2013 Goals

I know I have written about my belief in the importance of goals (and vision for our lives) before, but now that we are into a new year, I thought it would be fun to look back on my list of 2012 goals, and see how I think I did.

Here are a few of them that I made:

1. start homeschooling Kinsey (main focus - teach to read) - Done (and I started teaching her Kindergarten stuff August thru December, and still going strong. I gotta say, I love this one!)

2. read 2 non-fiction books: Biography of Suzanna Wesley - Done.   The Overcoming Life by Rick Joyner - Almost Done (only half way by years end -whoops.)

3. drink more water - Done (pregnancy was helpful for this one, made me more thirsty)

4. start and finish the Song of Songs Study by Mike Bickle - Done (and loved it!)

5. write more on my blog - Done (more than any other year before!)

6. start a prayer meeting - Done (started in December, but it still counts, and it is still going)

7. tithe my time to the Lord = 18hrs/week - Somewhat Done (the goal at least helped me be more intentional, but my average was more like 12 hrs/week)

8. read thru the Bible in a year - Failed (but I blame pregnancy, reading was hard when i was preggo. I know, excuses, excuses. I never even got started on this one. whoops.)

9. give more away - Done (we gave more money away this year than any year of our marriage previously, and we gave lots of other 'stuff' away too! It felt so good to be able to give so freely)

10. pray more consistently - Done (my schedule had regular prayer meetings included and I became really good at sticking to those prayer commitments. I give props to the grace of the Lord though, because I know He made me stronger in this area this year)  

11. start an etsy business - Failed (but it is still in my heart, I just didn't feel the timing was this year, so although this goal was not met in a year, it is still floating around in my heart and mind)

12. have a healthy new baby & go into labor naturally - Done and Done! (my most awesome labor ever and baby boy is perfect!)


So, those are my goals from 2012. Pretty reasonable, right?

Well, now lets look at a few of my 2013 goals. These are so exciting to me right now!  I feel so empowered by how well I did with my 2012 goals (the Lords grace was surely upon me), that I started to make some new kinds of goals this year. Some of these are not even real goals, so much as faith declarations that the Lord will have to help me fulfill, but I know He can do it, and so I wrote them down in faith!

Here they are:

1. start first grade homeschool with Kinsey in August

2. teach my children to pray by praying with them more consistently (consistently is the key word)

3. read 2 nonfiction books: Love and Respect by Eggerichs and The Mission Minded Child by Dunagan

4. read thru the Bible in one year

5. do a new Bible study/book study

6. stay committed to praying consistant at scheduled times (again, consistently is the key word)

7. do weekly exercise (start with abs)

8. cut out more sugar and processed foods from my family's diet

9. cut out extra gluten sources in our diets (things other than bread, we love bread too much)

10. clean my house more diligently and stick to my cleaning schedule (oh, this is a hard one!)

11. organize and keep organized our family files/records

12. renew my passport

13. blog at least once a week (well we can all see how well I'm starting out on this one...whoops, but there is still time to correct this goal!)

14. finish more craft projects than I start

15. give more away (than even last year, not sure how, but I believe if the Lord wants to use us this way, then He will give us the means)

16. walk in greater spiritual authority and discernment (I feel like this one is in the Lords hands as much as mine)

17. learn to maintain my peace and joy, even in the midst of transition (this one will really get tested as our move to TX draws near)

18. make new and deep friendships (even while I'm here in SC, but even more so when we arrive in TX)

19. send out at least 4 care packages to missionary friends overseas

20. start to learn a bit of spanish

21. hug and show my affections for those I love in a more regular way (I don't want to move away from my SC friends and have any regrets about the way I loved them. Love is an action, so I want to show my love more often, with my actions and words!)

22. design a new garden  (somewhere, anywhere, doesn't even have to be for me....)



There you have it. Pretty crazy, right? I feel like some of these are big, but not too big for God, who is my strength. So I am moving forward, and if I don't ace all of these in a year, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I will focus on what I did get accomplished and thank the Lord for what has been fulfilled!

Be inspired! The Lord is mighty, and His strong right hand is willing to move on our behalf if we ask Him. You better believe I am asking Him for some divine help, but in the end, I will be better for having stretched myself. My hope is to be very......... flexible, by the end of this year!

Hugs!


PS. It is not my intention to intimidate anyone with my lofty goals, it is my hope that you will be inspired. So it is also worth mentioning, that I have been making goals for a few years now, but the first year that I made goals my goals were not nearly so big. 
Start small, make a manageable list, and keep it somewhere where you will see it often. Keeping your list before you will help you remember to keep going for the goals, and not forget about them. We as women are prone to forget, so don't give yourself that easy way out. I keep mine in my day planner, and I look at them at least every two weeks if not more. The sight of them spurs me on, to do better and more!
Hope that helps.