Goal Setting

Although Christmas is still a week away, I'm already thinking about the New Year. (It helps that I have pretty much all of my Christmas shopping done.) I've never been big on making New Year's resolutions; instead, I'm focusing on setting some concrete goals.

I'm a big dreamer with a great imagination, and I can spend all day dreaming up things to do over the next year. But if I never write them down and formulate a timetable and plan for them, odds are the dreams will remain in my imagination and never come to fruition. So while I have time off from work over the holidays, I plan to spend some time in prayerful planning for many areas of my life--health, finances, home, spiritual life, work, etc. Most likely I'll have to find a place to get away from the temptation of TV or computer--weather permitting, I'll go to a park (being outdoors inspires me), but I'll settle for a quiet corner at Starbucks or Village Coffee if the weather doesn't cooperate.

One of the keys to not only setting these goals but keeping them as well will be having someone hold me accountable. It helps to know that I've got friends who will ask me how I'm doing on my goal setting. So for my friends who read this blog, feel free to ask from time to time how my goals are coming along.

Of course, I can make plans all I want, but ultimately it is God who directs my steps. There will be some plans that I make that may fall through, and cause some disappointment. There will be some new goals and plans that God places on my heart mid-year, and some new developments that will be unexpected--some good, some bad. I know God has my best interests at heart, and nothing will happen that is not ultimately for His glory and my benefit. I'm trusting Him to guide me in this goal-setting process, and to grant me the grace to be flexible and handle whatever new plans come to light in '09.