A New Year....Almost!

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A cold and blustery day with snow still sitting on the ground from yesterdays “flurries”.  Not an ideal Sunday morning to wake up and get off to church, but we did it anyway. The warmth of our home was beckoning us to stay inside, but our hearts were pushing us onward to start off our week, and ultimately our year, with worship. The sermon this morning was about the power of routines. Making habits, good ones in particular, that will assist in living a life that glorifies God.

It’s funny sometimes how God works. I mean, I know that most people take a bit of time as Christmas is over and we approach the New Year to ponder on what the past year has held and what the new one could be. We all look to see what we could do differently to have different outcomes or to improve some part of our existence.  That being said, it really shouldn’t surprise me that the topic of the sermon series to open this new beginning was about how to put God first and that by doing so would put everything else in its proper order.

But, just yesterday, I was looking at a fresh new planner for 2018 and at the beginning of it there is a goal setting page. I spent some time thinking through the last year and where I see myself currently and where I would like to be this time next year.  I read a few varying articles about goal setting and breaking them down into steps to help make them more achievable. As I sat and took in all that our pastor had to say this morning, I felt God confirming my goal choices, particularly the first one I wrote on my paper.

I broke my goals down into sections:

First, Faith Goals:  Be intentional about my time with God each day. Follow a specific Bible reading plan so that I can complete the entire Bible in 2018 but also spend some time meditating on it, not just ticking the box that a task has been done.  Praying before and after encountering the Word and making notes about what God impressed upon my heart. Making and keeping a running prayer list to document what God has done.

Second, Family Goals: Be intentional about keeping in contact with my family, local and far away. It is just so easy to live life day-by-day and not speak, text or message those you do not see often due to schedules or distance. I don’t want that to be an excuse this year, I want to make it a priority.  I want to be intentional about being not only in contact, but be encouraging and affirming to my family members.

Third, Personal Goals: Be intentional about making better choices about eating, exercise, entertainment and time management. I’m not setting a “resolution” to lose a certain amount of weight, to exercise a certain amount each day/week, but I am going to set a goal each week to improve over the week before. Slow and steady will win the race rather than radical changes that put my body in shock and ultimately fail. I want to create better habits one step at a time.

Fourth, Quilting and Crafting goals:  I have found that I truly enjoy quilting, sewing, crafting of all kinds. Taking part in the creative process and seeing a project through from beginning to end is both exhilarating and relaxing to me. I think about a lot of things and process whatever may be weighing on my mind and heart while I’m working on projects. So I decided to be intentional about setting my time so I can do the things that bring me joy. Specific projects I want to complete and look forward to each and every one of them.

You may have noticed a particular word that was included in each of these goal categories?  Intentional. Yes, I want to be intentional about my life, my faith, my health, my time, my family and my crafting.  I want to honor God in all of it by intentionally putting him first and letting his Word be my guide. The sermon this morning, while I don’t remember for certain if the word “intentional” was used specifically, it certainly put forth the idea that we get to choose our priority and what we put first, each day, each week, each month and each year. 

                                                       

Being intentional about putting God at the beginning, the center and end of everything. That is my true goal this year!


Blessings and prayers my friends~

Sandy


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