Tag: new year

5 Ways to Guarantee an Epic New Year

After the Christmas trees are gone, the lights are taken down, and you’ve used all your gift cards it hits you. Two thousand eighteen is OVER. Congratulations dear, you’ve lived to see another year! This is the first Monday of many and it’s time to hit the ground running. We’re one week into the new year. By now you’ve been inundated with vision board party invites, email challenges, and downloads. You most likely have one of two reactions: excitement and motivation or annoyance and overwhelm. Whichever shoe fits, let me help by showing you 5 ways to guarantee an epic new year.

Get Honest

Before you go guns blazing into the new year full of adrenaline it’s best to pause and gain some clarity. Take a moment and ask yourself “How do I really feel about last year?” Self assessment and introspection is a must for growth. What were my accomplishments? What were my mistakes? How can I improve based on the lessons I’ve learned? It’s important to identify what was good, bad, and ugly about last year so you can make any necessary changes.

Get Organized

Now that you’ve established what did/didn’t work well, you can begin setting goals for the year. These goals should be “S.M.A.R.T.” meaning: specific, measured, achievable, relevant, and time bound. For example, one of my goals is to improve my kidney health. Specifically, lower sodium intake. I can measure this by not cooking with salt unless absolutely necessary. If it is, I can use Himalayan sea salt. It’s achievable because I’ve done it before in 2014 after surgery. It’s relevant because I still have stones in my left kidney. I see my urologist this month and will schedule a follow up in June, making this time bound.

Get Physical

This could either be obvious to you or out of place but hear me, you can’t achieve any of your goals if your unhealthy. Playing off of my goal in the previous step, an annual physical is a must. One of the most neglected areas of our lives is the area of health. Get a complete physical. Start the year with counseling or therapy sessions. Then adjust your goals if necessary to include what’s needed to be your healthiest self. Be good to your mind and body.

Get Offline

I know, you’re thinking, “Really Shakira?” but hear me out… Yes as a blogger I spend time online daily. We all do. I even hope that you’ll continue to stop by my neck of the internet and read these blog posts. However, we all need time away from the electronics. A Facebook comment and an Instagram like are great. Sharing viral videos and creating content is awesome. But making out with my husband and spending time with my friends is better. It’s okay to unplug. Your followers will survive.

Get to Work

Finally, the last step in this process is the most crucial. You can assess, plan, get the lab results, and power down all you want. None of this matters if you then fail to do the necessary work to accomplish said plans. Last year I had about three goals that failed to achieve. Why? Because I didn’t do the work. Even with having unexpected surgery and being on medical leave, I could’ve achieved those goals. If I’d had a time table in place with realistic steps they would’ve been accomplished prior to surgery. I encourage you to do the work this year. That’s the only thing standing in the way of your success.

I hope you’ve found this to be helpful. Leave me a message in the comments and tell me what your goals are for the year. Let’s hold each other accountable. I promise if you do these 5 steps, your year will be AWESOME!!

Coat//Thrifted , Scarf//H&M , Top//Uniqlo , Shoes//Donald J. Pliner

My Goals for 2016

Happy Friday everyone!

We are currently halfway through the first month of this new year and to be honest, I started the year with no clue of what I wanted. All I could think about was recovering from last year. That was my one goal. It’s taken me a little longer than I’d hoped but I finally have some clarity and a vision for the year ahead. I have six goals, five I’ll share publicly with you all.

  1. Healthy mind & body – This should go without saying but I actually don’t take care of my health like I should. After spending literally half of 2014 in the hospital or on laid up in bed due to kidney stones and infections, I should have made radical dietary changes. While I started off strong in 2015, by mid year I slipped back into old habits of high salt and sugar consumption. Not to mention stress and financial issues meant I wasn’t sleeping well. This time around, I want both mind and body to be in alignment. Daily prayer and exercise this year are nonnegotiable.
  2. Get my Driver’s License – I really have no explanation for why this goal wasn’t accomplished at age sixteen other than pure laziness. At thirty-two years of age I’ve had plenty of time to achieve this goal. Time to stop stalling and just do it already!
  3. Clear credit card debt – The reason 2015 was so rough was largely due to the debt I’d accumulated the two years before. Unexpected medical expenses along with already increasing credit card debt all compounded at once. Not to mention recent student loan wage garnishment this past fall. Listen loves, ain’t nothing glamorous about looking good while being flat broke. This ends now!
  4. Plan 4 Getaways – I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, if you broke stay ya butt home!” I totally get it, but by getaway I don’t mean a trip to Australia. Instead maybe a weekend in Atlantic City or a trip to New York or Boston. Yes folks, I fully intend to pay off my debt AND get my Groupon on in 2016.
  5. Earn at least 5K Blogging – Of all the goals on my list, this seems like the most impossible. It’s something that I know nothing about and something that terrifies me to death. Which is exactly why I refuse to take this off the list. I love blogging and I know that I haven’t even scratched the surface of what Sing Pray Shop can truly become. I look forward to growing with you all as a woman, blogger, and even entrepreneur in this year ahead!

What I left in 2015

December 31, 2014 I stood in watch night service at church with my family earnestly making declarations for the coming year. 2015 was to be the year I got married, the year I released a short EP, and my year of debt cancellation. Not one of these actually happened. In many ways 2015 absolutely sucked…but it was also the best year of my life! If I could sum it all up in one word it’d be correction. In many ways I’m a control freak and as such, my perfectly made plans became more important than my relationship with God. I began ignoring the holy spirit and charting a new course without my navigator. As a result, God demolished the idols I’d made of weddings and stages, forcing me to confront my fears and character flaws. For this reason, the events of the past year had to happen. They were pretty painful but they produced good fruit. As a result, there are things that I’ve shed and left behind me…

  1. The need to have all the answers – Even in a romantic context, I generally hate surprises. As far back as I can remember I’ve planned my own birthday parties. I plan my outfits for the week. I plan my meals and only pair certain sides and entrees. I plan EVERYTHING and when I can’t control my situation my anxiety goes through the roof. Needless to say, if things don’t go as predicted, it can be very hard to adjust. Such was the case last year and it wasn’t until the 4th quarter of 2015 that I truly became aware that I don’t have to manipulate every detail of my life. As a child of God, my only priority is to submit my plans to Him and seek wise counsel. As I learn His will for my life through His word, my will begins to line up with His and I gain peace resting on His promises. My life is in God’s hands and there is a divine time table for everything He’s ordained for me…this I can unload the weight needing to have all the answers.
  2. Making emotional decisions – Perhaps the most important lesson of 2015 for me was the realization that I don’t always hear from God. I pride myself on having an active prayer life and a personal relationship with God. However, there in was the problem… pride. While there’s nothing wrong with taking pride in something, that pride can easily turn into arrogance and self righteousness. As an intercessor, I failed to realize my growing haughtiness and “I know God hears me” attitude. Intercessors can sometimes become big headed, feeling that whatever we ask/want/desire God will surely bless. Although the bible does encourage us to ask anything in faith and it shall be given, our request must line up with God’s word and His will. Being lead by my emotions last year, specifically frustration and fear, resulted in dullness of hearing. My emotions were louder than the voice of the God.
  3. Fear of failure – Having struggled with fear all my life, I am many times paralyzed from true progress, despite being a control freak. However, having failed big time in certain areas last year, I can now say I’m so glad I did! Failure is apart of success. I am 32 and I have a lot of mistakes yet to make. I refuse to allow fear of failure to keep me from making new plans and taking action. I’ve already survived embarrassment and have learned necessary lessons. God doesn’t want us to stop planning, dreaming, and creating our lives…but as our father, He does wasn’t us to trust His word and seek His guidance.

Well loves, I hope this has been insightful and encouraging. Especially for those who’ve experienced a much different 2015 than expected. I look forward to sharing more inspirational content rooted in my faith.  My hope is that my transparency is relatable to you. Let’s get ready for a much better 2016!  XO, Kira

Hello 2016

Happy New Year!

No matter what you’ve experienced in 2015 I hope it made you stronger and wiser. I’ll be sharing my personal reflections on this past year along with my goals for 2016 all week on the blog, so meet me back here for that conversation. To kick off the first full week of the new year I’m starting with a style post! I spent my NYE in my favorite place as usual, church. Every year my family spends that evening in worship with our church family bringing in the new year with praise and gratitude.

Dress//Wet Seal , Scarf//K. Vaughn , Boots//Diamond Collection , Accessories//H&M 


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