New Years Goals

Hello there! It's been awhile, I know. I had hoped to be able to post a new blog entry much sooner than this, but all the busyness of our family here for Christmas and New Years, and then the getting-back-to-normal process afterwards coupled with a nasty cold and sinus infection has kept me quite occupied for the past couple weeks! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Here are some snapshots from ours:

Our 4 grands who were here for Christmas

Trying to get a picture without one of the kids "escaping" kept us laughing!

Brothers playing Wii with our grandson

We enjoyed a visit to Busch Gardens Christmastown!

Now that things have settled down after the holidays, I have been giving some serious thought to setting some goals for this new year. While I am not real big on "resolutions", I am a goal-setter, and I find that the beginning of a new year is the perfect time for reflection and consideration of what I would like to change or accomplish in the year ahead. The old saying "If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time" is actually pretty true!

Goals
1) provide focus
2) are an opportunity for specific measurement
3) provide encouragement as you see what has been accomplished
4) help you set priorities and make good choices

I like to set goals in spiritual, physical, and mental areas of my life.

Spiritually - Many years ago, I began to prayerfully select a special verse for the new year, and more recently a character quality to study and concentrate on. If you would look through my Bible,  you would see "2006 verse" or "2011 verse" noted in the margins of the pages. This year I have chosen Proverbs 31:26 - "She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness." Having this as my special verse for 2015 is a constant reminder to me to strive to be wise and kind in everything I say. Along with this, I have chosen kindness as the character quality to concentrate on this year. I have already enjoyed beginning to study the theme of God's lovingkindness which is mentioned so often in Scripture and is the basis for God's requirement for us to be kind. These are just two ideas for you to consider. Maybe you need to set some spiritual goals in the areas of prayer or Scripture memorization, books or portions of the Bible to study, or just being more consistent and intentional in your personal quiet time with God.

Physically - This is the most popular area where people set new goals, and often we fail to attain these goals. I do think it is good to think about what you need to do to take better care of yourself physically. It doesn't have to be big! Keeping goals small and manageable helps to keep us accountable, and we are more likely to attain specific goals than vague ones. Do you need to schedule a check-up or a mammogram? Exercise more regularly? Take better care of your skin? Keep a food journal to be more disciplined in your food intake, or use a pedometer to be more active? Think about what you need to improve and then implement small steps to achieve those goals.

Mentally - This area is actually the "fun" one for me. It is good to challenge ourselves to learn new things and spend time doing things we enjoy. Things like taking a class, learning a new skill, trying new recipes, completing a project that you have not finished, reading books, re-decorating a room, or organizing a closet are great goals to put on your list for this new year.

Lamentations 3:40 tells us, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord." I also like Deut. 11:16 - "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived and ye turn aside..." Taking heed simply means that we are to pay attention. Sometimes that's all it takes - paying attention to those areas in our lives that need some improvement. I hope you will spend some time searching and seeking what the Lord would have you to do in 2015. Happy New Year!

With Love,
Kathi