God-Centered Goal Setting Step 3 - Act: How Rhythms for Growth Help to Follow Through on Your Goals

January 31, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you (Psalm 32:8).

How do you stay on track with the goals you have set for yourself? What can help you follow through? My friend, you need a system.

What’s that you say? You think a system sounds boring? Well, it might sound boring. And honestly, sometimes it might seem boring, but systems are exciting because they help you get the right things done. That’s why I like to call them rhythms for growth.

“Systems” has become a very clinical word. In our age of industry and technology, systems have become associated with machinery. But systems are actually God-inspired. Really!

Think about it. God has designed systems that are rhythms for growth in nature. Consider the seasons. We love the summer when it seems like everything is bursting with life. In the fall, nature seem to die off, but really, things are just settling in for a quiet winter. And in winter, when it looks like nothing is happening, plants and animals are internally preparing for spring when growth happens again.

Plants have a root system to absorb the nourishment they need. The water cycle, or system, allows rivers and lakes to evaporate, form clouds, and then fall as rain, refreshing the plants and land. Day and night are a system that allow living things to rest and replenish so they can begin again the next day.

God’s systems — day and night, the seasons, and many other systems —are dependable. We know they will happen and when they happen the right growth happens.

You and I need to develop routines that help us follow through on our goals. Systems that help us do the right things in the right way so that we can carry out our God-centered goals. Routine may imply something mechanical and boring to you. But consider this, repeating actions in a regular rhythm helps to ensure that you get the right things done.

When I discovered the system, or routine, of taking fifteen minutes a day to write, I was finally able to complete the draft of my book, The YES Adventure: Transform Your Life with One Word. The system of choosing one word for focus at the beginning of the year has helped me better evaluate my personal growth. And the system of choosing three big goals at the beginning of the year, and for each day, has helped me track what I am accomplishing and given me motivation to keep working towards my long-term goals.

Systems support your goals by giving you a structure for completing them. A system is simply a routine that helps you get the right things done. Even a simple system can help you complete a big goal. Don’t make it complicated, friend. Just try it!

Key Question: How can I follow through on my goals?

A Scripture to Consider: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you (Psalm 32:8).

A YES Challenge: List five or more goals you want to achieve this year. Put a star next to the three goals that are most important to you. Circle your #1 goal for this year. Brainstorm the steps needed to accomplish that goal.

Choose your next step and write it down. What systems will you put in place to take this step? Repeat this process for your other top two goals.

Prayer: Jesus, this whole goal-setting thing is pretty intimidating. I’ve sat with these dreams for so long, it’s hard to imagine that now You and I are going to work together to turn the dream into a reality. I know without a doubt that I can’t do it on my own. If I could have, I already would have. I can’t do this without You. So, I invite you into this process. I need You!

Be in the planning, and be in the execution. Help me to make this dream into a goal and that goal into a reality for Your honor and glory. I believe that you will transform me in the process. Amen.

If you’d like to learn more, you can check out the book here. Please leave a review on Amazon! That will help other people find the book and receive guidance and encouragement in their God-centered goal setting.

If you’d like a partner to work through your process, schedule a complimentary 30-minute coaching session here. I’d be glad to walk with you through it.

God-Centered Goal Setting Step 2 – Aim: Discover Your More

January 24, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

God-centered goal setting is focused on discovering the purposes God created you for and setting goals that align with that purpose.

The first step in the process is to ASK. Ask God to help you understand how He has designed you and ask Him what is important to Him for you to do. The better you know God, the better you will know yourself, and the better you know yourself, the better you will know God.

The second step is AIM. Once you have explored how God has crafted you and asked Him to guide you, you take aim in the direction you discern Him to be leading. Setting God-centered goals is an act of faith. You are saying YES to God’s purposes for you.

What are your next steps? Where do you go from here? You have so many options. But just because you are moving on to the AIM part of your process doesn’t mean you stop asking. Keep asking God for His plans, purposes, and goals for you.

It’s time to craft some goals that align with what you have discovered about yourself. You have considered what you want and how you are made. Now it’s time to do something with them.

Aim: Take some time to center yourself in prayer. Then, take up your pen, pencil or keyboard and write out all the ideas you have about things you’d like to accomplish. They can be for the year or long term. Don’t discount character development goals. Who you want to be is even more important than what you want to do.

After you have written down as many possible goals as you can, it’s time to narrow them down. Choose seven to ten goals that you’d like to accomplish this year.

Are you familiar with the SMART framework for setting goals? It’s been around for a while, so I won’t take a lot of time here, but to refresh or inform. SMART goals are:

Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Realistic (I like Relevant)
Time-bound

As you write out your goals, think of it as choosing the highways that will get you to your destination. Goals are navigation tools.

From your big list, choose the three goals that are most important to you. Consider yourself successful if they are the only ones you accomplish!

Dear friend, setting goals that matter is possible. When you set God-centered goals, you set the goals that matter most. As you set aside time to consider and evaluate your goals in God’s presence, He will help you settle on the ones that will most fulfill His purposes for you. Fulfilling His purpose is the most important and satisfying goal there is!

Key Question: How do I set goals that really matter?

A Scripture to Consider: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

A YES Challenge: It can be hard to narrow down goals. Schedule a time on your calendar to write out your ideas and narrow them down to the top three.

Prayer: Father, I want to set goals that matter. I want to set goals that align with Your purposes for me. Help me be willing to dream and then help me be willing to focus on Your dream for me. Guide this process of setting goals. Be at the center of it all. Amen.

If you’d like a partner to work through your process, schedule a complimentary 30-minute coaching session here. I’d be glad to walk with you through it.

God-Centered Goal Setting Step 1: Ask - Listen for the Unexpected

January 17, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” Psalms 32:8-9 NIV

Tom and I like to begin the year with a season of prayer and fasting. Why? We want our relationship with God to set the tone for the year. What characteristics does He want to build in us? What weaknesses will we work on? What does God want me to know about Him this year? What goals does God want me to set to help me grow toward the person He designed me to be?

Setting God-centered goals starts with asking God what He wants. This goal-setting process begins in the final quarter of the previous year. That is when I begin praying, listening, and looking to discover my word for the next year. That word becomes a guide as I enter the fasting and prayer season. This process of praying and waiting is about staying open. By removing distractions, like sweet treats, social media, or mindless games on my phone, I make space for God to speak. And He does.

The YES Adventure Framework for God-Centered Goal Setting

January 10, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”’ Luke 1:38 NIV

What does 2026 hold for you? How intentional do you want to be in pursuing God’s purpose for your life? If you want to make progress towards fulfilling your divine potential, I want to offer you a resource.

My book, The YES Adventure: Transform Your Life with One Word, will encourage you and guide you through a God-centered goal-setting process: Ask, Aim, Act, Achieve.

You and I want Jesus to be the center of our lives. We want everything we do to honor Him and advance His kingdom. So, when you and I set goals, we want them to be goals that honor God and advance His kingdom. We want Him to be the center of every goal we set. This process helps us do that.

Here’s an overview.

ASK: Apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Setting God-centered goals begins by asking God to guide you in the goals that are important to Him. It includes recognizing your unique gifts, personality, and passions to discover the clues that God has built into you so that you can do what He has made you to do.

AIM: Once you have explored how God has crafted you and asked Him to guide you, you take aim in the direction you discern Him to be leading. Setting God-centered goals is an act of faith. You are saying YES to God’s purposes for you.

ACT: This is where you work on those God-centered goals. After writing out all the goals that come to your mind, you focus on the top three that you want to reach for the year. Narrowing your focus makes you more likely to reach the goal you set. It takes perseverance to follow through. You may need to fine-tune or refine your goals along the way. The important thing is to keep taking steps in the direction of YES!

ACHIEVE: Once you reach the goals you and God have set together, you get to celebrate and begin the process again. Be sure to celebrate your progress, even if you didn’t reach your goals. You have gone further than you were. That is a victory. And once you have achieved your goal, ask God what is next. There is always another YES.

That’s where I am right now. My book, this idea that started decades ago and began to take shape in 2013, has finally been accomplished! I have learned so much along the way. I am certainly celebrating. Now, I get to ASK again. Then I get to AIM, ACT and ACHIEVE.

What is my next YES and where will my YES take me?

If you’d like a partner to work through your process, schedule a complimentary 30-minute coaching session here. I’d be glad to walk with you through it.

A One Word Focus and a Framework for God-Centered Goal Setting.

January 3, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ' Philippians 3:12

It’s that time again. January. When everyone gets a fresh start. As you consider 2026, what do you want to achieve? A more important question: Who do you want to become?

I have found that a one-word theme for each year helps me focus and make progress in both of those areas. One word focuses on an area for personal growth, but has also helped me define goals that keep me working toward new achievements. I want to be a part of God’s purpose and become all that He designed me to be. Although that includes accomplishments, it is more about reflecting His character. That is what I want most.

The word God spoke to me for 2025 was Humility. Humility involves learning, not knowing. Listening, not teaching. Presenting a position rather than proving a point. I learned a lot about myself through this focus. I often found myself in situations where I had to remind myself that humility was what I needed to navigate them successfully. It wasn’t easy, but I pray that I have grown. The thing about growing in humility is that you are never fully grown. There’s always more growth needed.

I am still pondering my word for 2026. What about you?

Here’s a framework to help you discover and build on a one-word theme.

One Last YES Lesson from Mary: Saying YES to the Unexpected

December 27, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Mary demonstrates the YES life in one more way. She followed through to the end. Mary went through a lot in her lifetime, but we never get the sense that she strayed from her trust in God. The evidence of trust in the young girl who said, “Be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) remains until the last mention of Mary in Scripture, gathering with the first group of believers in Jerusalem, praying and waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). We can conclude that she was there and experienced the birth of the church with Peter and the others mentioned.

So, what would be the secret to her staying power? How did she live the YES life through the ups and downs of so much change and challenge? Since Joseph is not mentioned past the time when, at twelve, Jesus was found in the temple talking with the teachers, she likely lost her husband when she was young. She witnessed her son straying from the normal life path for people of her community, becoming an itinerant preacher who gained a large following and stirred up strong opposition, until eventually, she stood at the foot of the Cross and watched him die. And yet, if she was praying with the early believers, she must have also accepted and experienced the joy of His Resurrection. What was her secret? What can we learn from her about living the YES life?

A YES Lesson from Mary: Saying YES to Questions

December 13, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Mary had lots of questions. But she knew YES was the next step in God’s plan for her. She said YES to God’s plan . . . and all the questions that came with it.

· What would Joseph say or do?

· How would her family respond?

· What would happen to her and her baby—God’s baby?

· How would this baby even happen?

There was no way to know how YES would change her life. But there was only one answer her heart could give: YES!

God’s plan for you may leave you full of questions right now. I get it. I have definitely been there. But in the end, my friend, every question is worth it. The uncertainty is worth it. Because, at the end of the day, what matters most is God’s glory. Your path to fulfilling your divine potential requires taking uncertain steps. Your direction may be clear, but, nevertheless, uncertainty remains. Clarity does not cancel questions.

Are you ready to lift your foot and put it down, uncertain of where it will fall? Take the next right step and just watch what appears beneath your feet!

Excerpt from The YES Adventure: Transform Your Life with One Word by Cathleen Zahradnik. Check it out here. If you’ve read the book, please leave a review on Amazon to help other people find it!

A YES Lesson From Mary: Saying YES to God’s Plans and Adjusting Yours

November 29, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Mary is a good model. Think about it. She had a plan: To marry Joseph and have a family, to do all the things a normal Jewish girl would have done in her culture. But God had another plan. He chose her and Joseph because their hearts were already given to Him. He knew they would roll with His new plan. And they did.

Having a plan is only a starting place. We make our plans. He directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

The bottom line, my friend, is to remember that with God, nothing is impossible. That’s what the angel Gabriel told Mary (Luke 1:37). Gabriel told Mary that there was no way she would make God’s new plan happen. All she had to do was to say YES. God Himself would make it happen. Her part was to cooperate with His plan.

Are you ready to cooperate with His plan? Are you ready to let Him adjust your plan? But first, are you ready to make a plan? Yes? Great! Just remember, you can do this!

A YES Lesson from Mary: Trust God with Your YES

November 15, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

The YES Adventure is a life of saying YES to God. One of the best biblical examples of someone living the YES adventure is Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The Scriptures tell us a lot about Mary, especially in the book of Luke. Luke refers to “eyewitnesses” and “careful investigation,” and some scholars believe there is a good chance that Mary was a primary source for his gospel narrative. That would make the account of the birth of Jesus that many people read every Christmas Eve an accurate description of the events. If she was a primary source, then much of what we read about Mary in Luke can be considered firsthand information.

In Luke 1:38, Mary gives the answer that begins her YES adventure. She says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (ESV). Other translations say, “as you said” or “may your word to me be fulfilled.” Your YES adventure and mine begin the same way. We put ourselves completely in God’s hands and say “God, do what You want with me.”

We all know the story of the angel Gabriel coming to tell Mary that she had been chosen, out of the thousands of young Jewish women in Israel at that time, to become the mother of God’s Son. Put yourself in her shoes for a minute. This young Jewish girl, doing her best to follow God, living according to the cultural norms of her day, betrothed by her father’s plan, doing the things that were expected of her.

Suddenly, she experiences an event way outside the norm. An angel visits her. An angel! She recognizes God at work but is most likely shocked at what the angel proposes. A baby?

Pursuing Faithfulness

November 1, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Whatever else God may be calling you to do, my friend, above all, He calls you to be faithful. To be faithful is to be consistent. Be someone others can count on; someone God can count on. Count on yourself to show up for your calling. Commit to fulfilling the dream God put in your heart, no matter what.

How faithful have you been in your daily time with God? Fulfilling God’s purpose for you is about being His, remember? Being His means being faithful to make your time with Him a priority.

Have you been faithful listening to His voice through His word and His Spirit? Faithful listening means taking time to discern if you are hearing Him, or your own heart.