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

Hiding His Word in my Heart

(This post is actually a comment that I left on Brenda's blog. Because it was so long and a bit of an update of where I am, I thought I'd copy it to my blog. How's that for killing 2 birds with one stone?!!!)

A few years ago, you gave the challenge to memorize 1 Peter. I started then just memorizing chunks of 1 Peter, but not the entire book. Then I went through a GREAT trial in my life and this book really helped to guard my mind and give me strength in the battle.

1 Peter is my favorite book (ask my friends...I reference it all the time). I have the Bible on CD and over the years I have listened to 1 Peter sooo many times and continued to read it. I was challenged by a msg on Revive our Hearts (ROH) to begin memorizing large sectiions of scripture or even book. Of course, 1 Peter came to mind. I am also doing a Precept study of this book now. I brought a spiral set of notecards and started working on chapter 1. Without even knowing it, I almost had all of 1 Peter 1 memorzied because I had meditated on it and listened to it so many times. I am so motivated to memorize the entire book...even the saluations at the end!

I called up a friend, and she joined me in memorizing Ps. 19 just about 3 weeks ago. Each Friday we quote the passage that we have decided on to one another. We are currently on the last 3 verses of Ps. 19. The accountability really helps to. Next she is going to start on 1 Peter! What a blesing to hide God's Word in my heart.

You can go here, to listen to the 1st message in the 3 part series from ROH. The woman that Nancy Leigh Demoss (host of ROH) is interviewing has memorized 14 books of the Bible (including Revelation and Ruth) and over 100 chapters! I use this woman's same method...carry my spiral around with me during the day and memorize as I do my daily chores.


By the length of my comment, I guess you can tell that I really value Scripture Memory.