As I type this, I must admit I'm a little nervous about publicizing something that may backfire in my face a few months from now. We all read about resolutions...and truthfully, I hardly ever make any. Sure, I resolve to make little improvements here and there, but usually little is written...and most is hardly ever thought of again. For instance, I don't even remember resolving to do anything last year. Yikes! Fast forward to the end of 2011, my husband and I decided to partner to do things a little different for 2012.
How? Might you ask?
Our task: to create a list of goals TOGETHER and write them down!
I know...doesn't seem like quite a stellar concept, but now that we've entered this 7th year of our marriage, I felt a little more anxiety to
purpose to do things in our household with a more unified approach.
So where did I go to get inspiration to make this actually happen?
...but to the ultimate planner/scheduler/wife/WAHM herself, Crystal over at
Money Saving Mom. I'm often impressed with how she manages to juggle it all...and also for how frank she is when a few eggs drop in between. Over the years, she's chronicled her goals and how she's grown
here and
here and I admit, I'm truly impressed with her efforts. So much so, that I thought we'd make an effort for our household as well.
I heard a scripture recently...funny how you can hear a scripture over and over and then one day it has more meaning to you.
In the 133rd division of Psalm, the Good Book reads as follows:
1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
2It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard,coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forevermore.
Well, this is our "scripture" for 2012 and I believe our household will be all the better because of our purposed focus on being UNIFIED in 2012. Call us shallow, but we also believe that where we unified, the Lord will bless us...so what better way bless our household that to purpose to be on one accord, right?
We proclaimed this unity in our holiday cards...and now here for our followers.
To get a jumpstart, in the last 2 weeks of 2011 we came together and actually agreed on a few things. Disagreed on a couple too...but did so amicably and here's what we came up with.
Priority 1: Personal
1. Encourage myself in literature (read 12 inspiring books) this year.
2. Diet: Drink atleast 6 glasses of water per day
3. Sleep: Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day
4. Cross one item off of my bucket list...
lunch or dinner with a millionaire.
5. Make progress toward a 9 to 5 career change to be our own boss.
Priority 2: Marriage
1. Dinner Date once a month with Nat.
2. Do lunch once a week with Nat.
3. Read two books together..and yes, he gets to choose one.
4. Attend one weekend getaway/ marriage retreat.
5. Create more options to enjoy ourselves more as a couple.
Priority 3: Children
1. Incorporate reading in bedtime routine.
2. Have a once-a-month outing with each son individually.
3. Encourage weekly game/movie night.
4. Continue to create a true “family” dynamic,
in spite of our blended status
5. Create more options to enjoy ourselves more as a family
Priority 4: Ministry/ Friendships
1. Potluck once a month.
2. Participate in corporate prayer.
3. Work on CD project with completion by 12/2012.
4. Organize 4 Oh Give Thanks Celebration events
(Feb, May, Aug, November).
5. Organize My Brother’s Keeper Community Fundraising events
(September).
Priority 5: Financial
1. Continue to tithe: 10%.
2. Contribute to ministry building fund.
3. Eliminate consumer debt
(1 car purchased in November 2011 and 1 credit card that we’ve held on to forever).
4. Start payments on school loans.
Priority 6: Business
1. Create weekly blogging plan.
2. Officially publish book, Shhh! Maybe It's God Speaking.
3. Participate in local bridal expo. Which to date has been incredibly difficult with
two 9 to 5 jobs and 3 young kids running around
..but where there's a will, there's a way!
4. Participate in Christian event expo.
5. Launch local business showcase event.
Wow...so we did it...made these public for all to see...guess now there's nothing left but to do it!
In the coming weeks, I'll share how we are applying
Crystal's tried and true methods of breaking our goals down into bite-sized chunks so that we can actually have something to show for this html code here.
Stay tuned!
What are YOUR goals for 2012? Do share, mon frer :)
So, to hold ourselves more accountable and GET THINGS DONE in 2012, we set out to document our G&As (goals and accomplishments) publicly and let you watch us as we cross things off our list! I'm hoping somehow our ebbs and flows will encourage you to do the same.
