2012 Goal Setting Part 1

I was sorting through older posts and could not find a goal post for 2011.  This doesn't surprise me because it seems like I've had a lot of stuff floating around in my brain but nothing solid.  I think its important to review the past to see where you want to go in the future.  When I look back 2 years ago it looked like this.....

Spiritual - Read through the Bible in one year (I've never done this), finish my discipleship class strong by graduating with an A and by finishing up 3 spiritual retreats (one being a 3 day one!) - I did graduate and did complete my retreats but did not read through the Bible.
Physical - Walk 5 miles a week = 240 miles/year (I barely get 3 a week in now) - did not continue this physical goal due to ankle and knee problems.
Financial -Save 6 months expenses by June (that's the latest date; hopefully will be much sooner) - YES!!
Business - earn my first diamond ring and car from Mary Kay by June 30 - Almost made it happen in 2011 but going on the goal list again this year.  

Habits that I want to continue and strengthen:
Talk to my kids about the Lord daily - teaching them from the Bible
Dating my husband once a week - still need to work on this
Obeying the Lord on a daily basis with the small and big areas of my life - continuing to strive for
Strengthen relationships with other women in my life - going to make more measureable goals for this year
Becoming more disciplined and not letting little distractions side track me from the big picture of what the Lord wants from me - I have implemented change in this area and will make more specific goals for 2012
More family activities as finances allow (and getaways for me and Jeff) - still a desire on my heart but we are getting closer by adjusting our budget to allow this to happen more.


Even though this is from 2 years ago and nothing to evaluate from last year, they are all still very relevant to my life now and room to make improvements for.    

30`s

Today I turn 31.  The last two years have been hard birthdays to celebrate.  Twenty-nine was bad knowing it was my last year in my 20's and turning 30 would only mean 10 years away from 40!  YIKES!  However, I was reminded by friends that 30 was much better than 20's and with age comes priceless wisdom.  So, after turning 30 I embraced this new decade and decided to enjoy it.

So far my 30's have brought...

A homeschooling journey with my boys which has given us many priceless memories and time learning together.  This decision has truly forced us to slow down and enjoy this season.

  

New leadership opportunities and an expansion in my 8 plus year business

Friendships - new and old growing stronger and complimenting different areas of my life

Push to get out of my comfort zone in different areas of my life

Successes that I didn't think were possible along with failures and learning experiences along the way

A change of heart in some areas of my life (habits, decisions, etc) and a continuing desire to walk with the Lord more closely.  
Lots of things I'd say I'd never do like canning...

New insights into marriage and parenting - like how to truly love my husband and boys - several "ah ha" moments this year

Creating much needed space to enjoy life and slow down a bit (Sabbath rest, Family Nights, Date Nights, nights to do nothing but relax, etc)

Discovering Pinterest - an exciting new website that offers tips and insights to just about anything you'd want to know

Lots and lots of books - don't think I've ever read so many books in one year.  I didn't document them all but with less TV viewing comes more time to read and soak in knowledge and wisdom.

  

Learning how to care for my body better and feed my family with more nutrition.  Just small baby steps to help us feel better and eat better.

I'm sure I'll come up with many more after publishing.  Bottom line is that 30s definitely not as bad as I thought it would be....in fact, its been quite enjoyable!  

Where next?

It's been on my heart for awhile to disconnect from the online world.  I have a friend who does not have texting or facebook.  We occasionally communicate through email but if I truly want to check in on her I have to call her.  I've done that a few times and the times I've called she's needed a friend to talk to.  It was so neat to see how the Lord placed her on my heart, I called and she was in need of talking to a friend.  That relationship has grown more in the last several months due to my intentionality of person to person contact.  Another friend I have can text but she doesn't check email often.  Again, I'm more intentional about face to face contact with her.  And that friendship has grown over the last few months too.  

Due to my season of life, I am not currently in the same "loop" as my girlfriends.  There has to be intention in my relationships.  Some friendships have remained strong, some have not and some are no longer in existence.  I truly believe we go through seasons of friendships and some will not last after a particular season is over.

So this morning I ask the Lord how I can build true authentic relationships ...
*Do I stop sharing my life online?  Is it time to just share through close personal contact?
*Do I stop reading online?  If people in my life knew they couldn't get in touch with me online, would they choose to call me instead?

I will be evaluating what my blog will look like.  Will it remain personal?  Will it be more informational?  Will it have a theme?  Will I focus on one area?  Not sure!  As I take a break to seek the Lord, I hope to be back in January with some insight and direction.

In the meantime, enjoy these upcoming weeks with true authenticity as you gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  

Loyalty

This quote on loyalty really touched me today...

"God Bless loyal people - I love loyal people. People who will stick with you when all else is in turmoil. People who will still love you even when they know you. People who, despite your human failures, still believe in you.  Those are the kind of people I want in my life."

I put bold on the sentence that really spoke to me.  I am so thankful for the loyal friends in my life who don't try to change me, they simply love me.  We all have junk whether we fully disclose that or not.  This quote brought tears to my eyes because I thought of Jeff.  He loves me so unconditionally; a love I do not deserve from him.  He knows me inside and out......and still loves me.

How blessed I am to have friendships who still love me even after the truly know me.  :)

Changes

I'm feeling so blessed to homeschool my boys!  Oh, its not easy and some days I wonder what I've gotten myself into.  Lately I've been feeling so blessed.  We have been getting together with 6 other moms and their elementary aged kids to do art and let the kids hang out every other week.  The boys always look forward to this time to see their friends.  Then every week they have PE class at HU and get together with some of these same kids plus other friends.  They love these times out.  I love knowing all the moms to my boys' friends.  I didn't have that opportunity before.

One concern I had was seeing Isaac come home with an attitude, fight his brother a lot (this still happens but not quite as much anymore), and talk about things I didn't feel were age appropriate.  I'm so glad to have my Isaac back!  He's back to his old self and he is loving our time together homeschooling.

I find it quite interesting (but not really, we are talking about the Lord here) that all my fears have been taken care of.  For example...


*Will my kids lose out on relationships?.....the Lord provided an opportunity that I mentioned about to join a small group of mothers getting their kids together.  How it happened was crazy too!
*Will I hate being "stuck" at home each day?....have found more freedom than ever before!  I love being at home but having the opportunity to change up a day if we want to.  Last week I went shopping with my mom and sister-in-law so Jeff did afternoon school with the boys on his afternoon off. I'm less stressed because I'm home more during the daytime hours, which was something I didn't really know I needed.  Back in October we had our break during the warmest days of the month...it was so great to have that flexibility!
*What will my family say?....so far, I've had a great support system, another detail the Lord worked out for me.
*Will I burn out?....yes I can but I have the ability to design my schedule so I know when its time to take a break before that happens.  We work off a balanced calendar schedule that we absolutely love!
*Will I lose a sense of me?....Not at all!  I still make me a priority because I know if I'm not taken care of, I can't take care of my family.  I haven't had to give up anything that I love because Jeff and I prioritize what we feel the Lord wants us to do and what we need to put our time into and say no to the things that doesn't fit our priorities or passions.
*What about giving my kids a chance to share Jesus with others?...this could be another post but short version...my boys aren't ready for that yet.  They still need me to train them more in a safe environment.  I have seen other children their age a lot farther along in their spiritual journey.  I'm in no hurry because I want their relationship with the Lord to be true and authentic and we get several daily opportunities to discuss the Lord and His ways being at home together.  I trust the Lord will give them opportunities as they mature and grow closer to Him.

Plus, there's awesome opportunities like going to DeBrands for school!!  HA!  Post to come next week on our field trip experience.

Review of November

Lately I've been thinking about what I want my blog to look like.  I love just blogging about whatever....with no rhyme or reason.  I don't want to put guidelines on things I will write about but I would love to have a few consistent things.  I was doing a weekly review in October but it got to be too much to keep up on, then thought about doing it monthly but realized I did posts on all the exciting things already.  Since I love to read I've been thinking about doing a review on all the books I read on a monthly basis.  Not like my opinion of them really matters but I do love to hear from others what books they are reading and what they are learning.  I wanted to start in November but realized I didn't really read any books worthy of writing a review on yet.  I did browse a few homeschooling books but didn't write down the titles.  I've been reading bits and pieces of things but nothing too in depth.    

I've also been thinking about working on one new habit a month and blogging about that for a year.  I want to be ready to commit to really doing it though!  Just a few thoughts as I look to December and the new year following!

What does your December look like?  I plan to do what I can to stay healthy as I type beside a sick husband!    I already did a shopping day with my mom and sister-in-law yesterday.  Looking ahead we have a few family gatherings, some Christmas baking (and giving away), a field trip, few parties with friends, my annual holiday open house and my 31st birthday!  Towards the end of the month it will get insanely crazy so even though I had to give up my planned Saturday of baking with a girlfriend due to a sick hubby, I am going to enjoy the down time; even while nursing my Jeff back to health and praying the rest of us stay clear of it.      

I get really excited about this!

Jeff and I will be working on our budget this month.  We definitely need a tune-up and I'm excited to work on it!  I love working with numbers.  It's like a big puzzle to figure out.  Lots of changes and new priorities this year that we want to build our budget around.  I wanted to share my favorite all time way to budget.  This completely turned our marriage around and I don't say this lightly....we never fight about money...ever.  I am so thankful to not have this stress so this is why I push Dave Ramsey.  I realize he's not for everyone and we don't follow it step by step but adjust it to our own style and preferences that work so well for us. The one thing we do use and stick to is the Zero - Based budget and you can read more about that here along with sheets to download.   

I'll share below the major benefits to this kind of budgeting for our family...

1) Always, always have money in our checking account so I don't have to worry about when I can pay a bill (it was not always like this before we started the program)

2) Freedom to spend money with no guilt because you budgeted it in

3) There's money for rainy days when you start and work your way up the baby steps (we started this system on a very low income 7 years ago). 

4) Allows you to give away more of your income to others in need when the needs arises because you can plan for it

5) December is not different than any other month because we've already saved our Christmas spending money throughout the entire year.  

Do you dread your budget or love it like me?