2009 Goals

For the past few years, at the beginning of a new year, I take time to set a few goals for the year. I started this after reading a book that was talking about how important it is to have goals. The Author said, "If you aim at nothing you will hit your target every time." That really got me to thinking, "What am I aiming at? Where does God want me aiming?" So, this is how I make sure I'm not aiming at nothing. I begin with prayer and ask God to show me the things I need to work on then I take three index cards and on one side of each card I write one goal. Then on the other side I write the steps of how I can achieve that goal. So for example the main goal could be... to live a more Christ centered life.(That would go on one side of the index card) Then on the other side of the index card I would flesh out how I will live a more Christ centered life. This is kind of how it looks...

1. Spend more time in the word...

a. get up 15mins earlier to read the bible
b. get involved in a bible study

I keep these index cards in my bible to review periodically. At the beginning of the next year I look back at my goals and see the areas that still need some work but, best of all I see the goals I did accomplish that year.

One of my goals this year is to read at least 12 books. This may not sound like a huge goal, but between homeschooling and taking care of my family this is a good challenge for me. I plan to read at least 15mins a day. My 12 book goal does not include the books I read to the boys. Most days we read a chapter a day after lunch, while snuggling on the couch. (That is my favorite part of homeschooling!) So...I thought I would write a review of the books when I finish them. The first book is....

I really liked this book. It talks about how important it is to bless those we love and equally important to receive a blessing from those who love us. The unconditional love and approval that come with the blessing shapes our self-esteem and emotional well-being. There are chapters on what happens when we don't receive the blessing and how we can make sure our loved ones receive the blessing from us. In the back of the book there are ideas for ceremonies of "Blessings" that can be done for your parents, a spouse, or a child. I wish I had read this book about a year ago. It would have helped with the planning of the celebration we had when Joshua turned 13. He invited a few friends over for a sleep over. At one point during the evening we gathered the boys together and Mike gave a short speech and read some scriptures. We went around the room and had everyone say some words of affirmation to Joshua. Then we presented Joshua with his gift. We gave him a purity ring.(We had discussed this prior to the event and he wanted to make a commitment to purity.) It is a woman's wedding band. He will wear it until he puts it on his brides finger. (If she wants to use it as her band, of course!) It ended up being a very special night. We plan to do this again with Seth and Noah when they turn 13.

Joshua receiving his ring.