God-Centered Goal Setting Step 3, Part 2 - How to Create Rhythms for Growth to Reach Your Goals

February 7, 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 follow through on the goals you set? After prayerfully seeking God’s direction and writing out what you believe are His goals for you, you need a plan to help you follow through. The key to getting the right things done is to set yourself up for success with rhythms for growth — systems that help you stay on track.

Systems have been a game-changer for me. Once I became intentional in creating systems for myself — rhythms for growth — I began to check off some of my most important God-centered goals. It wasn’t easy. It took time. But having a system for planning and reviewing my progress helped me to keep taking one step at a time.

Here are some tips for creating your own Rhythms for Growth:

1. Sunday Set-up – Set aside a few minutes on Sunday to do a quick sweep of your house and put things back in order so you can start the week fresh. Then take a few moments to look at your schedule for the upcoming week. Taking some time in advance can help alleviate those last-minute moments of panic when you suddenly remember something important is happening and realize you are not ready! Not that I’ve ever experienced that…

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.

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.

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 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.

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?

As Long As There’s Christmas, There’s Hope (Repost)

December 20, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Don’t you think that the Christmas season inspires more creativity than any other season of the year? There are multitudes of songs, stories, poems and plays. There are also a myriad of movies and TV specials. In an attempt to make money off of a movie’s popularity, film companies will often create a special Christmas offering. Notice that I didn’t say that all that creativity is actually “inspired.” Many of these works are admittedly forgettable. But there is one presentation you might not know about that always touches my heart.

One of my favorite movies is the 1991 Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. It was the first full length animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Not only was it popular, it really is an excellent film. Disney made lots of money in spinoff projects, one of which was Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

The action is set in the middle of the original storyline during the winter while the Beast and Belle are becoming firiends and starting to fall in love before the enchantment is broken. Belle wants to celebrate Christmas which the Beast has forbidden. Her efforts are brought to a halt by the Beast but, of course, in the end he comes around and a joyful Christmas is celebrated on their journey toward an ultimate happy ending.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas is a musical offering and there is one song that so captures the spiritual essence of the holiday that I find it often in my head. The lyric that says it all is this:

“As long as there’s Christmas I truly believe that hope is the greatest of the gifts we’ll receive.”

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: Accepting the Risk of YES

December 6, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Mary’s YES allowed her to participate in the purposes of God. Her no would have excluded her from God’s purposes. She knew that there was a risk involved. She had questions that were not answered in a concrete way. All she knew was that God was asking something of her. God had given her a mission: to bear his Son. How could she turn him down? So, Mary’s YES adventure began. She gave God her YES. He did the rest.

What is God asking of you? As you recognize Him at work, calling you, there is really only one thing to do if you want to live this adventure of a YES life. Say YES and leave the rest to him. Mary will tell you that, although it is scary, God can be trusted and it’s worth the risk.

Give God your YES. Trust Him with the rest.

What is God asking of you that will involve risk and requires your YES? Decide how you will respond today. Don’t put it off any longer.