It’s January and the popular look of this month is often represented with blank slates and the color white.  Current advertisements depict crisp, cotton sheets and beautiful stacks of soft, fluffy white towels.  Blogs feature shiny, clutter-free countertops and labeled canisters lined up on pantry shelves. I’m drawn to these images, because it’s what I want to see after the last piece of English toffee is consumed, the lingering scraps of wrapping paper are tossed, and the final Christmas bin is neatly stacked away in the garage; cleared surfaces and clean slates.  It feels so good to give my eyes a rest in my home and refocus.  In January, I am no longer distracted by clutter and holiday bustle, so I can finally dream about what I want to accomplish over the next twelve months. Many of us clean, organize, dejunk, and set goals as a ritual at the beginning of the new year.  Isaiah 1:18 reads, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”  What hope that scripture gives us to be diligent in trying to make changes!  All the mistakes we made last year that we want to fix and the goals we set but didn’t follow through, we get to try again.  It doesn’t feel so discouraging, because we have a clean slate.  President Gordon B. Hinckley encouraged us to “try a little harder to be a little better.”  Once you identify what will make you a little better,  think of what can remind you to stay motivated with your goals when life starts once again filling up with daily clutter and schedules?  Is it a song?  A slogan?  A quote?  A scripture? A daily alarm?

As for me, nothing inspires me more than words put in an art form.  The power of the written word.  I love President Spencer W. Kimball.  He is the prophet I grew up with from the time I was four until I was a junior in high school.  I am inspired by the personal slogan that he lived by, “Do it!”.  I have seen these two little words many times together over the last several decades.  They’ve been engraved on multiple desk plaques, printed on thousands of refrigerator magnets and wall posters, and most likely called out by mothers everywhere when chores are in need of getting done. “Do it!” is the simple phrase that calls us to our duty.  Whatever main goal you set this January, quit contemplating over it. Quit thinking about starting it, and just DO IT!

And if you’re one that needs a visual reminder to stay focused, click here to download my hand lettered print pictured in the above photograph.

This guest post was submitted by Aimee Ferre.  She grew up in the desert of East Mesa in Arizona, but married a mountain loving Utah boy.  She currently lives in Sandy, Utah and is a mom to 3 daughters. She owns a small crafting business where she creates holiday decor and specializes in hand lettering.  You can always find her creating new projects or planning gatherings for friends and family.  Follow her on Instagram to see what is currently on her desk or find her at aimeeferre.com.