Happy New Year, friend—and welcome to the first episode of Nourished to Bloom in 2026! 🌿 If you're stepping into this new year with hope, goals, and a desire to grow—but you've also felt that familiar post-January motivation fade—you're not alone.
In this episode, we're talking about how to approach goals, habits, and personal growth with God at the center, not through hustle, pressure, or perfection. Because real transformation doesn't come from trying harder—it comes from rooting our lives in faith and trusting the process God is unfolding.
Together, we explore simple but powerful, faith-filled tools that help us stay grounded, motivated, and connected to God's plan—especially when real life gets messy.
✨ Inside this episode, we'll explore:
🌱 How to approach a new year without burning out or giving up by February 🙏 Why inviting God into your goals changes everything 📝 How a Word of the Year can become a meaningful spiritual anchor ⛪ The beauty of choosing a Saint of the Year for guidance and intercession 📖 Scripture verses that offer clarity, direction, and hope when motivation dips 💛 Why gratitude journaling is a spiritual practice—not just a habit—and how it helps you notice God's daily "winks" 🌸 A gentle reminder that growth is rarely linear—and God is faithful in every step
We're also sharing a special invitation for anyone who wants a practical, prayerful reset after the New Year glow starts to fade.
📣 You're invited! Join us for "Writing Your Next Chapter: Goal Setting With God", a FREE live retreat on February 3 at 11am Central. This experience is designed to help you realign your goals with God's will, gain clarity, and recommit to what truly matters—without pressure or overwhelm. 👉 Register here
As we begin 2026, remember this: "Beauty held is the seed. Beauty shared is the flower." This is your season to grow—rooted in faith, nourished in body and soul, and supported every step of the way.
🌸 Next Steps: ✨ Discover your Word of the Year http://www.wordoftheyear.me/ Shoot me an e-mail kara@karatrochta.com and let me know what your word is!✨ Choose a Scripture or Saint to guide your year http://saintsnamegenerator.com/ ✨ Start a simple gratitude journal ✨ Register for the retreat and share this episode with a friend
We're so grateful you're here. Let's nourish, grow, and bloom—together—in 2026. 💛
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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Welcome to 2026. Welcome to a new
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year. I pray that you are welcoming this new
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year with peace and hope and
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that you're using this as a time to refresh, to renew,
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and to recommit living your life for the Lord.
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Now, you may have started this new year with some big goals,
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some things that you're feeling called to pursue, and that
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is wonderful. Today I want to help you by
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giving you some tools that I think can help you stay motivated
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on taking action, but also
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to help you stay grounded and focused and really
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allowing the Lord to be a part of whatever it is you're
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hoping to achieve in 2026.
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Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom podcast where your faith meets
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your health. I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and
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certified Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection
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with your body, your spirit, and the nourishment that sustains them
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both. In a world filled with noise and confusion
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about food, health and body image, this podcast offers
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truth and healing from a Christ centered perspective. Together
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we'll untangle the deep roots of diet culture and discover what it means
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to truly care for ourselves through joyful
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nourishment of mind, body and soul. We're here to dive into
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the transformative power of intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of
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our Christian faith. With every episode, I'll be cheering you
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on, offering insights, inspiration and practical tools to
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help you heal your relationship with food and embrace the
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beauty of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit with
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confidence and courage that can only be found in Christ.
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Join me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness,
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one that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation,
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the teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to
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fulfill. You were made to bloom,
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to come into full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit
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for the Lord with your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body,
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feed your soul and bloom into the best version of yourself, then
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you're in the right place and I'm so happy you're here.
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Welcome to Nourish to Bloom, where every day is a sacred
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invitation to thrive.
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Hey there. Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom podcast. So
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happy to be spending some time here with you this week
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and as we welcome a new year.
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I know that for many of us it's
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back to work and kids are back to school, but for me
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and my family, we actually have a whole nother week off and it's kind
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of. I'm liking it more and more every year
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that this happens. Last year we took a trip during this week when the kids
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didn't have school. This year we're just kind of laying low. But
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what's wonderful is that the weather is cooperating and our highs are like in
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the 70s, so my kids can spend time just running
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around playing outside. And I feel like it kind of gives us this nice little
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break, like at Christmas, right? Because for
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my family and I, we spend most of the holidays traveling to see family
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and it's just chaos. So this just kind of, I feel like, gives us a.
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A chance to settle in, to spend some
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quality time together. And
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yeah, that's where we are. So I hope that your new year
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is being welcomed with some peace and some hope and
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that it's off to a great start. Start now. With that said, I know many
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of you are focused on New Year's resolutions and trying to make
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changes, trying to maybe let go of some old
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habits and build new habits. And so I wanted to just
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take this episode to offer you some tools, some
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that I'm using this year, some that I've used in years past
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to kind of help you with maybe staying focused and
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grounded and motivated as you're trying to make these changes. But
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all in a faith filled way, one that really allows you
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to continue to lean on the Lord as you're
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making these changes, to invite him into that
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transformation, really allowing him to guide you
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and to do the work alongside with you. So that's what we're going to go
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through today is just some tools that I think can help you with staying focused
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and grounded. So the first one, and a lot of people do this,
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is coming up with a word for the year.
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Now, I've definitely done this in the past and I think last year my word
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was surrender. And that was something that I really, really leaned into,
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was just learning to let go of
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some stuff. Okay, sorry about that. If
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you picked up on a little interruption again, kids are home
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and I have two boys. And then so it's like WWE 24
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7. And so they were outside playing and one hit the
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other one's head with his nose. Um, so we were dealing with a bloody
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nose. Thankfully it doesn't look like anything's broken, but y', all, never a
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dull moment. So getting back to this idea of word of the year,
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like I said, I did it last year, my word was surrender. I felt
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so deeply that that was really what I needed
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to do to learn to let Go
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and really let the Lord work. Let him
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do the transforming, right? So not focusing so much on
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the outcomes and wanting it to come a different way, but really just showing
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and the way that I knew the Lord was asking me to. This year,
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my family did something, I don't know, a little
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fun. I had gotten this email from
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Beahart Design, who she has a Catholic
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shop, and she's one of my favorite little designers, and she has
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cute little products. But she sent out an email to, like,
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her followers, and she said that she went through.
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Through Jen Fulweiler, who. If you don't know who Jen Fulweiler is,
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she's a Catholic comedian. She had a Word of
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the Year generator site, and so she generated her Word of the Year
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using that. And I was like, oh, that sounds fun. Let's just see what it.
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What it is. So we and my family, we all went
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and discovered our Words of the Year using Jen Fulwiler's
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Word Generator. And so my word happened to be sweet. And I
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was like, well, that's interesting. Not really
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sure what. What the Lord may be
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meaning by that. I'm hoping it means nothing too terrible. But
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what I, you know, kind of took that as was something that's kind of been
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in the back of my mind was recommitting to
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joyful movement and really making sure that I
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am focusing on kind of all aspects of movement. So. So
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last year, I did a lot of walking. Just
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a lot of walking. I spent some time
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in a gym doing strength training, but kind of
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hurt my shoulder towards the end of the year. And so I really took this
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idea of sweat to mean to focus more
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on my cardiovascular movement. So that's what
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I'm looking to do, is to try to get my heart rate up a
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little bit more in 2026 and incorporate some more
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cardiovascular movement. I also kind of took it at
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sweat as into
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get out of my comfort zone, you know,
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being able to not be discouraged when things
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don't go exactly how I want them to, but really just being able to
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kind of put that. That work in
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being in. In uncomfortable
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situations where, I mean, I'm putting myself out there and just kind
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of putting that, you know, that. That elbow grease into whatever it is that
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I'm doing. And so that's really kind of how I kind of took the word
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sweat. Now, you know, each one in my family got a different word.
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My daughter got organized, which we all had a great time laughing
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about, because she is not the most organized person.
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Her room is always a complete mess. If we fight over anything,
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it is the state of her room. And so the fact that she was handed
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the word organized as her of the year was quite comical
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and hoping that she can embody that for the next year.
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One of my sons got the word read. And, you know,
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before the end of the year, we were really struggling
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in school with English Language Arts.
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He's dyslexic. And with some of the tests that they're having to do,
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there's a lot of reading that goes with the passages.
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And so, you know, one of the things that the teacher and I talked about
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was trying to build his style, stamina, so how appropriate it
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was for his word to be read. My husband's
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word was commit. Now, my husband is not the
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most decisive person. He does not like to make decisions
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very often. And so we took that as, you know, being able to
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commit to a decision, making a choice.
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So if you want a kind of fun way to have a word of
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the year, choose you. I highly recommend going to
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Jen Fullweiler's name or Word of the Year generator
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and checking out and, you know, send me an email@it's
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caraara tractor.com and let me know what your word of the year ends up being.
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I'd love to know. I will go ahead and drop the link for
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that name generator site in the show
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description. Now, that also kind of leads into this idea, and
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I didn't use this, but Jen Fullweiler also has a
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saint name generator. You could also
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focus on a Saint of the Year and really
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allowing that to help be something that you lean into,
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learning more about this saint, leaning into
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intercessory prayers and asking this saint to,
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you know, offer up your petitions, offer up petitions
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on your behalf. I've actually done a Saint of the Year
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in the past. I didn't do it through, you know, a saint generator, but I
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just happened to choose St. Edith Stein, who is
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also St. Teresa Benedicta of the
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Cross. And I just really loved the message that
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she had about women and
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the character and the virtues and the
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uniqueness in which women were created. And so for that year, I
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really studied more about her,
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learned more about her, used her writings as, as a.
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As a tool to help me move forward. So that's also something
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you can try, is a. Is a Saint of the Year and
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seeing, you know, how that can help you stay grounded and focused
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and a beautiful example of
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living in holiness and living in virtue.
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And so my third tool to help you kind of stay focused and
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grounded is something that we've all Heard of, but it's a gratitude
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journal. Now, I like this idea of
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gratitude journals, especially if you are working towards
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a new goal or trying to change a habit. Because
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what we tend to focus on when we are trying to
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change something to get a different result is we
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like to focus on how it is not working for us, all the
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things that are not changing. And so a gratitude journal can really
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help you focus on progress
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and wins. Think the little things that
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are changing, because we know that it's these little
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wins that lead to that overall progress. And so, you know,
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we may desire this outcome, and we can get really frustrated when it
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doesn't happen very quickly. But the thing is, is that we
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can't really know how long growth is going to take.
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You've heard me say it. One of my favorite things is that God's plan for
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us takes a lifetime. And so when you can lean into a gratitude journ
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journal, it allows you to focus on that progress and those wins.
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And if you go deeper with it, really ask yourself
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and challenge yourself when you're thinking about
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what you are grateful for on any given day. Asking yourself the
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question, how did the Lord move in my life?
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Let it be evidence of, you know, kind of the God
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winks that we hear, the things that he revealed to you throughout the day that
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you can lean into that helps to remind you
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where he is present, how he is showing up.
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And I think that that's a really beautiful way to express gratitude instead of
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just kind of the classical like, oh, I'm grateful for
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my family or my health, which those are all wonderful things to be grateful for.
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But I think that we can go deeper in that gratitude, and
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it really, really allows us to see where the Lord's
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presence is in our life. Okay? And so kind of
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the last tool that I have is you can pick a
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scripture of the year, right? Being able to
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kind of have this scripture that's going to help keep you motivated, that
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kind of allows it to be like your. Your
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banner, like the summary of. Of your year.
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Right? And so I have a couple that I want to share with you that
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I think would be, you know, helpful or appropriate that you
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can. Can borrow or to. And so the first ones is
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Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10. For we are his
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handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God
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has prepared in advance that we should live in them.
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And so, y', all, God has always had a plan for you, and he's always
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had a plan for me, and he has always known what he would bring
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to you what he wants you to do. And. And the goodness
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that whatever your yes, that you are giving
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him would bring, that your life has meaning and that
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you are enough for God's plan, and that you're
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exactly what he wants and needs for whatever the task is.
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Just remember that you were. You were made in
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God's image, that you are the goodness
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and exactly what it is that he needs.
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Excuse me. So my Second verse is Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse
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17. If anyone is in Christ, she is a
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new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new
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has come. Right? So this is really about
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letting God transform you. Maybe there's this big
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goal that you're working on, this transformation that you're longing for.
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And when we can surrender it to the Lord and allow him
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to work in whatever that goal is,
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you become that new creation, that that change in that
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growth that you desire will happen. And
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just knowing that it's a continuous process, that each step of the
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journey is going to be one that continues to challenge you, but
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one that continues to change you, and that he's going to continue
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to mold you like the clay in the potter's hand,
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that you are constantly becoming who he created you
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to be. The next one is more of
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just kind of a quote from St. Paul. Have no anxiety,
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but with prayer and petitions, make your requests known to God.
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It's scripture. I don't have the. The verse written down, but
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it's from one of the letters of St. Paul. Right? But just knowing that we
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can ask the Lord for what we need, even if it's
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the silliest thing, he hears us and he's going to
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answer us, right? That he knows our heart
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and he knows whatever it is that you're struggling with. But
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we can, we can. I think we can really embody that
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conversation, that we can
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be blunt and express our feelings. I. I did
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this journaling today and, you know, told him, like, where I
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was feeling disappointed, where I was feeling hopeless,
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and just laying that there, that he knows
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how I feel. And
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knowing that in laying it there, that he is going to
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take this struggle and he's going to
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transform it. And that through this struggle, he's going to provide
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exactly what it is that I'm going to need to get through this
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difficult time. The next One
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is Psalm 119, verse 105. Your word is
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a lamp to my feet and a light to guide my path.
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Now this, I think, is especially helpful
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as we are, you know, maybe working towards new things
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because we do not always know what the next
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step is, but God already has that course charted out.
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He is your gps. He is telling you when to make the
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next turn, when to pull over to refuel and rest. And
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he's your protector. If you happen to make a wrong turn and end
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up in a not so great destination, he's going
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to reroute your way and get you back on track.
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Right? And I think this is especially true when we choose
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not to follow our God
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given gps because we think that we know a shortcut, shut
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court shortcut, that we can get there faster if we do it this
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way. But we know that really we have to let the Lord
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guide us and we have to let the Lord be that lamb that's going to
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guide our path and show us his way. The
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way that leads us to, to goodness, that leads us to holiness, that
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leads us to virtue. Okay? And the
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last piece of scripture I want to share with you that
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you may claim for this year is Jeremiah 29:11.
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For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
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plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you
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hope and future, y'. All. I know that going
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after goals or dreams can be scary, but if
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God is calling you to this certain thing, there is
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sure to be abundant goodness. Like he
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wants you to choose your greatest good and wants the absolute best
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for you. You are his beloved daughter. And much in the same way
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that we want what's best for our own children and our loved ones,
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we try to give them everything they will need to prosper and just
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trust that the Lord is going to give you that and in a
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much better way than we could in any sort of human capacity.
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So I hope that these tools can really help
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start you off on the right foot with whatever goal or whatever
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changes you're trying to make in 2026. Now, I will
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say most people start January off with a lot of motivation,
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but most people also get to the end of January and find that
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whatever it is that they have chosen is not sustainable
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or it's not going the way they want. And so I
00:19:30
want to invite you to join
00:19:34
me at the beginning of February. Specifically, it's going to be
00:19:38
on February. Sorry,
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I want to make sure I get there February 3rd, which is a Tuesday
00:19:45
at 11am Central. We are going to do the next
00:19:50
writing your next chapter retreat. And this one
00:19:54
is all about goal setting with God. So maybe you do have
00:19:57
this goal in mind, but it just needs to be refined. It needs to be
00:20:01
tweaked to make it more aligned with what God's plan is
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for you. And so I invite you to join me on this Goal Setting
00:20:08
with God retreat to really help you
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renew whatever goal you have for this year. To
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really help you refine and react recommit
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to what the Lord is asking and calling you to.
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So again you will find that registration in the
00:20:27
show description. There's a link there. Click on it, go ahead and
00:20:31
sign up. Invite a friend to join. It's really just a time to help us,
00:20:35
you know when it tends to be the hardest to stay
00:20:39
committed to our goals. So the retreat is really going to help you
00:20:43
again re establish and recommit to your goal for
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2026, but in a way that is 100%
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aligned with God and and his plan for you. So I hope that you'll
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join me for that retreat. Until
00:20:57
then, remember, beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower. It is
00:21:01
your time to bloom. Thanks so much for joining me this week
00:21:04
and I will see you right back here in a week. Until then, take care.