“I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. Then the LORD answered me and said, “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run.” – Habakkuk 2: 1-2
We all have heard this preached time and again in church. We all get hyped up and shout out, ‘Amen’, ‘Yes, Lord’ and ‘You better preach, pastor’ when they break this scripture out in their sermons. But how many of us have ever really moved forward on this message? I know I am guilty of the before mentioned behaviors and equally as guilty of not following through.
For years, Don and I tried writing our vision down. Every December, we would get together to discuss what goals we wanted to achieve. During the discussions, I would write our yearly goals in a journal. We would be excited that we would be debt-free and have mounds of money saved for the kids’ college by the end of the year. We were supposed to check the journal monthly to ‘X’ those completed items off.
You know what really happened though; NOTHING! Before we knew it, December was upon us and we hadn’t reached one goal nor were we remotely close to beginning them.
When I read the words of Habakkuk, I am reminded that if we write something down, we are more inclined to follow through with it. Well this year, Don and I decided not to write in the journal, but to do vision boards together. We even created a family vision board. Our teens even bought into this and created their own vision boards. Each day, I recited the items on my vision board out loud. This helped me get excited about accomplishing my vision for the year.
Along with our vision boards, I used a fantastic and functional planner which was the Whose Shoes Are You Wearing? Transformational Planner. It was created by Christine St. Vil of Moms N’Charge and her co-author/sister, Julian B Kiganda of Bold & Fearless. This planner helped me stay focused. I was able to write down my goals along with action steps for every month. It is full of motivational quotes and scriptures. The best part of this planner is the 12 women who are featured in it. Their stories of courage and triumph make each month they represent even more powerful.
Read: [Video] How to Create a Vision Board that Makes Dreams Come True!
Having vision boards has been amazing! It allowed us to see our individual, personal and family goals and visions. Just a few of our 2016 accomplishments were:
- I self-published my first book.
- My baby girl got her first 3.5 GPA ever!
- Hubby wrote his first book.
- I was featured on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.
- My son made his high school JV football team.
I want to challenge you to go beyond just writing down your vision in 2017. Here are 5 Easy Steps to Turn Your 2017 Vision into a reality.
- Really take some time think about your vision.
- Pray about it and get clear on your goals for next year.
- Next, get to planning by writing them out. You don’t necessarily have to create a vision board. It could be as simple as making a list that you leave on your bathroom mirror. Whatever you do, get that vision written and make it plain so you can have a prosperous 2017.
- Share your vision with family and friends. Find a person that can help to keep you accountable.
- Finally, revisit your vision often – daily, weekly or monthly. Track your progress frequently and re-plan as needed.
BMWK – What steps do you take to ensure that the goals and vision that you set for the New Year actually happen?