Goals for 2016 and a Challenge for You!

Happy New Year to you!!! I hope this year is a great one for you. That it will be a year that you grow ever closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

  I always get exited when I face a new year. I like setting goals and dreaming dreams and I also enjoy reflecting on the year gone by and contemplating how I can use this year even better.

   I was working on this post yesterday and in it I shared a lot about last year and the successes and failures that happened. Somehow that post disappeared however and I have decided I am not going back there anymore. It was a year of learning and growth and much more but now we will move on.

  So here are some of the goals and dreams that I have been thinking about for this year, 2016:

Spiritual Goals

• Last year we really worked to add more Bible reading to our schedule. That was such a blessing! This year we want to continue in that and we are specifically trying to read through the Bible in one year. Bible reading is a goal that I really want to encourage others in as well. I intend to do quite a lot of encouraging of that here on my blog. :-)
• Being more devoted to prayer! Things I will be working on is keeping even better track of prayer requests that I hear about, truly praying for them and then checking up on what happens too. Encouraging my children to pray diligently. When someone brings up something that needs prayer (when a child is struggling with a math lesson or a friend mentions a need or someone tells me of someone who is sick) I want to make a habit of stopping right then and there and bringing it to God in prayer. I want to pray more through out the day (not just at my time that is set aside and mealtimes and bed time). An idea for doing that is to have certain activities such as showering, making my bed, washing dishes, getting on the computer, driving, etc serve as something that triggers me to pray.

Time Management Goals

• Getting up a little earlier and making sure to go to bed on time and then using the extra time in the morning to work on some business goals.
• Getting a cleaning schedule made for the kids and I.
• Faithfully menu planning.
• Not wasting time on Facebook. Limiting my time on their to once a week after other computer "chores" are done.
• Making sure to allow and extra 5 to 10 minutes to my travel time so that I am sure to get places either on time or early with no temptation to speed on the way.

Blogging Goals

• Re-doing my blog look. I would like it to look simpler and cleaner and I want to make a new header. If you have any suggestions for a nicer more use-able blog, I am all ears.
• Linking up to several blog parties every week.
• I would like to do a series or so based on this theme:
  
• I really want to spend more time meditating on Proverbs 31 and then have posts that really fit with that theme.

Homemaking Goals

• Go through our home carefully,working hard to get rid of clutter and things that we don't need.
• This year it is my goal to spend time mending and fixing things up that we have such as clothes, shoes, books and more. I am exceedingly grateful for all the God gives to us and am happy to have many used things and I would like to have them in the best condition possible.

Financial Goals

• One of my dreams is to pay off our mortgage early (we were blessed to get a 15 year loan -instead of a 30 - but I would still love to pay it off faster than that). We have some other financial goals before paying off the mortgage so I am looking for various opportunities to earn extra money to help with those goals. It is a fun challenge for me. That is part of the reason that I opened up an Etsy shop last month.
• This month I thought it would be fun to try not to spend any more money (that means me going grocery shopping, buying gas, etc - but not the paying of electricity or the normal expenses that Ken takes care of) then I was able to earn through selling things either on Etsy or Craiglist and places like that. When I mentioned the idea to the kids they kind of groaned so I decided I would try to do it without them knowing it. I am excited because this evening I listed a couple of items on Craigslist (I have never sold on there before) and I already have people lined up to come and look at both items tomorrow. My goal this month is to list at least one item for sale per day. We shall see how it goes. :-)

There have been other goals I have been thinking about too but since getting to bed on time is one of my goals I don't think I will have time to talk about them now. :-)

I did want to leave you with a challenge however!

I believe God's word is Truth and that it has the power to change lives. It can only change your life however if you are hearing/reading it and letting it work in you. I realize that many people simply hear little bits and pieces of God's word as it is shared in a sermon or in a devotional book. Though those things can be good I truly believe that it is important for each one of us to read God's word in it's entirety so that we understand the context and don't miss important parts.

   I would like to challenge you (and perhaps you do this already) to read God's word every day! An even bigger challenge is to read the whole book in one year. Then listen to it, apply it to your life and let it transform you. We are working on that here at our place and I would love to have you join us!