We've reached the end of another year—and if you're finding yourself in that quiet, in-between space after Christmas, where routines are off and emotions feel a little "blah," this episode is for you.
In this final episode of 2025 on Nourished to Bloom, we're invited to slow down and gently reflect on the year behind us through a faith-centered Year End Review. Whether the past twelve months were filled with joy, challenge, growth, or simply survival, this is a sacred pause to notice how God has been present—often in ways we didn't expect.
This episode isn't about judging the year or creating pressure for a "better" version of ourselves. Instead, we're creating space to reflect with compassion, honesty, and hope—so we can step into the new year grounded, grateful, and open to what God is still unfolding.
🌿 In this episode, we reflect on three powerful themes:
✨ Gratitude • Where did blessings—big or small—show up this year? • What moments of joy, connection, healing, or nourishment can we name and thank God for?
🤍 Grace • Where did things feel messy, disappointing, or unfinished? • How can we release self-criticism and extend grace to ourselves and others as the year closes?
🌱 Growth • How have we grown spiritually, emotionally, and physically? • What lessons did God gently teach us, and where might He be inviting us to keep growing next?
We also acknowledge the very real humanness of this season—the post-Christmas slump, the lack of motivation, the exhaustion—and remind ourselves that none of this means we're doing something wrong. It simply means we're human.
Through personal reflections, including unexpected twists and moments of surrender, we're reminded that God works not just in the highlights—but in the interruptions, the quiet days, and the unanswered questions too.
So grab a warm drink, a journal, and a cozy spot. Let's reflect together—rooted in gratitude, covered in grace, and open to continued growth—as we prepare to step into a new year ready to bloom.
💛 Listen now and join us in this gentle Year End Review.
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
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The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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Well, we made it to the end of another year.
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I pray that you and your family have had a
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beautiful and blessed year. But we are in that
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time at the end of the year between Christmas and New Year's that is just
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that. What day is it? What am I doing? There's no
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sense of routine you may be feeling blah.
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Nothing sounds good to eat or cook. It's just
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there, right? And I think we all go through that kind
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of lull in the year between Christmas and New Year's. So what I
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wanted to offer up was a kind of a guided
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exercise to really look at your year in
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review. Really looking at the ways that the Lord has
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worked in your life over the past year. Really
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focusing on gratitude for the things that
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he has blessed you with, the obstacles that he has
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helped you overcome, maybe some clarity in some
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suffering that you have gone through. So that's what we're going to do today.
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And if you find yourself with some extra time on your hands after you
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go through this year in review exercise, I highly
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encourage you to check out the replay of the Writing
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your next Chapter retreat that
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I hosted a couple of weeks ago. And that will really help you start
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to set the tone, set, set the stage for maybe where the Lord is
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calling you to spend some time and focus your
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your love and your service in the new year. So
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I hope that you enjoyed this exercise, I hope that you check out that
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retreat replay and I will see you in the new year.
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God Bless. Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom
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podcast where your faith meets your health. I'm your host, Kara
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Trachta, a registered dietitian and certified Catholic coach, and I'm here to
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help you cultivate a deep, deeper connection with your body, your spirit,
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and the nourishment that sustains them both. In a world
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filled with noise and confusion about food, health and
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body image, this podcast offers truth and healing from a Christ
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centered perspective. Together, we'll untangle the deep roots of
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diet culture and discover what it means to truly care for
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ourselves through joyful nourishment of mind, body and
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soul. We're here to dive into the transformative power of intuitive
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eating coupled with the rich teachings of our Christian faith.
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With every episode, I'll be cheering you on, offering insights,
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inspiration and practical tools to help you heal your
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relationship with food and embrace the beauty of your body
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as a temple of the Holy Spirit with confidence and
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courage that can only be found in Christ. Join
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me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness, one
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that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation, the
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teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.
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You were made to bloom, to come into
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full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with
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your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul,
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and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're in the right place.
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And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Nourish
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to Bloom, where every day is a sacred invitation to
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thrive. Hey there. Welcome
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back to the last Nourish to
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Bloom podcast episode for the year of
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2024. How crazy is that? I just
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started this podcast in April of this year, and that was probably one of the
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big highlights of the year. And if you ever go back and
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listen to the beginning of the podcast, you'll kind of understand where this podcast came
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from. But this time last year, I was
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having conversations with God and doing a little bit of goal setting and
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really asking God, you know, where do you want me to spend my time and
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my energy and what do you want me to focus on in this next year?
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How do you want me to serve? And he very clearly said to
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me, a podcast. And I very clearly said, nope, don't think
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that's gonna happen. And despite,
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you know, me really not believing that this would ever happen, God
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showed me the way. He really showed me that path. Had all
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these questions of, well, how would I do this? What would I do? And,
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you know, as soon as I was willing to entertain
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God's plan for me, he of course showed me the way and put a
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podcast course in my path for me to
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purchase and learn how to do this. And then, you know, we put
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the. The episodes out there and he brought listeners. So I'm grateful
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for each one of you who tune in weekly. I
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did mention in my little intro that it's been a heck of a week, and
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I really thought about not putting an episode out this week,
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but I had to stop and think, you know, just despite everything
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that's happened this last week, meaning we didn't get to travel home to see
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our family for Christmas because my middle one was running
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a fever. And it ended up being he ran a fever for 11 days.
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I took him to the ER yesterday. Turns out he
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has mycoplasma pneumonia. We spent a night in the hospital.
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He was discharged today, all the things. And on
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top of this, we're supposed to fly out to Disney World on Saturday
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for four days with the family. That was their
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Christmas present. So needless to say, it's been a little bit
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crazy and hectic around here. But despite all of that,
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I just really have to be so grateful and thankful for all the
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blessings that the Lord has provided for us in this last year. And so
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that's kind of what want to do today, is really kind of guide you through
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a little bit of a reflection. Because as we approach the end of this year,
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it's only natural that we reflect on everything that's
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happened, the highs, the lows, and everything in
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between. And I really want to challenge you to see
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where God was in the highs, in the lows, in
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the everything in between, in the everydays, and just really
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reflect on how he was moving in your life.
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And so I'm going to kind of guide you through what I kind of
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am calling this Faith Centered Year in Review
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exercise. And it's just designed to help you reflect on the growth
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that you've had this last year, maybe help you renew your focus going
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into the new year and prepare your heart to bloom in
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the year ahead. So I really kind of broke this
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down into
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really kind of three areas that we're looking at,
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but just growth, grace, and
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gratitude. Not in that order. Gratitude, grace, and growth.
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And so that's really what we're going to focus on because as Christians, we're
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called to really examine our lives regularly, that
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we are, you know, really not supposed to dwell on our mistakes, but
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to bring everything to the Lord and to seek his
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wisdom. Psalm 139, verses 23 through
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24 says, Search me, God, and know my heart, test me
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and know my anxious thoughts, see if there is any offensive
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way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
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And this idea of reflection can really be this act of faith
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because it allows us to invite God into
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our story, right? The story that we are writing with him and
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acknowledge how he's been working in our lives, even in ways that we might not
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have noticed. And so, like I said, this Year in Review
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exercise is rooted in three pillars, gratitude, grace, and
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growth. And we're going to kick it off with gratitude.
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So I want you to take a moment and think back on the year. What
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blessings has God brought into your life?
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And they don't have to be these grand or obvious things.
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Maybe it's small moments of joy. Maybe
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it was a really memorable conversation
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with a friend or moments that made you
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laugh with your kids. Or maybe after
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listening to this podcast, it's been a breakthrough in your relationship with
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food. And I want you to write down
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Three things that you're grateful for from this year.
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And as you do, remember that every good and perfect
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gift is from above.
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So now I want to shift to maybe some areas that you experience, some
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challenges. How did God show up in those
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unexpected ways during those times?
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How did he sustain you? What things did he provide?
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Maybe it was tangible or maybe it was spiritual
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or emotional, or maybe it was through the people that you were
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surrounded by. All of these
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things allow us to put on that attitude of gratitude, and it's
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a way to honor God's faithfulness even when life fails felt
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hard. So now let's talk
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about grace, both receiving it and giving it.
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So when you think about any goals or intentions that you set at the
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beginning of this past year, how did you feel?
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Maybe you hit some milestones or maybe things didn't really go
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as planned, and that is okay.
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We're reminded in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that my
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grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect
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in weakness. So take a minute and reflect on
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these questions. Where did you notice yourself striving
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for perfection instead of leaning on God's
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grace?
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How can you extend grace to yourself as you reflect
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on areas where you fell short
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and is there someone in your life who needs your grace and
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forgiveness?
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And most importantly, as you reflect on these questions, this is not about
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judging yourself. This is not about beating yourself up.
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It's about the freedom and the permission to treat
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yourself with compassion and mercy, just as the Lord treats
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us that way. And
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finally, let's talk about growth. So as we
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reflect on this past year, it's important to
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really celebrate those ways that you have grown in body,
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mind, and spirit. So spiritually, how has
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your faith deepened this past year? Did you
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experience any new understanding of God's character
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or his purpose for your life?
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What about emotionally? What have you learned about
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managing stress or emotions or relationships?
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And physically, how has your relationship with food and your body
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changed? Did you experience moments of freedom,
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satisfaction, or peace with food and your body?
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And then think about one area you want to continue growing on, growing in
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in the new year, and then
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pray over it and ask God to guide your steps.
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Philippians 1:6 reminds us, he who began a good
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work in you will carry it on to
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completion. And I really think this podcast
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is a testimony to that. I think, you know, one of the most
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powerful questions that I really asked was like, lord, where do
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you want me to focus? How do you want me to spend my time
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and my energy? And where do you want me to serve that was really that
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attitude that I took this past year was this idea of
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serving. And then surrender was really the
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word that I had for myself this last year was just surrendering
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all the things that I was unsure of and just total
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surrender to the Lord and his providence, knowing that he's. He's got
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it, right? He's got it. And so I don't know if you're a
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word of the year kind of person. I'm
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maybe am. I don't know, it just kind of depends on the year and if
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anything really struck my fancy. But really,
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I shared this in a couple episodes ago, but the, the
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Magnificat prayer and the idea of the word behold and how
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behold was really about calling attention
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to something that nobody was paying attention to. And when we look at the
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encounter that Mary had with the angel Gabriel and the word
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behold and how it was used in that and it was this idea of like,
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watch, watch what God is going to do
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in this situation, in this person's life. And so I've
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really kind of taken that word and it's really,
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really meant something to me over the last couple of weeks. And I want to
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carry that into the new year. Just this word behold and just
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this, this, this thought of like behold and watch what
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the Lord is going to do in my life and
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that I give him my yes, that I give him my fiat that
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Lord, let that be done according to your will.
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And I'm going to watch and I'm going to be so grateful and behold,
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watch what I'm going to be able to do because of, of
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you. And that's really kind of the attitude I'm, I'm taking into
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the the new year. But I really hope that this reflection
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has, has given you a moment to really be able to
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pause to connect with God and celebrate all the
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ways that you've grown this past year. And just a reminder
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that his grace is sufficient and his plans for you are good.
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And so just a couple of things going into this
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new year. Of course the Faith Led Food Free Freedom Program
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is always open so for enrollment. So if you're interested in really
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healing your relationship with food in your body in the new year, please reach
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out to me. You can find the links to sign up for the Faith
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Led Food Freedom Program below in the show notes. But that's an option
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that you have. And then I'm really looking at
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entertaining kind of a membership or mentorship type of
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program or community where each month I offer up
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a workshop and then we have three weeks of coaching
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after that workshop to just really help go deeper in whatever that
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workshop is about. And I know that I mentioned that I was going to do
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a workshop in January on goal setting with God. But if
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this last week has really taught me anything
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is that I really do not do well
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spiritually, mentally, emotionally with being overwhelmed
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and over scheduled. And when I look at how
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Christmas break plays out with my kids, they're off for three weeks so they actually
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don't go back to school until January 13th. And
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I want to be able to spend that time focused on them. Like I said,
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we're going on that trip. And so when I really sat down and I and
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I looked at it and I prayed over it, I really felt this permission
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to say I did not have to do this in January. So I'm
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actually postponing the Goal Setting with God workshop until
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February. We're going to do that the first week of February.
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You can still join the wait list. The link for that is still going to
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be in the show notes to join the wait list for when registration opens. But
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that's really going to be kind of that maybe kickoff to this
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mentorship or membership community that I
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am going to try to build in this new year where we have a
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workshop and then three weeks of coaching on whatever that topic
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is. And so that first month would be goal setting with God. And with that
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we're going to be able to really align our goals. Whether
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you're bringing a goal or maybe you started January, you're starting January with a goal
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and by the time you get to February, you're looking to recommit to
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that. But in that first session we're really going to look at
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setting those goals and being able to align those goals with God and His
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plan for our life. And then in the next session we're going to
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look at obstacles and things that can come up and get in the
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way of us achieving those goals and then really work on
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creating an action plan and kind of steps
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that need to that you need to take to help you reach whatever that goal
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is for 2025. So I'd really love have you
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join that goal Setting with God workshop that is
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happening the first week of February. Again, you can join that wait
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list in the link in the show description.
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But other than that, I am going to close out
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this year just thankful that my son got
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to come home from the hospital today and that we are all going to rest
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and re energize and hunker down
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until it's time for us to catch our plane to Florida, and then we're gonna
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go spend a couple of days making some memories at Disney World
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with our family. So I hope that however you're ringing in the
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new year, that it is beautiful and it is blessed. And
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remember, beauty held as a seed, beauty shared is the flower.
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It's your time to bloom. Thank you so much for
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joining me, and I will see you next week. Take care. Bye.
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It.