Aspirations

I have loved goals for about as long as I can remember. I remember, 3rd grade, my company "Beads for Babes". Ya, obviously, it was cool. Courtney, Emily, and I had a jewelry making company. i remember setting goals for us. In 4th grade, I learned the principle of setting our goals high and declared I would become the first women in the NBA. In 5th grade, I learned the concept of setting various goals for different areas of life: professionally--still the NBA. Physically--hold off puberty. Socially--don't make any friends, maybe then we will move back to Texas.

I'm being for real.

Then through high school, I would spend almost all day on January 1st praying and reflecting on the past year and setting my goals for the next year. Those days are some of my favorite memories with the Lord as a teenager.

Aaaaand, these were my goals for today:

1. Get the urine smell out of Micah's room.

2. Wipe down the bathrooms.

3. Be a gracious host for the play date.

4. Pray for Matt.

5. Don't forget to feed the children dinner before youth group.

6. Don't yell at the children for pooping a lot.

7. Finish my lecture for the women's Bible Study tomorrow.

8. Do push ups or something resembling exercise.

That's life right now. A little bit of everything. A bit of homemaking, a bit of wife-ing, a bit of youth group, a bit of mommy-ing, another bit of ministry, and a bit of taking care of myself.

And I love it.

But now, a bit bigger picture, my 2012 goals!

1. Get up at 6 consistently. Either spend the time with Jesus or get my run for the day in.

2. Be a generous wife. Overlook offenses, give Matt the benefit of a doubt. Become irresistible to him with good deeds that stem from a sincere heart.

3. Be a joyful mom. Never let a day pass without making both boys belly laugh, singing to them, and playing with them. All 3, every day.

4. Increase my organization at home even more. I'm not referring to scrubbing the floor more or organizing my junk drawer. (That's just a shame when people do that...) We have our daily schedules that are incredibly helpful, but I have added a weekly schedule that seems to be increasing peace and productivity, 2 things that I desire in my home.

Sunday: Church, lots of church :)

Monday: Stay home, focus on housework

Tuesday: Errands

Wednesday: Play date and youth group

Thursday: Bible Study

Friday: Micah goes to PDO, morning with Matt

Saturday: Family day!

In addition, I have the housework divided up.

Monday: Kitchen

Tuesday: Bedrooms

Wednesday: Bathrooms

Thursday: Deep clean something

Friday: Vacuum and Dust

5. Pay off the Denver Seminary Loan. We made our goal last March to get rid of the $8,000 in one year. Lord willing, we are on track. $2,500 left. Some days that feels MASSIVE, and other days it feels doable. My secondary financial goal is to finish #2/3 school debts, which is $5,000. However, Matt isn't set on that yet. Supposedly his car makes 'scary' noises, our 80 year old water heater is 'too old' , and he would like to 'eat'. So, I'm holding myself back from setting this goal, and submitting like I should. (But don't you think we could do it?! Huh?!)

6.No french fries for an entire year. (My favorite indulgence!) And run enough to earn back the title 'runner.'

7. Focus. Determine each and every day, actually 1/2 day, what the Lord called me to that day, and focus on it. Is it Monday? Then focus on enjoying my home and my boys and keeping our home in good shape. (good, not perfect) Focus on teaching my boys about Jesus, about being patient, or about not eating dog poop. Is it Thursday? Then I need to get up early so I can prepare my heart to lead Bible Study and get the three of us out the door on time.

8. Blog every month.

9. Be sincere. Don't tell someone I want to get together if I don't plan on following through. Don't tell a 6th grade girl that I love them, if I don't mean it. Don't call someone a best friend if I'm not going to treat them like it.

10. Last, and most definitely not least, I want to have margins in life. My mentor, Kristin Stanley, encouraged me to think about this. So...I'm going to. I like the idea...sounds like something I need to learn about..so...more to come.

Oh wait! One more:

11. Ensure that markers and petroleum jelly are removed from the room prior to "room time."