85: Planning with God to Set Monthly Goals with Intention

This episode is a profound exploration of strategic thinking, intentional living,  all centered around planning for your next month's goals. The host, Lyvita, shares her story of how spending a day with the Lord helped her see that she left her first passion.  Writing!

Steps are provided to show you how to do the same thing, when you lose your passion for doing what God's called you to do.  Listen in, you maybe surprised as to it's simplicity.

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Transcript

Lyvita: 0:02

Welcome to Hanging Out with Jesus Podcast, where we equip the Saints for ministry by bringing you tips, interviews, inspiration and information on how to live intentionally and daily in Christ. For more resources, including your free newsletter, visit Hanging Out with Jesus Podcast or click the link in the show notes. Hi, I'm Lyvita Brooks, author, Bible teacher, founder of The Me Project Academy and your host. Thanks for supporting this ministry and rating and commenting on the blog and subscribing to the podcast platform that you're listening to, because then it makes us feel more like a conversation. If this is your first time listening in, welcome. This is episode 85. Our focus is on setting up a monthly planning day with the Lord, intentionally. That and more is coming up Now come walk with me. Will we intentionally and daily hang out with Jesus In Christian News?

Lyvita: 1:20

This is International Strategic Thinking Month and National Suicide Prevention Month. Along with all the American students, they should be back in school by now. But isn't that interesting, international Strategic Thinking Month? Well, according to iStudy4Successcom, they define strategic thinking as a form of problem solving and involves being able to observe, comprehend and analyze a variety of information, plan solutions and then select suitable actions to take. Now here's what I really like about what they said. Strategic thinking involves more than logic. It is being able to brainstorm and handle unexpected twists and turns and is truly a valuable skill for students to develop and, I like to add, for adults to have Saints. Logic is not one and done. No, you need to be able to strategize. This is a skill not just for students, but something we as adults do regularly, which is working through real life problems and situations. I believe if we teach our youngsters to think logically and strategically, being infused with God's word, then when twists and turns come to throw them off track, they will realize that suicide is not an option. What's interesting is that the planner for The Fortified Coaching Program, which is opening up at the end of the month, the planner, is called the strategic planner. Wow, you know, god gave me that name a couple years ago. Now. Who knew that there's actually a month devoted to thinking strategically? Now, that's a God moment when God has told you something years ago and now you can see it coming into reality. What's happening in the Mead Project Academy and my writing.

Lyvita: 3:47

September 2nd I went and spent time with the Lord talking about what our focus should be for September. It was a business meeting with the Lord. The Holy Spirit had a lot to share, and my ears, my head, my heart, my gut, my whole being wore, high-lurking, listening. There is so much. I found out about me, how much my God loves me, and my next steps. One thing I'd like to share is that the Lord let me know I have left my first love. At first I thought he was talking about himself, but now he was talking about my writing.

Lyvita: 4:29

I've always loved writing. It's like it's engraved in me and, true, I have left it. I'm not working in it or doing it like I used to, but for the purposes of this episode, I must call it I left my first passion. What's your first passion? The thing that you look forward to doing, couldn't wait to find out more about, wanted to just do and never thought of it as showing off. But fun when you find it, or should I say when you know it, then that's one of your gifts of talent Time to take it, pray over it and utilize it according to how God's leading you and not how you want to use it. With all that said, saints, make sure you are working from your first passion, that thing you love doing, because when you do well, that gives life more meaning and you begin doing things with intention and daily resorting in God, getting the glory and you rejoicing in Him. Well, I'm back writing it, this time with more clarity and determination than before.

Lyvita: 5:58

I returned to writing Desiree, but it's not going to be the novella I originally put together. We're going an entirely different direction. It's gonna be a book of short stories. I'm also writing more flash fiction and poetry. I call them my fun writings because I can just relax in it and just go with it. I just love it. It's fun. I'm also learning how to write stories with a twist, meaning the ending isn't necessarily what you think it would be. Now, that reminds me saints.

Lyvita: 6:44

Nugget's Book Club y'all. Registration closed September 20th. I'm looking forward to hanging out with those that are about to participate. We start October 1st and saints begin looking for your emails. This is gonna be fun. This is gonna be fun and this is another first for hanging out with Jesus Podcast, which is a book club. If you miss the Nugget's Book Club registration, don't worry. We got something else that's coming up At the end of the month The Fortified Coaching Program. It's open. The links are in the notes and on my website.

Lyvita: 7:28

The Fortified Coaching Program is for those who want to begin their ministry and or turn it into a business. It's also for the person who now knows what they're called to do and are ready to take the next step, as well as those like me who left their first passion and are ready to begin again. God showed me how to start small businesses strategically, plan out their goals and put people on the road to being successful. I've started one of my own and restarted it after letting it go into limbo. God's blessed me to help others start their own business, including a band and locksmith business. I know what it takes to get started once God's placed it on your heart. I'll teach you how to build your foundation in Christ so it will stand or pivot when need to. Please pray about joining me, because I'm looking for 16 people who are serious about moving forward. I'm praying for people who want to advance to Kingdom of God. Is that you Pray? If God says yes, then register.

Lyvita: 8:52

Wall St School is back in session. That means more cars on the road, yellow school buses stopping traffic and we have to close up our toes. It's also that time to revamp your schedule. Look it over, make changes as needed. Think of it as giving it a refresh for the fall, winter, new season. So here's my question have you sat down with the Lord recently to plan your next month according to the goals he gave you for this year? To put it differently, have you spent time talking with the Lord about your goals for the next month?

Lyvita: 9:41

This may be a new concept for some, but for others, this is a time to make sure you are still on track to doing what God's called you to do. Goals help keep you focused. That's why it's important to review them daily and monthly, in the sense of gauging where you are now, analyzing the highs and lows and where you need to go to accomplish that deadline. Also, celebrating big, small and in-between accomplishments that's what put the spice in our lives. So what is this concept I'm referring to? It's setting one day out of each month to review your goals, Plan or just out your schedule with the Lord, and it's just for the next month. It's not for the month that you're in, but it's for the next month. And here's how you do it.

Lyvita: 10:41

First, identify one major goal you want to accomplish for your job and business, ministry, what God's called you to do, and personal life. Three things Job and business, ministry and personal life. The thing you don't want to do is to overcrowd your month with busy work. Your goal is to be intentional. Therefore, identify one major goal for each of these three things your job or business, ministry and personal. Second. Second, write them down. Write them down on a no card. Tape it to your computer so you can see it daily. Write it down Now. Take a picture of it. Write it in your phone. Mine are on the left side of my paper calendar and in my prayer journal.

Lyvita: 11:40

Third, get your mind straight. The point of setting aside time, and the amount of time that I'm talking about is from four to eight hours. That's so you can talk with God, listen to God, understand God, bounce off things you know with God's Word and, as you're listening and talking to Him, and just be in His presence. This means that you need to take time and praise and worship, inviting Holy Spirit into this planning session Thanksgiving and gratitude, confession and repentance and y'all. It also takes time to get all that stuff out of your head that you've been thinking about. You may consider this a time to do a brain dump. Just get everything out of your head. There's a lot of things in your head that don't need to be there. And then there's these great ideas that you got in your head that you need to write down. So just take this time and just just dump it all on a piece of paper so that you can truly be in God's presence, because when you put things on paper and you know that it's on paper, it's there, You'll deal with it, your mind quietes down and then you can go and focus on what it is that you need to focus on. So get your mind straight.

Lyvita: 13:12

Fourth, strategically plan with God. Start by writing down why you are here, since you're here to strategically plan with God for your next month and completing three major goals. State them and state whether it's your job, ministry or personal, or your topics may be household, finances and personal, but you need to state them and state what the goals are attached to each one of them, and then next set up your schedule, talking to God about how best to complete each goal within that month. Remember, just one goal per month. Don't try to do two goals. Just do one goal, because it make it complicated if procrastination shows up. Yeah, just do three.

Lyvita: 14:18

Okay, and lastly, pray, pray. That God helps you accomplish the goals, help you deal with the unexpected strategically and that you live daily with meaning, purpose, intentionally. Saints, setting goals, strategic planning, writing your schedule for the next month while in the presence of God all result in putting meaning back into your life. It gives you purpose, a reason to thrive. So let me know how this helps. I love to hear from you. You can click on the link in the show notes below or in my newsletter that I send out twice a month, or you can go to website hanging out with Jesus podcast, but either way, let me know how this helps.

Lyvita: 15:14

All right, saints, let's pray.

Lyvita: 15:19

Father, god, almighty God, thank you for allowing, thank you for allowing me to use this platform in order to encourage your children to live life intentionally and daily.

Lyvita: 15:37

I pray that they take the time to set aside a day to be in your presence, planning and scheduling for the next month.

Lyvita: 15:47

We got stop, determination and passion. We are so in need of more laborers in the harvest your children doing what you call them to do and understanding of your word. Stare up their gifts and talents where they find joy in doing it. Give them a stronger desire to thirst after your word until they reach for your word more than other things. And Lord, keep them safe as they go through their day. And Jesus name we pray. Amen, amen. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, then please consider subscribing to the podcast rating and reviewing it. This helps in moving it forward to being heard by more believers. Also, if you haven't done so, get your free twice a month newsletter to keep up with new releases of the podcast, monthly activities on how to live intentionally and daily in Christ, and much more. All this and more can be found, including my contact information on Hangout with Jesus podcast or the show notes. So until we meet again over the airways, intentionally and daily, hang out with Jesus, Shalom.