Vision

Happy New Year!  So, be honest, how many of you have set some New Year's Resolutions?  Each year I do set some goals for myself and once again I did so this year.  Recently, I saw a post on Facebook by Erin Skye Kelly that inspired me.  Thank you, Erin.  She posted about a project with her children where they were writing out their goals for 2015 on a poster board.

"They are never to young to start.  They are never too old to start."  ~Erin Skye Kelly

This inspired me to talk to my kids about setting goals.  Erin has her kids break their goals down into different categories and I decided to do this as well but adjusted the categories slightly to make it work for my kids - character, health/fitness, financial, charity/giving, personal.  For the character goal, I loved being able to talk to my kids about what their goals might be and relate it to our devotions.  Recently Jaret and I had been doing a devotion on how to be a light for Jesus, just like He was a light to the world.  And with Kirra, we talked about how we want to be more like Jesus and what that looks like in her relationships with others.  It was so humbling to be able to talk to them about how they can work at being the best person they can be because this is the plan God has set out for them.  I love being able to help them grow spiritually in this way.  Seeing how Erin has her children break their goals down into different categories was motivational for me as well and so I chose to do the same.  I then did something I have always wanted to do related to my goals ~ I created a vision board.  My vision board may be a little different as I didn't do a physical vision board, but I did an online one that I am printing off to display.  I then also did a collage with my goals listed that I also plan to get printed.  I am excited about picking my order up at Costco tomorrow to see how they both turned out.  I enjoyed having my vision board correlate directly to my goals for this year to help inspire, motivate, and remind me of what I want to accomplish in the year ahead.

I am grateful for my devotion time and corporate worship time and how it blesses me.  As I was reflecting on my goals and thinking about my vision board, a devotion from Rick Warren influenced me.

"God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!"  ~Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)

The devotion told of how Jesus set goals and how he often publicly announced what he would do next in his ministry.  So, why then do we not set goals?  In setting goals we are making a decision about what is important in our life and how we are going to live our best life.  As we set out goal and move toward it, we keep our eyes focused and we are acting in a spiritually mature manner.

"I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect.  But Christ has taken hold of me.  So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize...I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven.  This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.  All of us who are mature should think in this same way."  ~Philippians 3:12, 14-15a CEV

Setting goals can also stretch us and grow us in our faith and gives us focus in out lives which helps us to be more effective.  We can plan the way to want to go in life and the way we want to live, but it is God who gives us the power to change and transform our lives.  This happens through the work of the Holy Spirit through us, in using God's word to direct and instruct us, and relying on the support of close friends around us.

So go ahead - set some goals for yourself this year.  Create a vision board.  Allow the desires of your heart, your wildest dreams, to become a reality!  I would love to hear what some of your goals are so that I can encourage you in achieving them.