Heart of the Matter Meme - 2009 goals

In recent weeks I have contemplated the year to come and thought about areas in my life, habits, and daily schedules that could use some tweaking.

This week's Heart of the Matter meme motivated me to jot down some of those rambling thoughts (which I didn't manage to get organized enough on Wednesday for the Homeschool Memoirs task, but better late than never, right?)


Sometimes I would like to set simple goals, that I know I can "check off" without too much effort.


In that case my list would include:

- Enjoy Christmas decorations around my home for another 4 weeks
- Clean up vomit from carpeting at least once this winter
- Overcommit my weekends
- Try to never see the bottom of the laundry hamper
- Pamper my dog by letting her clean off the table after meals


However, I know at the same time those "accomplishments" would invariably drive me nuts. So in all seriousness I have come up with a loftier set of goals, knowing that if I fall short, it's just because I'm looking at the wrong list.

My goals fall into the areas that I wear hats at this point in my life. Primarily: Child of God, wife, mother, homeschool instructor, housekeeper.

Child of God:

- Continue to spend daily time with Him, even during times of inconsistent schedules. I am actually very disciplined in this area, except during breaks from daily routine (holidays, vacations, etc.) This needs to remain consistent no matter what happens with the rest of my day!

- Memorize Romans 12. This is kind of an easy one, because I have done it before, but it was 11 years ago. There is so much detail in the chapter that is easy to miss in simply reading it, so I want to commit it to memory again.

- Pray consistently for each family member. Again, I have a schedule for this, but during breaks it gets set aside. I need to be consistent with this 365 days a year. Satan never lets up on his attacks, and we need to keep our defenses strong.


Wife:

- God really worked on my heart during my recent get away with my husband and I realized how often this hat gets lost in the shuffle, or buried underneath all the other hats I have on at the time. I want to take time each day to just be a wife. To daily do at least one thing that isn't about managing the kids or schedules or meals or errands, but just about my relationship with my best earthly friend.

- Pray each morning and night for my husband

- Start the year with a month of focus on this area of my life. I hope to blog about this more, about some of what God has challenged me in, and encourage you to make your marriage a priority as we enter the new year.


Mother:

- Show genuine love to each of my children each day.

- Speak openly and often of Christ in conversation around the home.

- Continue to seek out good books to encourage and challenge me as a mother (right now I am finishing up Age of Opportunity, and need to find another one after that)


Homeschool Instructor:

- Expect more diligent work during school hours. I realize I have been a little lax in what I look for some days. I want to be faithful stewards of each minute we have together to learn. It won't always be academic, but I don't want to waste an opportunity.

- Consistently spend time each weekend wrapping up any loose ends and prepping the week ahead. This makes such a difference in our school week! I have done this about 75 percent of the time this year and want to get closer to 100%.


Housekeeper:

- Be consistent with routines already set in place. This is one area that I feel I am mostly on top of (finally!), at least in the areas of plans and intentions, and just need to keep up with my plans and intentions consistently.

- Tackle some of the hidden clutter around our house. This is slowly getting better, and I don't want to let up. Each month I try to drive a few boxes or bags to a donation site (or my parents' house for a garage sale), and I want to continue this habit.


Sounds like a lot when I look it over, but I have 12 months to keep at it, and I wouldn't want to get bored. If it gets too overwhelming, I've always got that first list to fall back on.

Happy New Year!