look like cultures. My pace in life should look like Jesus. As a follower of Jesus, I should be not trying to keep up with the world. I should be trying to follow Jesus. I should be trying to keep up with the words of God. I should be trying to obey the commands of God. And so in this next season, for me, something I want to carry into 2025, is I want to be slow. I want to have my slower mornings with the Lord. And I know that this looks different for everyone. So I'm not saying, like, I know all of our jobs and our things are different, so I'm not saying, like, six hours with the Lord and, like, you know, in the mornings, but just a slower morning that's not so, like, I gotta check it off. I gotta do this, I gotta do that. And definitely not one that's starting on my phone and not one that's starting, you know, in a hurry or in a rush, but. But just, like, sitting with the Lord, you know, taking time to go outside and just sit with the Lord and be with the Lord. And now in, you know, becoming a mom, I want to be slow in my time with my daughter. I don't want to feel, you know, stressed or amped up or, you know, like, I gotta get this done. I gotta get this done. It's like, I just want to be so calm. I want to be so intentionally paced. I want to be not just not in a hurry and, you know, fully present with where I'm at. And I think that if we just get caught up in culture, we'll constantly feel this pressure, even in the goals that we set, even in the vision that we set for our life, that it looks more like the world than it looks like Jesus. It looks more like keeping up with others than keeping up with Jesus and following in the steps of Jesus. And so even as you go into this next year and you start thinking about goals that you want to set and, you know, a vision that you want to cast for this next year of your life, really ask yourself, like, what is the. The. The end goal? Like, what. What is the. The reason for these goals? And what is it going to ultimately lead me to? Is it leading me closer to success? Is it leading me closer to, you know, having a lot of fame and a lot of followers and. And having people think this amazing thing about me and going higher up in my job? Or is it leading me closer to Jesus? Is it leading me closer to serving People, is it leading me closer to my God given purpose here on this earth? And am I, am I comparing what, what I'm called to do with my life with culture or am I comparing it with Christ? And that is something that we should be asking ourselves continuously. Not even something we should wait till the end of the year to ask. Like, we should be having these little like check ins and reflection moments with ourselves weekly, monthly, you know, and have people invite people into that as well. Like we should have accountability that we're inviting into those spaces. You know, ask me, like I want to tell my friends, ask me how I'm doing. Am I, am I trying to keep up with the Kardashians or am I trying to keep up with Christ? Like am I trying to, am I, am I running my race so hard that I'm, I'm. And when I say running my race so hard, am I running around so hard that I'm so distracted by things that I'm totally missing just abiding in the presence of the Lord that I'm totally missing just serving the person in front of me that I'm totally missing loving my spouse. Well, being a present mom, like that is so important for me as I'm entering in this new season. And what's been weighing heavy on me is like, I don't want to set all of these goals that lead me, you know, to become something that I'm not even really proud of. I'm just trying to like, show off and be flashy with. But what I ultimately want deep down is to have a strong and intimate relationship with Jesus. What I ultimately want deep down is to have a strong marriage and a healthy marriage. What I ultimately want deep down is to have peace. Like, to have peace to sleep at night and to not be anxious all the time. What I ultimately want deep down is to be a good mom and to raise kids, to love God and fear God. What I ultimately want deep down is to have good community and to be planted into a local church and to serve the people around me. Like, those are my goals. Like, if I'm really honest with myself, that's what I ultimately want. But if I don't take time to really ask myself and search the scriptures and search my heart and, and remember what really matters most, then my goals are going to become, you know, grow on Instagram, you know, start this tour, like, do this new thing, you know, like, build this for myself. Like, it's just gonna all be about building my own brand and my own name. And that's not what I want ultimately, deep down, like, it might be what I want in a moment because I'm comparing my life to other people's or because I'm trying to keep up with culture. But when I really take time to sit with the Lord and I really take time to dive into the word of God and, you know, pursue the life he's called me to live, I realize, wow, my goals are actually not that at all. And so I start with that, because as we head into a new year and we set these goals for ourself, we really have to ask ourself, like, what matters most? And what are these goals leading us towards? Like, what. What is. What's the point of the goal? And for me, you know, I want to be really healthy spiritually. I want my relationship with Jesus to be the most important thing in the entire world. And so what is something that I need to stop doing that I did in 2024 and that I need to start doing in 2025 that's gonna lead me closer to that goal of getting even closer to Jesus, you know, of spending less time on my phone and spending more time in the word of God, spending less time complaining and gossiping and talking about things and worrying about things and more time praying about things. You know, spend less time going to another person first and go to God first. Like, spend less time, whatever it may be, spend less time watching TV shows and more time reading books and listening to podcasts or listening to sermons. Like, I want to start implementing some of these goals that, you know, are things that I need to stop doing and things that I need to start doing that are gonna lead me closer to my ultimate goal of being close with Jesus. Okay, so why do we set goals? Why do we have, you know, vision in the first place? And how do we. How do we get here? Like, how do we set goals? How do we set goals that last? How do we make goals that are Godly? Why is it important? What is it? Where is that in Scripture? Let's talk about it. So let's talk, like, practically about what it looks like to set a vision for yourself, to set some goals for yourself, and why that's important. So the first reason it's important is it talks about in scripture, in Proverbs 29, without the vision, people perish. Without vision, people perish. Without vision, there is no. When you don't have vision, you have no aim, you have no purpose, you have no direction. And so it's so important to have a vision, to have a goal. And to know what that is, to have a clear vision. And so the first thing is we need to have a clear vision. And it doesn't need to just be like, yeah, I want to be better than the year before. Like, yeah, I. I wanna. You know, I just. I want 20, 25 to be awesome. Like, we have to have a clear vision. What do I want? Where do I wanna see myself grow spiritually? How do I want to see myself grow in my relationships? Like, what is that vision? How do I want to grow relationally? Do I want to stop hanging around certain friends because they're pulling me away from my calling and away from Jesus, and I want to start hanging out with more godly friends and get plugged into a local church where I can actually find friends that push me closer to Jesus? Like, is that the vision? Is that the goal? Maybe relationally, I need to stop being. I need to stop gossiping. I need to watch my mouth more. Maybe relationally, I need to stop being so easily offended. Like, I need to stop having an offended spirit. You know, maybe my goal spiritually is to start reading the Bible every day, to start praying every day. Maybe my goal professionally is to show up at work on time and never be late. Like, maybe my goal professionally is to stop complaining about my job and to show up and have a good attitude. Maybe my goal professionally is to. Is to get the promotion and is to work to keep rising up and to keep growing in my profession. There's nothing wrong with that. But setting those goals and having a clear vision of like, what is that vision? What is that goal? And I would break it down spiritually, relationally, emotionally, you know, physically, I would. I would write those things out when you're thinking about setting goals. But you have to have a clear vision. Again, it says in Proverbs 29, without the vision, people perish. Perish. Without vision, we will perish. Without vision, we have no direction. Without vision, we cannot be who God has called us to be. The vision has to be clear, and the vision needs to be written down. Which leads me to point number two. Write the vision down, it says in Habakkuk 2. 2. And the Lord answered me, Write the vision, make it plain on tablets. So he may. So he may run. Who reads it? It's so important for us to write, write down the vision. Because I think when we just keep it in our heads, when we just keep it in our minds, and we don't actually write it down and we don't actually say it out loud, it doesn't become real, it doesn't become important. And so for me, something that I am so big on is I will journal about it. I will also text my friends whatever my goal is or whatever my vision is. I will oftentimes even put it on, like, a sticky note on my computer, on my mirror, sometimes even my phone background. And I'm constantly writing things down in my notes app on my phone. Like, literally, you could, like, spend hours and hours and hours and probably even days going through the things on my phone, like my notes app on my phone, because that's where I key I write down everything. And so that's just a little side piece that has nothing to do with writing down the vision. But I believe in the power of writing down the vision. And not only is it helpful for, you know, making that vision clear and permanent in your mind and making it important in your mind, but it's also helpful for when you're reflecting. Like when we're headed into 2026, you're gonna have that vision you wrote down for 2025, and you're going to be able to go back and you're going to be able to look at that and say, wow, like God, God did this. You know, we did this. We, we. We ran our race. We completed the task. We were faithful to the vision that we set before us, us that we set before ourselves. And so writing down the vision, it helps keep you on task for this year, but it also is really helpful as this year passes to reflect back. And scripture talks about the importance of writing it down, writing it down on a tablet, writing it down. And so I encourage you to physically write it down on, like a journal on a piece of paper. And then also, if you want to take it a step further, like writing it down on your phone and sending it out to friends to have. Have them hold you accountable in it. The third thing that's really important to talk about when we're talking about vision casting is number three. Make sure the vision is realistic. Make sure the goal is realistic. Don't make these crazy, unrealistic goals. If you're anything like me, this was. This was literally the hardest part for me. When I was like, I mean, even like three years ago, I would make these goals and write down these things that I wanted to do that were just, just so unrealistic or that I just had no control over. Like, you know, and there's nothing wrong. Like, sometimes you can have a dream or a goal that you're really hoping for and praying for. That's Just in God's hands. And you really have no control over it, like a promotion or like, finding a spouse. But I would constantly write down these things that I either had zero control over or that just was super unrealistic, you know, like, work out two times a day, only eat, eat this or what I. Whatever and that. And I would make so many. Like, I would have five or six goals just under the physical category, and then I would have, like, five or six goals just under the spiritual category. And then I would have, like, five or six goals like, under every single category. And it just became unrealistic. Like, literally by week three into the new year, I hadn't accomplished anything that I had set out to do. And so it's so important that when we're setting goals and when we're casting vision that it's realistic that we actually can do it. It's better to, you know, start small and actually accomplish it than to set this massive goal or this massive, you know, vision that is near to impossible to accomplish before yourself. Because then you're just setting yourself up for failure. And so make realistic goals. It talks about in scripture, in Luke 14:28, it says, for which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? So this is saying, like, consider the cost. Like, when you write down the vision, when you write down a plan, when you write down a goal, consider the cost. Like, consider what it's going to take to build it. Consider what it's going to take to be disciplined in it. Consider what it's going to take to accomplish it. Because it's so easy in a moment to be like, like, I want to work out every single day in 2025, right? But then if you really start thinking about it, it's like, okay, that. That book, that. That shapes, like, there's some sacrifice that's going to have to be made. That shapes like how you think about your mornings and your days and your evenings. Because if you're trying to work out every single day, then what about days that you're sick? What about days that you're traveling? What about days, like, you have to think about those things as you're writing out, like, consider the cost. And consider, can I actually accomplish this? Am I setting myself up for failure? Or am I setting myself up to be able to succeed in this area and. And challenge yourself? I'm not saying, you know, make goals that are easy or, like, you know, that aren't hard to do or that don't require sacrifice. Challenge yourself, for sure, challenge yourself, but don't make your goals unrealistic. Even like, too many goals, like, don't do so many things that it's like you have a list of a hundred goals for 20, 25, and then you look back at the end of the year, only reached two out of the, you know, 100 goals that you set. You know, something that I. I really try to do is each category, have just really one goal for each category. Or maybe like, something I want to stop doing and something I want to start doing. And so something I want to stop doing spiritually, something I want to start doing spiritually, something I want to stop doing physically. Something I want to start doing physically. And that's kind of how I like to think of it. It feels way more attainable and realistic that way. But, yeah, consider it. Consider the cost. Consider the sacrifice it's going to take. Think about the fact that you actually have to do it. Like, you actually have to walk out the goals that you're setting, and it's going to require a lot of sacrifice and it's going to require a lot of discipline, and the only way you're going to be able to do it is to be disciplined and to be consistent. And so really consider that as you're writing out these goals. The fourth thing that's important when it comes to casting a vision and setting goals is to bring people into the vision, bring in accountability into the vision. I've talked about about this a lot so far on this podcast already. Just the importance of having people know, you know, what you're dreaming about, what you're praying and believing God for, what you need to grow in, where you've been struggling, where you've been, what's been hurting you, what's been helping you and having people alongside of you to help you accomplish and to help you reach the goal that you're set out to do. You know, I always talk about the power of a dream team. Like we, we weren't made to go through life alone own. It's so important to have people around you, to have a team of people around you to help you accomplish the dream that's set before you. In order for me to accomplish the vision that I set before myself, in order for me to accomplish the goals that I'm writing down and setting, I have to have people around me hold me accountable. I have to have people around me check in and ask, how's it going? You know, are. Are you being consistent? Are you being Faithful with what you said you were going to be faithful with. How can I, you know, how can I pray for you? How can I encourage you in this. In this dream or in this goal? And so you need a. You need your own dream team. You need your own accountability people. You need your people around you that are going to be checking in and making sure you have, you know, the things that you need in order to accomplish the goals that you're setting. It says in Proverbs 15:22, without counsel, plans fail, but with many advisors, they succeed. It's literally telling you, if you don't have counsel, if you don't have accountability, if you don't have people around you, you. Your plans are going to fail. Like, your plans are going to fail if it's up to you. You ain't got what it takes. Like, you need people around you to hold you up when you're tired, to, you know, call you higher when you want to settle or when you want to stay comfortable, you know, to. To make sure you're staying consistent, to make sure that you're staying true and holding firm to your word. When you said you were going to do something, you know, you got to have those people that push you, that encourage you, that pray for you. When it comes to your goals and your dream, your plans, it's really, really important that we have community and accountability. Okay? And then the last thing is put in the work. You know, the last thing is, now just go do it. Be consistent, be disciplined in it. Know that it's going to take work, that it's going to take effort in order to do something that's never been done before. It's going to require something of you that maybe you've never given before. Something of you that's really hard, Something of you that's going to cost you your comfort, that's going to cost you, you know, what's. What's normal, what's easy, what's. In order for you to grow spiritually, it's going to come at a cost. You're going to have to die to your flesh. You're going to have to cut off some things that are not of God and that are not godly. In order for you to grow spiritually, you're going to have to get uncomfortable. You're going to have to die to yourself. You're going to have to, you know, evaluate those areas in your life that aren't holy and that aren't pure and that aren't leading you closer to Jesus, us. And you're also going to have to implement some disciplines that, again, are maybe uncomfortable or that come at a cost. Like, it's not just a matter of, you know, you stop watching pornography and you stop hanging around those certain friends and you stop, you know, smoking weed and you stop vaping and you stop, you know, spending so much time on social media in order to grow spiritually. But it's also a starting of something. It's also a pursuit of something. It's also a. I'm gonna get up early in the morning at 7am at 6am and I'm going to hit my knees and spend the first 15 minutes of my morning in prayer. And then I'm going to get in the Word and I'm going to spend time in Scripture and I'm not going to be distracted. I'm not going to have my phone next to me. I'm going to be in an undivided devotion moment with Jesus. I'm going to have my Word opened and I'm going to read the Word and I'm going to. I'm going to reflect on the Word and I'm going to pray the Word and I'm going to sit in the Word. I'm going to meditate on it. And it's like, so it's so important for us to understand that it's going to take work. This is not going to be easy. Or maybe it's easy for the first month. You know, it's like if your goal is to work out five times a week or four times a week, it's like the first month. January, they say that is the highest, you know, sales for gym memberships and that it's the highest records that they have for people coming to the gyms. Because it's easy in January because you have the, the fire lit under you. You're excited for a new year. You have all these goals. But what about when August hits, you know, or even before that? What about end of April? You know, you're tired, you're. You don't feel like it. It's. You don't have that same fire that you had at the beginning of the year. You know, it would be way easier to just like, decide not to. And so you have to realize it's going to come at a cost and it's going to require commitment and it's going to require consistency. And so making sure you realize that is really, really important when it comes to vision, casting and goal setting. It says in Ecclesiastes 5, three for a dream comes with Much business and a fool's voice with many words. So if you have a dream, if you have a vision, if you have a goal, it's going to come with work, it's going to come with much business, it's going to come with much sacrifice. Because a fool, all they do is talk. Anybody can talk, anybody can make a goal, anybody can set a vision, anybody can talk about a big dream. But until they actually put in the work, it's never gonna get done. And it's foolish for us to sit here and make all these goals that we're not actually going to discipline ourselves to accomplish and train ourselves and make the sacrifices we need to make in order to walk them out, you know, and so really consider that and make sure, you know, that headed into this. Okay, as we wrap up, I really want to just kind of focus on for a second second. It's so great for us to, you know, write down our Bible verse of the year, our goals for the year, our vision, whatever it may be. That's awesome. And make the plans and do the things and send it to your friends and put it on your refrigerator and put it on your mirror. Obviously, I'm encouraging you guys to do that. Obviously, I'm telling you that I do that. And I want to make it clear that at the end of the day, the Lord is in charge. The Lord is sovereign. And will you be okay if the Lord intervenes and changes your plans or if it just doesn't go according to your plan and it doesn't look the way you thought it was going to look? You know, maybe you have a dream or maybe you have a vision for your life. That is not God's vision for your life. It's not the direction that God, you know, has for you. Maybe you have a certain goal within your profession or your business that you want to see accomplished and that you want to work towards. But God decides, I'm going to shut your business down because I have something better for you, or God decides you're going to lose your job because I have a better one waiting for you, or. You know what I mean? Like, there are certain things that are out of our control. And what are you going to do? How are you going to respond if. If God changes the. Your plans, If God changes your plans, If God redirects, you know, what he has for you, are you okay with that? Because at the end of the day, we can make all the plans that we want, but if it's not of God and it's not from God, it's going to fail, it's going to falter, it's going to fall short, and it's not going to even matter in the, in the end. And so it's so important for us to realize that. It's great to set goals. It's great to have a vision. Scripture talks about it clearly. I've been reading so many verses to you. But at the end of the day, we are to be submitted to the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day, we are to be surrendered to the Lord. At the end of the day, we remember that we live to please God and Him alone. We don't live to please people and we definitely don't live to please ourself. We live to please God. And we will all have to give an account for our life one day and we will be judged based off of the things we've said and the things that we've done. And so as we set these plans for ourselves, it's so important for us to understand one thing we should ask ourselves is what is this all for? Like, what are all of these goals that I'm making for and what is this going to lead me to? What is this leading me towards? Words. And then two. Am I okay if God interrupts my plans? Am I okay if God changes the vision? If God changes the goals? Am I okay with that? And so make sure that you have an answer to those questions before you start writing out all these goals and making all these, these plans for yourself. I am so excited for this next year. I'm truly believing that this is going to be, be the best year yet. I'm believing that God is going to use this year to grow all of our faith, to stretch our faith, to grow us in ways that we're not even expecting. I'm, I'm praying that this is a year where we, our relationship with Jesus goes to higher heights. I'm praying that this is a year where we become more bold in our faith and we're unashamed to share the gospel that has saved our life. I pray that this is a year where we step into our God given purpose. We don't pursue the gift more than the giver, but we do walk out our calling and we do maximize the opportunities that he's put before us in order to give him glory. I'm praying that this is a year full of relationships and friendships that just create a joy and a peace and a growth in our life that we all need. I, I, I'm just, I'm praying some really big things over my Stay True squad and over my life personally heading into this next year. And I just want you guys to know that I love you and you're not alone. I don't know what this past year looked like for you. I don't. Again, I don't know if it was hard, I don't know if it was good, but I am believing that this is a new year and this is a new you. And you get to choose what this year looks like. You get to choose your attitude, you get to choose your response to what happens to you. You can't control what happens to you, but you can choose, choose what you're going to respond to it. You can choose how you respond to it. And so making sure that we go into this year with the mindset of, I want to glorify God with this year, I want to give God this year of my life. I want to dedicate this year to God. I want to make sure that financially I am. I am giving God my money, that relationally, I am giving God my relationships, that, you know, time. I'm giving God my time, that professionally I'm giving God my. My job and my dreams for my job or for my calling and just giving it all to God and making sure that in. In the end of it all, at the end of it all, my life verse is Acts 20:24, and it says, for I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task, the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. At the end of it all. My. My only aim when I'm writing down this vision and these goals for myself, my only aim is to run the race that God has for me and to finish it, like to finish it strong. And so I want to run well. I want to have great endurance, I want to have great perseverance. I want to do what I need to do in order to finish well and to run the race that he has before me. And to know that my role of being here is to testify to the good news of his grace. Like my, My legit only role for being on this planet is to testify for how he saved my soul, how he rescued me. And there are things that obviously come with that. Like I'm. I'm still a wife. I'm. I'm going to be a mom. Like, I have friendships, I have responsibilities. But my main goal is to testify to the good news of God's grace. And so as I'm, you know, Loving my spouse. I'm loving him with the love of, of Jesus Christ. I'm loving him with the grace of Jesus Christ. I am using my marriage to point others to Jesus. You know, in my parenting and in raising my daughter, I'm teaching her how to love Jesus, how, how she can testify to the good news of God's grace. And I'm hoping that through my love and affection to my little girl, others are seeing the love of a heavenly father. Others are seeing the love of, you know, this unconditional love that no matter what she does, I will always love her. And that's in, in all things. You know, in my job it's like in my job, my main goal is to testify to the good news of God's grace. And so whether you're a teacher, whether you're a doctor, whether you're a student, you know, whether you're a stay at home mom, whether you are a lawyer or a business person, accountant, I don't know what your job looks like or what your job is, but your main goal is to testify to the good news of God's grace. That's why you're here. That's why I'm here. And so just continuing to remember what it's all for, what it's all about. It' all about Jesus. It's not about us. And so even the goals we set for ourselves is still to give God glory. It's still to reflect his love to this world because that's why we're here. And so just remember here at Stay True, I'm always going to point you guys to the truth. I'm always going to point you guys back to what really matters. And as much as I want to see you thrive, as much as I want to see you loving your life and living your life and enjoying your life and reaching the goals that you have have for yourself. I want to see you madly in love with Jesus. I want to see you living for eternity. I want to see you leading other people to Jesus and, and just really living for what matters most and why you're here, why I'm here. So I love y'all so much and I am believing for an amazing 2025. Send me how this episode encouraged you. Send me what you want to hear next. Send me who you want me to interview before my maternity leave or after my maternity leave as we come back for season two. Stay true. And also send me like what your guys goals are for this, for this next year. I mean we talked all about it in this episode. And so I want to hear what. What God's laid on your heart, what, you know, maybe was the biggest thing he taught you in 2024, the biggest area you grew in, and then what you're hoping to grow in in 2025. I believe in you guys. I love y'all so, so much. And I will see you soon as always, be sure to stay you. You stay true. I love.