Happy New Year!!!

I always love the new year.  Turning the calendar from December to January feels like cleaning a slate, a virtual do-over.  I love setting goals.  Though I don't always accomplish them, setting them certainly gives me something to shoot for.  I am a firm believer that small changes practiced over time make a big impact! 

One of the greatest things I accomplished in 2011 was memorizing almost all of Colossians.  I started in February and as of today, I have memorized through Ch. 4, verse 8.  Only 10 more verses to go.  Woohoo.  And get this...I kept up with my spiral index card holder for the entire year.  Now that's certainly something to be proud of.   It's tattered and worn, but I love it just like that.   The crimps and wrinkles are signs that I have hidden His word in my heart.  

I found the plan on Ann Voskamp's site here.  By memorizing 2 verses a week, I have come this far.  See?  Small changes over time make a big impact!!  Slow and steady wins the race.  How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  I'm a firm believer that this stuff works. 

The other day, I sat down and wrote my goals for this year.  Then I printed them out and laminated the page.  By looking at them daily, I'll stay motivated to keep eating that elephant. 

I divided the goals ito 6 different categories based on my roles.  Eddie and I still have to talk through the details of some of them, so that's why there are blanks.  But believe you me, I do plan to fill them in.





Personal
1.  Finish memorizing Colossians.  Pick another BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) by February.
2.  Finish reading through the Bible.  (I have attempted this goal many times, but never succeeded).  In November, I decided to start by reading the NT first.  After all, I've read Genesis many times!  So far I have read all the Gospels and Acts.  I start Romans tomorrow!  You can find a plan like mine here.
3.   Read 2 books a month.  I'm currently reading Family Driven Faith and Eat That Frog.
4.  Focus on one habit a month.  For January I want to eat a a frog everyday.  That means I want to do the thing I least want to do 1st everyday.  In so doing, I won't procrastinate and will be better able to enjoy my day because I will know I have already done the worst thing...eaten a frog!!
4.  Crochet a blanket for Mason and the new baby.  I plan to get help from a lady at church to complete this goal.  I taught myself how to crochet when I was pregnant with Halley, and now I want to expand my skills.

Marriage
1.  Date night ____ times per month.
2.  Read 2 books together (marriage/parenting).
3.  Overnight trip without kids ___ times per year.
4.  Talk time 4 days a week.  (I would like to work up to doing this everyday.  We'll see!)




Mother
1.  Memorize 2 Scriptures a month.  I'm pretty sure they can do more than this, but 2 is a great start.
2.  Do 2 1 crafts per week  month.  (This will take some planning on my part, but it's certainly doable).
3.  Read to kids 3 days per week and increase as it becomes a habit.
4.  Mark chore charts M-F and pay on Saturday using Give/Save/Spend canisters.

Ministry
1.  Share my faith once a month.
2.  Write 2 cards per month.
3.  Write a newsletter by the 5th of every month.  (We completed January's letter and plan to mail them by Monday).
4.  Meet with ASU girls every Saturday while school is in.



Financial
1.  Monthly budget meeting with Eddie.
2.  Keep up with our spending using mint.com.
3.  Pay off $_____ towards our debt.

Blogging
1.  Blog once a week.
2.  Take pictures 3 days per week.

Crystal from moneysavingmom.com really inspired me to write my goals down and break them down into small bites.  I'm so encouraged by her life and blog.   Her first book is coming out this Tues, Jan. 10.   It's called The Money Saving Mom's Budget:  Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year.   Her blog has encouraged me in so many ways.  Her series called 21 Days to a more Disciplined Life really put me on track to achieve great things at the end of 2011. 

Photo Credit

Discipling Myself for Godliness

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value both for this life and the life to come.  -1 Tim. 4:8

I left this comment on moneysavingmom.com and I thought I'd post it here, as well.

I am reading a book with some college girls called Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary Kassian. It has been a real blessing to me. Last week the chapter was on habits. The author says that our habits really show what our priorities are. We like to think that things that sound good are our priorities, but our habits really show what takes precedence in our lives. I want being a woman of God’s word and an excellent wife and mother to be my priorities, but my habits don’t show that I’m working towards those goals. So this week, I implemented a new discipline…No Bible, No Blogs (meaning that if I haven’t read the Bible I can’t read any blogs). This has helped me so far. Also, if my kitchen isn’t clean, I don’t function well or get other cleaning done because I just can’t seem to get a move on. So the same rule applies for cleaning the kithchen. I like to say, "No clean kitchen, No Pinterest" (kinda works lol), but the point is not to get on the computer until I have a clean kitchen. I hope to build these disciplines in my life. Thanks for this series. As for a goal to complete in the next 24 hours it will be to organize our master closet. This has been on my to do list for far too long.

I am addicted to love reading blogs.  However, like Facebook they take up too much of my time.  I had a friend change my Facebook password to something I don't know, so that I could not get back into my account.  This helped my immensely.

I just implemented these rules on Monday, but already I see some changes.  I found a great Bible reading plan and have started it.  And today, I got the kitchen clean which helped me to move on to other chores.  I'm sure that putting these disciplines in my life will continue to benefit me.

How about you?  What habits do you need to put in your life to lead a more disciplined life?

photo credit

5-a-month February Goals

Jess, an American blogger in Turkey, posts 5 goals for every month.  At the beginning of the next month she updates how she did.  I've decided to join her since I need the accountability.  So, here goes:

1. Read to the kids everyday.

2. Track our spending by using a checkbook register and stay within the budget.

3.  Drink 1.5 Juicy Juice bottles of water a day.

4.  Read/listen to the Bible or a Christian sermon daily.  Also review Scripture daily.   I'm working on
1 Thes. 4:16-18 now.

5.  Do 20 crunches twice a day.  Gradually increase the amount so that by the end of the month I can do 40 twice a day.  (This is my effort to lose the belly pooch that I carry as a result of having 4 kids in less than 4 years.)

(This cute little guy contributed to the pooch...shame on him)

New Year, New Goals

Ahhh, a fresh start! Oh how I love the new year. I woke up early this morning and started working on my 1st goal to read the Bible cover to cover in 90 days.
My other goals are:

Spiritual
Memorize one long passage from the Bible each month. (I still need to choose a passage for January. I'll pick the passage before each month begins and start working on it.)

Continue to pour my life into the women that God has brought into my life. I want to be intentional in spurring them on to the Lord.

Read 1 book a month. Subjects: spiritual growth, parenting, marriage, fun stuff. January's book is Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges.

Physical

Work out 3 times a week. I want to get rid of my belly fat!

Limit junk food intake to 1 snack a day. Increase fruit intake. Limit the amount of junk food I buy. If I don't buy it, I can't eat it!

Wife
Focus on Eddie. Daily think of how I can help and encourage him. Ask him what I can do to be a helper suitable to him.

Prioritize our physical relationship. (I started reading Rekindling the Romance by Dennis and Barbara Rainey earlier this week. It has helped a lot with me preparing my mind for action.)


Mother

Start teaching Halley the ABCs (one letter a week). Use Totally Tots.

Use Songs for Saplings to teach her the Scriptures.

Continue working on the Children's Catechism. One per month.

Read to the children daily.

Budget/Stewardship

Sit down with Eddie before the month begins and talk over our budget. Spend every penny on paper before the month begins. Use the envelope system.

In the Kitchen

Plan our meals every week.

Recycle and Reuse where I can.

Bake all of our bread using my new Bread Machine.

Stick to our food budget.

Blog

Update my blog atleast once a week. I've set this goal in the past, but I'm going to try again.

Well, that should be enough to get me started, dontcha think?