Goals for New Year

It is after midnight, but one of my goals for tonight was to catch up on my blog, so please excuse any comma splices or other grammatical train wrecks!

I have 3 main goals for the upcoming year... one Spiritual, one Physical, one involving Character, and then a few smaller things that I probably won't keep... but they sound good now.

Spiritual:

2008 was not an easy year in a few different ways. On a spiritual level, I feel like I was up and down, "tossed about," and relying on emotions far too much.

I did not use a Bible reading plan this past year because I wanted to study a few books of the Word on a deeper level. I would read a small portion of Scripture, think about it, and often read a sermon or commentary on the passage.

This is wonderful and worked very well... when I was on the top part of the roller coaster... However, when I was looking too hard at self, too caught up in passing things, or too busy to take time to think at all, I found myself not being diligent to seek the Lord as I should.

Our pastor and my husband often quote (I think it's...) Spurgeon as saying, "we have as much of Christ as we want." Whoa... what a stab in the chest, especially when you are forced to admit that you must not want very much of Christ.

Anyway, This year I am going to use a Bible Reading Plan that I have used a few times in the past. John Piper has recommended it for his church, and I have benefited from it as well. There are four bookmarks for the four daily readings (don't be overwhelmed... the readings are not long). There is a reading in the OT, Psalms, Gospels, and NT. I really like it because while you are plowing through Exodus or Ezekiel, you are still getting a bit of the gospels and Psalms.

It is not as in depth as using the commentaries, but I think that consistency over the course of the year will probably be more beneficial than what I did last year. AND, the sections in the gospels and New Testament are quite small and lend themselves to meditation and/or commentary reading.

Physical:

The second goal I have for 2009 is to run the Music City Marathon. Many posts ago I referred to a list of goals I created in high school. In addition to marrying a cowboy, moving to Texas, and having a house with a big front porch, I also listed runing a marathon as a lifetime goal.

Well, I am not pregnant, I actually have a little time to train, and I am not getting any younger!

Best of all, we get to stay in a hotel 2 nights!!! For me, staying overnight in a hotel is like the pinnacle of excitement. I am not kidding... I looked forward to going into labor because going to the hospital was kind of like staying in a hotel!

I am sure I could have found some other way to get my husband to go out of town with me for two nights rather than torture myself for 26.2 miles... but I never really claimed to operate on logic.

I have 3 smaller goals for the marathon... going from most realistic to least...

1. Run it around 4 hours.
2. Beat my father-in-law's marathon time (he ran one 20 or so years ago), which was just under
4 hours. :)
3. Qualify for Boston, which would be 3:40 for my age group. (I'm serious... LEAST realistic,
but, hey, you never know, right?!)

Character:

It has been brought to my attention that I am joked about as being a match-maker (Emma), a busybody, and Mrs. Cravitz... you know, the nosy lady from Bewitched?

Well, although my pride was a little pricked to know people had been talking about me behind my back, I realize it is true and I don't really like that about myself.

I determined that a goal for 2009 would be to stop playing match-maker. When our friends from KY came for a visit, I determined I would not pester Matt about moving to MS. It dawned on me that a better goal would be to just mind my own business this year. It will probably go a long way towards a better 2009! (Some of the difficulties of 2008 would have been avoided if I had learned this lesson earlier.) Of course, learning a lesson and actually putting it into practice are two different things entirely, but I really, truly want to do a better job of not offering unsolicited advice, speaking when I shouldn't, and stickin' my nose where it don't belong! :)

ETC:

Okay, here are the goals that I have every year: I am going to start writing letters every week. There is one friend in particular, Tobey, who I dearly love but do a HORRIBLE job staying in contact with. For example, she sent me a very special gift that means a lot to me... MONTHS ago.... I have not sent her a thank you note and I am an awful friend... Thank you, Tobey... I am sorry! This year I really will try harder than the last 5 years!

I am going to keep my life simple. (Stop chuckling, those of you who know me well!) Seriously, I have taken great pains over the last 2 months to cut away extra stuff and fulfill obligations without renewing them. Hopefully this will greatly benefit the education of our children... When you homeschool, it really helps to be at home at least a few days of the week!

And, I am going to lose 10 pounds. Ha ha just kidding, but I would like to eat less sugar... I know, even more ridiculous. Nevertheless, I mean it this time, I am going to cut back on the sweets... don't ask me how that one is going!

I know there was more I wanted to say, but because "getting off coffee" was on the list, too... I need to go to sleep now... can't keep my eyes open any longer...