An Idea to FOCUS on for 2024… — Elizabeth Hoagland

Friends! Happy New Year! How many of you have made resolutions for 2024? New goals? Are you still keeping them? Hey, your secret’s safe with me…No judgment here!!!

I’ve got a FAB idea for you if you’re feeling the need to refocus yourself…It comes from a super neat Christmas gift I received from my friend, Meredith, a/k/a “Madge.” Many of you are blessed to know her.

Not only did she give me the journal I’m about to tell you about, she gave me several neat gifts, another of which I’ll share with you at the end of this post. Madge is truly gifted in gift-giving!

So, the journal’s title is: The Focus Journal: 52 Weeks to a More Intentional Life by Cleere Cherry Reaves.

Website: www.cleerelystated.com (Cleere’s website has a little bit of everything including her podcast, “Let’s be Cleere,” you may wish to listen to.)

We learn in the Intro’ Cleere has a goal for us with each week’s entry. She says,

We also discover “each week offers a new word, an acronym based on that word, reflection questions, and applicable Scriptures for that word.”Cleere tells us what each week’s word is, and what it is not. Some of these will surprise you. She also includes a couple of pertinent quotes in addition to the few lines to write in for all seven days of the week.

Because I’m a huge fan of acronyms, I LOVE, LOVE, L-O-V-E this format. While I’m only on week 3, of course, I’ve peeked at a few others and so far can’t decide which word I like the best. They’re all great.

Let me give you an example:

Week One’s word is “DILIGENT.” Look with me so you can get an idea of what you’ll get to ponder should you grab this journal:

“D: Discipline yourself in God’s Word

I: Individualize His love for your own heart

L: Let go of any lies that prevent progress (I added “guilt” regarding letting go…)

I: Implement His instruction

G: Glorify Him in your decisions

E: Establish yourself in community

N: Nourish your heart with His promises

T: Train your mind to seek Jesus every day.”

Following each acronym is a quote in brackets, which I deem as a “reset” of sorts. Let’s look at the one under “diligent” together:

“Breathe, reject the need to rush, and sit in this for a minute!”

“Reject the need to rush.” Does that speak to anyone besides me?

The Scripture Cleere gives us in the section on “diligent” comes from Proverbs 13:4 -

Some of my other favorite words with acronyms so far are: Position, Prayer, and Rooted. Don’t forget there are fifty-two of these to keep you engaged (and focused) during our new year!

Cleere gently guides us to a more intentional grasp of our faith, growing it week by week. If you can’t think of anything to write in the spaces, never fear. Try one of my favorite apps The Five Psalms app. (It’s free!)

From reading 1-5 psalms per day, depending on the amount of time you have, I guarantee a word or two or ten will pop up you may want to jot down. There’s a world of possibilities!

Try jotting down family members or friends to pray for. Currently I’ve got 18 friends and their spouses/caregivers to pray for. Some with cancer, Parkinson’s, MS, broken bones, you-name-it, and we all know many times the caregiver has more challenging circumstances than the patient. Maybe pick a day for family, a day for friends, a day for patients, a day for leaders —see how easy this can be?

So there’s a sneak peek of The Focus Journal. Once Meredith gave it to me, I quickly decided my friends The Butter Babes must have one also. We were to attend a luncheon together a few days later and poof! The journals arrived in the nick of time, only to the delight of the Babes. We all agreed this is a resource that’s timely, needed, and low pressure in a delightful way.

The other gift I’d like to share with you is something entirely different. Checkout a nifty website called: www.tinytag.com

Meredith also gifted me with darling tags. Funny, owners of website posted pics of the very ones she ordered on their Instagram account, so Meredith said I was famous and didn’t know it! She couldn’t show me so as not to reveal my gift! Aren’t they adorable?

If you pop on the website, you’ll see the 2 gals, Anne Harbarger and Elaine Conley, who created Tiny Tag. They offer a huge variety of paper goods, one of my DANGER-WILL-ROBINSON obsessions. Don’t let me walk in Paper Source in Louisville (which also happens to be in Naples!): www.papersource.com , or the Paper Merchant in Naples (www.thepapermerchantnaples.com). I have to sneak in. Smile.

So, I pray you and your family and friends have a most blessed and focused 2024! Try The Focus Journal. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and give it a go.

‘Til next time!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are “affiliate links.”