On Resolutions and Accountability

I found out today where my font button goes when I think it's disappeared. Duh.

New Year's Resolution #1: I will not give Grace any more of the following foods until she is completely, 100% potty trained:

1. Oreos
2. Candy corn
3. Whatever it is - still trying to figure it out - that made her poo turn Play-Doh green

Ugh.

Okay, now that we've got that out of the way... I appreciated the comments of those who shared what they do or don't do as far as New Year's Resolutions go. I agree with ya'll!

Now, because I know you're just dying to know... here's my take on it. :) And you know I can't write in less than 100 words, so here I go.

I don't like the word Resolution much, because it has such a heavy connotation (at least for me) with it of failure. I think many people make and break their resolutions in the first week of the new year. :) But one commenter (Wanda) said that the New Year is a good time to reflect on things and I also tend to do that, examine some things, and make a list of Goals for the coming year. This is my 5th year of New Year goal-setting.

Rarely do I accomplish everything on my list - maybe never. (And sometimes my goals change as the year progresses.) But I almost always make progress, and that's the most important part. I have learned that for me, if I do not write things down, I will not do them. I'm a listmaker by nature; it's just who I am. If I hadn't written down a goal of "learn to sew" in 2006, I would not have taken a sewing class and learned the basics of sewing, not to mention the enjoyment that comes with it.

My goals are (remember, I'm anal) detailed and categorized. I do this because I find breaking things down into smaller, more attainable goals with target dates makes it easier for me to stay on track. If I write "have the whole house unpacked and decorated" - it's too big for me and overwhelming. So I break it down into smaller, more attainable goals - sometimes as I go throughout the year, sometimes right up front.

I examine several areas of my life and consider goals for them: Character, Spiritual, Church (used to be youth group goals), Physical (health and such), Personal (crafting and blogging and things like that), Financial, and Family/Home.

Michelle mentioned the importance of seeing your goals often. She is so right. I try to review my goals each week; it's part of my chore list for Mondays. That way I can set up my week and add things to my agenda that will help me accomplish my goals. Again, if I don't write it down or consciously put it on my to-do list, it will never get done ~ even the fun things like blogging and scrapbooking! My list helps keep me accountable (when I look at it - oops!).

I won't bore you with the details of all my goals for 2009, but I did want to share just a couple of things.

Barbara wrote a Bible verse as part of her goal for 2009. That really struck me, because a verse has been on my heart for some time now, and learning to live it is my main character / spiritual goal this year:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 ESV

There is much I can say about this, but I don't think you read my blog for my sermons. Suffice it to say that God is laying on my heart that I need to be abiding in Him - moment by moment, every day - not just part of the time, or much of the time, or even most of the time. Through seeking Him continually I will grow and produce and know Him more... so I'm excited about that!

Part of abiding in Christ is reading His Word consistently. I know so many believers who set a goal every January to read their Bible daily and by the second week they've quit. It has happened to me, too, year after year after year. This year Robert and I are going to try a tool through the Discipleship Journal - the link is in the sidebar at the right. The best part about this daily reading plan is that they give you 5 "make-up" days each month - whew! You can start at any time, and if reading the whole Bible through in a year is too much for you - you can just read through any of the 4 sections daily. Check it out! :)

And finally, Robert and I have signed up to memorize Scripture consistently (hopefully, weekly!) through Tim Challies' blog/website. There's a verse weekly or a large chunk for every three weeks (I am doing the weekly smaller verse). If you'd like to participate in that, you can sign in here, or check out the weekly verse in the sidebar at right. (And if you don't see it changing weekly, please keep me accountable and ask me if I forgot!)

I can't encourage you enough to be consistently memorizing Scripture. I know I'm not one to talk - I go for periods where I memorize often, and then periods where I don't even review... But anyone can memorize. And the blessings of hiding God's Word in your heart - I don't think you'll regret it.

Well, obviously, those goals are the ones most important to me. By sharing them I am asking you all to help me stay on track and be consistent. :) It's very easy for me to fall off the planet from time to time, so I would appreciate being held accountable!

If you are still with me, God bless you! :) I know this was probably the most boring blog post ever, so thanks for sticking with me! Now I got all that out of my head, and Grace is napping, so perhaps I should go create something in the basement.

xoxo