Check Out Twenty-Three Things I’m Hoping For In 2023

I’m terrible at keeping New Year’s resolutions. I can’t even meet loosey-goosey “gonna try real hard” goals, as can be verified by my January 2022 blog. I was so ambitious, it spilled into two posts…here and here.

Okay. So no judgment on my lack of success. Right?

I’m not willing to put myself out there again like that. This year is going to be all about HOPE!

Serious, silly, meaningful, frivolous…My hopes are all over the place. Don’t believe me? Well, continue reading, dear reader.

Greater appreciation of our friends and family

1. I’m going to start off serious, but don’t worry…I won’t stay there. Sustained seriousness, while appropriate at funerals and (most of) your doctor appointments, is highly overrated.

ANYWAY…

When the world devolves into more craziness than we thought possible, we tend to lean in to what we love. For most of us, I would wager that has something to do with faith, family, and friends. My hope–as always–is to grow in my faith. I’ve got a few tools to help. One of those is Bible study, both on my own and with others. Another is journaling. Last year I went through the Bible and kept a running list of what it said about God. WOW. I bit off a little more than I expected and it looks like I’ll be continuing this project for a few more months this year. My third tool is this Prayer Journal. I’ve been using it for several years now and it has definitely strengthened my prayer life.

2. My second hope has to do with family. I hope I’ll get to spend meaningful time with every person in our family. Every. Single. One. 

3. My friends…what a lovely bunch of women populate my life. You can read about some of them here, here, and here. Oh, and here and here. I hope to deepen these relationships. I appreciate them so much.

Fingers and Toes Crossed

4. I hope, hope, hope my debut novel, Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace, will be a success! You can be a part of my promo team (and receive some fun goodies!) Just leave a comment below or email me directly if you’d like to help.

5. Along the same vein, I’m hoping to get a bundle of pre-orders and reviews. You can pre-order here. And you can go on GoodReads and mark it as “Want To Read.” (Both of these actions will help me!)

6. I hope to finish re-working my third book, which will end up being my third, fourth, and fifth books because I tore up my original version and decided to make a series. I hope like crazy that I can get them finished. But that’s a tall order.

7. It’s a tall order because I’ve got my second book out on submission and I hope to sign with an agent or publish it with an indie press.

8. While we’re talking books…I hope to read more. There are so many fabulous books that will be released this year. Check out this one, The Beautiful Misfits, by my writing critique partner.

9. I hope to create more in general. I recently revisited gel printing and made some fun Christmas gifts.

Where Are We Going?

10. I hope we get to take a few long weekends to explore new (or old) places. I loved the weekend we spent in Nashville last year. You know, the one when we saw Nicole Kidman? It’s so fun to work that into conversations. And I’m sure it’s not at all boring or unimpressive. You’re impressed. Right?

11. I hope to marvel at God’s creation more. Marveling is marvelous. (Say marveling over and over. It’s a pretty funny word.)

12. I hope to find the perfect pair of jeans–you know, the kind that makes me look like a supermodel. (Did I mention Nicole was wearing jeans? She’s not a supermodel but she’s a pretty famous actress. That would work for me too.)

13. I love good surprises! So, I hope for a few that make me jump up and down with glee. Or at least smile real big.

A Girl Can Hope

14. I hope Texas A&M teams make my husband happy with win after win!

15. I hope to exceed my watch’s fitness goals for me every day. But I’m not including Sunday. Nope. No Sunday exercise goals. Drawing the line.

16. I hope I can learn to tell a joke. I sincerely stink at this and I just love people who can tell funny jokes.

17. I hope every day is a good hair day. (I actually liked my hair in the above picture, but I can’t get it to look the same way twice!)

18. I hope I remember…hmmm…what was I going to remember? Oh yeah, MORE. I hope I can remember more.

New People and Old People

19. I hope new people come into my life. I met dozens of wonderful writers last year at a Women’s Fiction Writing Association retreat in Albuquerque. This year’s gathering will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this fabulous organization. We’ll meet in Chicago and I hope I get to go! (That was kind of a two-fer hope entry. You’re welcome.)

20. I hope to celebrate my hubby’s 65th birthday with as much festivity as I can muster! He deserves it.

21. I hope Francie, our Corgi-Yorky (AKA Corky), enjoys her fifteenth year with us. She’s such a sweet, quirky little fur baby.

22. I hope to try dozens of new recipes and that they all succeed. Here are some great ones that definitely succeeded.

23. I hope to win every Wordle I do. (Why is that game so addictive?)

Here’s a Bonus!

I have many, many more hopes because hope springs eternal. But, I’ve got one last hope to share with you…My bonus hope? That you all have a spectacular year and that each of you becomes not only hopeful, but hope-filled! Hope-filled people make a difference wherever they go. I have high hopes for you.