Patterings: Goals

Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts

A Personal Win In Spite of Losing

When Cheryl and I started the NaBloPoMo on November 5, our goal was daily posting for 30 days. Unfortunately, neither one of us made it but it wasn't a wasted effort. In the past, both of us have been avid bloggers but recently, with how our lives have changed, our blogs had fallen silent.

My goals were to get past the hurdle of a silent blog and to see how blogging would look for me at this stage in my life, and if I’m totally honest, to see if I could juggle it with everything else and if I even wanted to blog. Those goals were all met, even though I only posted 17 times in 30 days.

In one way I didn’t reach my goal. 17 out of 30 is a pretty pathetic percentage, BUT I’m counting it as a personal win. Here’s why…

I struggle with balance and I was determined to keep blogging in balance with the rest of my life and responsibilities. And I did. Thanksgiving week hit and my life slipped into high gear. I needed to focus on family and then work, and I did.
Jumping back into blogging like I did forced me over the hurdle I had been camped at for too long.
I found that I could add blogging back into my schedule, but it took determination and discipline. Lots of both, mixed with a generous portion of time—something I need to work on.
A major goal for those 30 days was to see what I posted when scrambling for posts (like I knew I would, LoL). I wanted to see if my focus had shifted while I was away from here. It was cool to see what came out. Because I didn’t make it the 30 days, I didn’t even get through my list of post ideas, and I didn’t touch the topics that I know are favorite soap-boxes of mine. But it was still enough to give me the answers I sought.

All told, blogging 17 days out of the hoped-for 30 days is a win for me. I remembered that I love blogging. I remembered the work it is yet how rewarding it can be. And I remembered how it kicks my creativity and thinking into gear and gets me rolling.

It was a very worthwhile endeavor.

Contemplation

It’s a contemplative kind of day. One that comes once a year—every November 12th to be exact. A day that I usually set aside for looking at my life, for self-analysis and sometimes for goal setting.

Some questions I’m mulling over today…

What’s been good about this last year that I want to continue with?
What needs to go?
What needs tweaking? Major tweaks or minor?
What do I want to accomplish in this next year?
What do I want to be?

To be honest, I’ve been happy with where I am. It’s been a year for sinking my roots deeper in Christ. Not because things are going so bad that I run to Him desperate for rescue, but because I’m going to Him just to be with Him, to soak in Him.

I have a feeling that another round of change is coming for me. Things that were removed for a time might be back in my life, but in a different way than they were before.

Interestingly enough, the question that has me most curious about and interested in is the last one. What do I want to be? Not do, be.

Sure, birthdays are for celebrating, but they’re also a good time to stop and inventory life. A time to contemplate some of the deeper things that I tend to shy away from.

So tell me, do you know what you want to be?

Choosing 2014

I have to admit, it doesn’t bother me at all that 2013 has finally come to an end. It’s actually a bit of a relief. In my forty-some years (I don't mind you knowing how old I am, but I don’t feel like doing the math to figure it out!), 2013 has been my hardest year in almost every area of my life.

Yes, I’m glad 2013 is done and gone.
But I’ve not been ready for 2014 either. I mean, I’m a little older and a little wiser now and look at all the potential for hard work and heartbreak it holds! This is the first time I’m not excited about the new year. And I don’t like it. Not one little bit. Normally, I’m excited and dying to get going, but not this year.

I spent the better part of two or three days trying to figure out why. It’s just not like me. Thankfully, I discovered what’s going on.

Worry.
And I’m not usually a worrier. At least not when it comes to this stuff. I love looking forward. I love dreaming. I love planning. I love seeing the potential.

But this time I was focused on the wrong stuff. I was tuned in to all that could go wrong.

I know better.

Focusing on the wrong thing will land you (ME!) in the wrong place. And it did.

I’m in the wrong place. Proof that my focus has been all wrong.

Usually by now I’ve looked back at the previous year, sorted and sifted through things, and have looked forward and set some goals for the upcoming year. I haven’t this year and it’s time to get my butt in gear.

It’s time to make a choice. Stay in this mud hole I’ve gotten comfy in, or drag myself out of it and move forward.

I choose to move forward.
I choose to turn my focus away from the stinking black hole I’ve been staring at.
I choose to focus on God.
I choose to obey and take the steps God has for me.
I choose to leave the outcome to God—regardless of how difficult that outcome may be.

This year will be another year of change for us. Last year brought huge, unexpected changes. Some of the changes are cool and are a natural extension of things already going on. Other changes, though, I still wrestle with at times. But throughout the changes to come, I’m resolved to choose to keep my focus on God, trusting Him to work all things together for good.

This I know, God is faithful. He will keep His promises. He will never, ever leave me.

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. Lamentaions 3:22-25

God’s compassion is new every morning, and every year.
Let’s choose to move forward in 2014, trusting the outcome to God, knowing He is faithful.

Determined Diligence

Welcome to this week's a 2 z: Take 2

and the letter D.

I survived last week. Barely. It was a humdinger of a week, and not in a good way. But hey, it's over and we're moving on. Things are looking up. Way up. =) And I'm Determined to look UP.

February starts...tomorrow. Are you ready for it? I just might use Determination and Diligence as my words for February.

This week I'm determined to finish editing my current manuscript and get it to my wonderful agent, Linda Glaz. In February I'll be diligently knocking out weekly amounts of words so I can arrive at my desired destination.

If you're joining us for the a2z: Take 2 meme by posting on your blog this week about the letter D, be sure to add your name and the link to that particular post in the linky gadget here.

Desert or Promised Land?

Resolutions and goals. Words that make me cringe because I fail so often. For many years I thought that by simply not making any goals I'd be safe from falling short and failure, but I was wrong. I've found that I wander aimlessly without goals.

Recently I finished reading through the Pentateuch and I was reminded that I'm not the only one that tends to wander. Israel spent 40 years wandering in the desert and there's a very good reason for why they did. Fear. I have a lot in common with the Israelites.

Israel was ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses said to them,

“See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 1:21 NAS

Wow! What a place to be in! A place many of us have been in. A place where we know what path God wants us to follow.

But Israel wanted more information. (Boy, does that sound familiar!) They asked to send spies into the land and God consented. So Moses sent 12 spies into Canaan and when they returned, they reported to the people not only about how good the land was, but also how big and formidable the people were. Israel took their eyes off how awesome their God was (is!) and all He had done for them and focused on how big the people, their obstacles, were. Big mistake.

Canaan was their Promised Land. Their destination. Their goal. When they focused on how impossible it appeared it was for them to reach their Promised Land, they chickened out. Something I'm well acquainted with.

Numbers 14:22-23 and 35 tells us what God thought of their response “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it...In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.”

I don't know about you, but I don't want to die in the desert.

As we slide toward the end of January, let's remember all that God has done for us, focus on Him, and press on. Let's go in and conquer the land and the goals God has placed before us this year!

God's promise to Israel all those years ago is still good today, for us.

“Do not be shocked, nor fear them. The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you...in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.” Deuteronomy 1:29-30 NAS

So tell me, are you heading for the Promised Land or still wandering in the desert?

Writing Craft Books for 2012

Even though I feel like I'm still in a white out as far as goals for 2012, I do know a few books I want (and need!) to read this year. Since this is a very measureable goal, here's my list...

The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell
Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins
On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels
Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
Write Tight by William Brohaugh
Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

I've read some of these, but I really, really need to read the whole book so this year I'm knocking them out. Eight books in twelve months. Very doable.

And that's all I'm going to list for goals for 2012. I still don't have a clear cut goals list and I'm not sure about a verse for the year. And that one word I wanted for 2012? Nope.

In many ways I feel like God has put a blindfold on me and wants me to thank Him for it. So that's what I'm going to do.

Happy New Year, my friends! Thanks for being with me on this journey. You've made my time much sweeter. Hugs all around...

Maintaining Momentum

Okay, this last week, as I've been thinking about my system of doing things, I realized I forgot a couple of huge components. I also realized that this mini-series has helped me see the things I'm doing that work, what doesn't work, and also the things I could do to make things work better. As a result, I took a day or two and did some major organizing here online and on my computer and it should help me tremendously. *grin* It already has.

So, thank you for humoring me and helping me see things more clearly. =)

Here are some other things that really help my productivity level—they all fall into the category of accountability.

First: In the comments on Time Management Ala Patty, Joanne mentioned the note we send each other every night. It's simply an accountability note of what we accomplished that day and our writing related plans for the next day. The note often includes more, but those are the “required” items. So that provides daily accountability for us.

Second: Over a year ago I joined a small group set up to help provide accountability in our writing goals. It's a yahoo group and every Friday night a Roll Call email is scheduled to go out automatically. Usually it's on Saturday that we email in to the group with two lists: our goals for the past week and how we did on each item and another list of our goals for the upcoming week. These are bullet point lists with measurable goals, and we do measure.

Some weeks every item on our goals list is followed by no. LoL, or nope or a variety of other negative responses, and we can get creative because it's really depressing to write NO on five out of five goals. Thankfully, other weeks there's more cheering than nopes on there. Those simple weekly lists keeps us on target. Progress is progress, no matter how small the steps are. Little things add up over time and we've accomplished far more since we started reporting in than we did before.

Sure, some weeks come when life explodes and all hope of progress is blown to smithereens. Some weeks our accountability group resembles a prayer group, and that's good. We cheer each other on, pray each other on and cry on each other's shoulders. Through it all, we encourage—even when we're wielding the fabled wet noodle. And yes, we do pull that out on occasion. It's part of holding each other accountable even as we encourage.

Third: The private yahoo group I have. I'm the only member of this group and there are two purposes for it. One, to act as an off-site storage for a few items, making it so if my computer crashes (banish the thought!) I haven't lost all my work. Two, to act as a reminder system for me. Yahoo groups have a calendar feature that you can schedule email reminders, and I need them.

Here are some of the things I have reminders set for:

the due dates for the four sites I write for
chores I have for the sites I own/manage, including backing up those sites
changing the filter on the AC/furnace (LoL, and other such household things I tend to forget)
to back up my manuscripts and the spreadsheet I use as a master index for EVERYthing

Without this reminder system I tend to forget many things—I am a very forgetful person, just ask my husband and kids. Yes, I have a daytimer, but to be honest, weeks sometimes go by with me forgetting to look at it, so the automatic email reminders are a lifesaver. It's worth the hour it took me to get the dates entered—many times over.

The key for me has been accountability and a system to be reminded. It's taken me time to find a system that works for me, but right now, this is what I do.

So tell me, what are some of your tricks that keep you productive?

The first two posts in this mini-series:
Time Management Ala Patty
Treasure Hunting Marathon

Treasure Hunting Marathon

Another thought to tack onto Thursday's post on Time Management ala Patty, and it applies to any goal you have, not just writing...

If you're relatively new to this writing thing, remember it's a marathon and you can't sprint a marathon. Trying to burns you out long before the finish line is in sight. Use these first years (yes, years is plural) to lay a foundation, to practice, to make contacts, to build your platform, and to build your endurance muscles.

How do you
eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.

If you have young children at home, realize it might take a little longer because you're a wife and mom first, writer second. The two combine well, but you have to keep the writing balanced. If the writing outweighs the family, you probably won't like the end results.

When I first started writing I knew it would take time so I set a realistic goal for my writing. LoL, I was so... scared and lacking confidence that the goal gave plenty of leeway. With the goal in place, I studied what I needed to do to get me from where I was then (homeschool mom of 5 with a platform of maybe 15 people, techno-challenged, and scared silly) to where I wanted to be. Then I started working in the cracks of my mom-day. Baby steps. A little here and a little there add up.

The reasoning that kept me going:
These are years for preparing. Invest them wisely.

You don't want to race to the finish line only to discover that it wasn't just a race, but that it was a treasure hunt and you don't have any of the things you need. Take the time to hunt out that treasure so when you reach the finish line your goodie bag is brimming with things you've gathered on your journey.

This doesn't apply just to writing—it fits for any long term goals you may have. Life is a treasure hunting marathon.

So tell me, what are some goodies in your bag? Found any treasure lately?

Time Management ala Patty

Since I get this question fairly often, I thought I'd answer here...
How do you keep up with everything you do?

(Must read this with a frazzled voice!!) First, please understand that I don’t keep up with everything. I really don’t. =( My house is perpetually messy—but with 7 of us still here I settle for that excuse. My kids are to the ages where my mom-job is much less constant hands-on, meaning it’s more supervising. My youngest will be 10 next month and my oldest is 18, so although things are crazy, it’s a different crazy than it used to be. Even the homeschooling is down to routine. I have lesson assignments from when the older kids went through, and I simply recycle them for the younger two. *eye roll*

That said, here's how I juggle the things I do:
Blog commenting. I no longer do a lot of commenting on blogs. While Joanne faithfully uses her Google reader for keeping up, that tool gives me nightmares, so I utilize the email subscriptions people offer. Posts arrive in my inbox, I skim them and if they catch my attention, I stop by and leave a comment. There are a few sites I've resolved to “be present” on and I comment a few times a week. Key word in that sentence: FEW. It's not enough, but I'm gradually getting better again.

Spreadsheets. I have spreadsheets to keep my sanity, and I use them. Religiously. In my master spreadsheet I have 11 tabs. And that's not anything for my WIPs. This set of sheets contain an index of all my writing, broken down into a couple categories for:

Fiction (short stories), Devotionals, and Marriage.

(I index my writing so I have easy access to it and can recycle my posts.) There are tabs for posting schedules of the 4 sites I either own or co-own, and for the online class I teach.

This spreadsheet stays in my tray and I access it several times a day. At least. I also send it to the private yahoo group I created to act as a back-up site because if I lose that sheet, I'm peanut butter.

Aside from that spreadsheet, the thing that helps me the most is how I chunk and group.

Chunks of time work best for me—granted, that chunk of time may be divided into 5 sessions throughout the day as I oversee and direct things here at home, but usually I can string enough bits of time together to create a chunk.

Grouping turned out to be a life saver for me! I write monthly for At the Well, the Internet Cafe, and Jewels of Encouragement, and bi-monthly for The Barn Door. That's a minimum of 5 posts a month, plus any guest posting I might do. I felt like my head was constantly in a noose. Not a warm fuzzy feeling at all. One day, working on an At the Well post, I had an idea for another post for them (they assign the topic each month) so I checked my calendar and saw it would fit for a different month. I took about a day-and-a-half and put together six months of posts for that site. Then I listed the months I had yet to do for this calendar year, jotted down my ideas for those posts and moved on to my next group. By the end of the week I had not only pitched that noose out the window, but I had accomplished a huge amount. Last weekend, rather than putting up one Jewels of Encouragement post, I did two. I would've done more but I had to run out the door to church.

While my mind is focused on a particular site and their unique audience, I do a minimum of two posts at a time, preferably more. Then I can let my mind move on to another area.

The same thing with the non-blog things—I group them together. I'll take a day or two and update lessons or work on the scheduling and interviews at The Book Loft or doing all the little odds and ends at the sites. It helps save my sanity.

Relaxing time is spent sorting pictures, resizing them, adding watermarks and uploading them, or I'll work on new blog designs or hunt for things online. The only TV my family watches are movies and if I've seen the movie, I carry my computer to my chair and work on things I don't need concentration for. Occasionally I crash, doing nothing, but not often.

This is simply what's working for me at the moment.

So tell me, what are some tricks that help save your sanity?

Marching Orders: by My Spirit

Not too long ago I felt God leading me to something I've failed at more times than I like to remember and my response was “Lord, I can't.” As soon as those words flashed through my mind there was a response. “It's not in me but in God.” (a Patty paraphrase of Gen. 41:16)I wanted to both cry and dance at the same time.

A few days after that, if even that long, I was studying Joseph in my daily Bible reading and as I cross-referenced some verses from that passage I came to Zechariah 4:6. I read the verse and thought “Oh yeah, that verse.” And I was appalled when I realized it. I stopped and made myself go back and carefully read the familiar verse. I'm so glad I did. It was exactly what I needed.

Finding the Extraordinary God in our Ordinary Lives

God has put a few things on my heart for this upcoming year—things I've failed at in the past. As I say “It's not in me, Lord,” He says to me “You're right, it's not. It's in Me and it's by My Spirit. If you even try it without Me, you'll fail. Again.”

So this year my theme is 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. I honestly feel like I've just read my marching orders and they're to climb the highest mountain I've ever encountered—like I'm standing at the base of Mt. Chimborazo and discovered that the mountains I've already climbed are just the foothills and the real thing is towering above me now. I'm thousands of feet from the summit but in my pack is the flag God has given me to plant in the highest peak. And lemme tell ya, it's not in me. But that's okay. My might and my power might get me a few steps, before I fall on my face (again) but God's Spirit is able to get me there.

That's a Wrap

The college kids are home for the Christmas break and they wrapped up our year and yard for us. LoL. I can't wait to hear their side of the story because we happened to walk out of the house while a car was parked at the end of our driveway! And then we stood in the driveway talking with our guests (who is an older one of the crew!) for quite awhile and there was far more traffic on our road than usual.

They did a great job, of course. They've had a lot of practice. Here's our internet dish. Since we were still up and online when they wrapped us, we would've known they were here if we were actually still using that dish for our internet, but lucky for them (and us because that service stunk!) it's simply a yard ornament at this time.

We have a large front yard, so they concentrated their work out there and wrapped the trunks of several trees and one of our light posts. Pretty cool, huh? Jim went out last night and said the mailbox was great, but it's been so windy that it was all gone before sunrise so I didn't get to see it.

I just think it's so fitting how they wrapped up the year for us: in a surprising way. This year has been very surprising for me.

Earlier this week I sat and did my yearly looking back and journaling and then setting some goals for next year and last year caught me totally by surprise. A year ago this time I had one thing in mind: writing. I did list as a goal to speak or teach if the opportunity presented itself, but I never-ever dreamed I'd do so much of it this year, let alone that it would take over my year.

In 2010...
**wrote my Clearing the Blog Fog class.
**taught Clearing the Blog Fog class several times online, and LOVED it!
**taught a session at the Faithwriters conference on blogging.
**spoke at A Woman Inspired's One Marriage online webinar in May.
**started teaching a small ladies Bible study.
**co-wrote and published a short marriage ebook.
**helped start and contribute to The Barn Door, a fun midwestern blog.
**moved the author spotlights to their own site: The Book Loft and now run 3 spotlights (and book giveaways a week!!).

That wraps up 2010 for me. Complete with a pretty bow on my mailbox and front door. Nothing like I expected, but so much more. That's God for you. He's so much more than our expectations and dreams.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what 2011 brings! I'll tell you about one of things planned...in a day or two. =] Until then,

Happy New Year!
May God wrap you in abundant blessings--even if they're completely different than you expect. ;-)

Savoring and Looking Forward

I love this week between Christmas and New Years! It's become one of my favorite times of the year—a time of lingering and savoring and then facing forward, something I'm blogging about today at the Cafe. But here at Patterings is more about the lingering and savoring. It's kinda like when the whole family is at a meal together and long after everyone is done eating we sit there chatting.

Usually sometime on Christmas afternoon I start thinking of pulling out my journal. See, I think best with my fingers, so if I'm not at my keyboard, I need to have a pen in hand with my journal open, and this week between Christmas and New Year's is a time I reserve for my journal.

Through the years I've settled into a pattern—I start with paging back through my journal to see what I've written about through the year. These days my journal captures only the important or confusing times, but before I started blogging, my journal was bursting at the seams. Now I also have to scroll back through my blog to see what went on in my year. This always has surprises for me because I have the memory of a goldfish so I rediscover things I've forgotten. (That makes it fun... in a scarey sort of way. LoL)

Flipping through the year always brings me back to the goals I set a year ago, and sometimes that's not a highlight for me because some years I don't accomplish much on the list. So one time, out of desperation, I listed the things I did accomplish. I was amazed! I hadn't even come close to my writing goals for the year, but I did so much more. It helped me see that just because I didn't accomplish things on that list didn't mean I had failed—I had been redirected.

That's not to say that's always the case! Some years I chicken out and find a hundred other things to keep me busy so I “can't” reach a goal. Lemme tell ya, that's not good! Not at all. But looking back through the year helps me see that. It also helps me savor the things that happened through the year.

But once the savoring is done it's time to look forward and press on! Lingering over the past year is good. Camping out there isn't.

Now it's time to face forward and dream. And dream big! Yes, be realistic, but don't be so realistic there's no dream there. The key here is to spend time talking with God about your upcoming year. You've got a week for this, not just a few hours.

Some years it takes me two sittings with my journal to look back and savor and then look forward, but often it takes working on this for several days. But it's a relaxing time for me and one that I've found makes a big difference in the upcoming year. See, even though I have the memory of a goldfish, I often have at least some of those goals before me throughout the year so they keep me working toward the big picture. Without that I'd be swimming like a goldfish too. Round and round in circles. Know what I mean?

Grab your journal, or some paper, and join me in this week of savoring and goal setting! The more the merrier! Don't forget to join me at the Cafe where I'm blogging about Facing Forward.

So tell me,
what's something you'd like to accomplish this coming year?

in 2010...

Happy New Year!!

The other day I spent the afternoon reflecting back on 2009, then looking forward to 2010 and putting together some goals for the year. I thought I'd post them here, as added incentive for me and extra accountability. I also have a power-packed accountability set up for the first quarter of 2010, but first, here's some of my goals:

*Write 500 words, minimum, 6 days a week, for 3000 words a week.

*Write 35k words in February with some of my friends.

*Complete & polish LiD (Light in the Darkness--the missionary fiction I just started.)

*Another novel well underway.

*Prepare 2 lessons/talks. One a devotional on 2 Kings 4:1-7, and a talk on missions. Both prepared and ready to go at a moment's notice in case an opportunity opens up. =] By March 31st.

*Enter the first chap of LiD in Genesis (March 31st).

*Enter 1-2 other contests.

*Take 2 online writing classes.

*Write the 4 Exemplify magazine articles on my calendar.

*Keep up with monthly At The Well & Exemplify Online devotionals.

*Write and submit 4 other articles-- 1 each quarter. (this isn't high on my priority list.)

*Keep up with Patterings and Zest. *eye roll*

*Exercise 3x a week and either read a writing craft book as I'm on he glider or listen to writing or inspirational teaching on my nifty lil mp3 player. (This will be adjusted when Spring comes and I can walk in the mornings again.)

*Continue 'doubling up' on my Bible reading, for the majority of the time, like I have been since my birthday.

There's a few other things, but this is way more than enough to be posting up here. =) When I look at this list I have to tell you, it scares me silly and I'm so thankful for the verses God gave for just a time as this. I'll be holding onto them this year.

Do not be shocked, nor fear them. The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you...in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place. ~Deut. 1:29-30 NAS

Each time I look at this list of goals and focus on those giants in the land, I begin panicking. And that's when I remember this. God will fight on my behalf. I just need to obey and follow Him closely.

That's my main goal this year: obedience to God Almighty.

And look at this verse that I saw at my friend, Kristen's site, Mrs. JayPeg...

But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.
~Deut. 11:11-12 NAS

When I read that here, on the picture Kristen did this week for Word Filled Wednesday, I about had shivers!

God is so good! After the month I've had, being whipped by fear, these are just the verses I needed. I had already chosen Deuteronomy 1:29-30 for next year's verses, so seeing Deuteronomy 11:11-12 at Kristen's was the confirmation and the icing on the cake.

I'm excited about 2010! When I focus on God and HIS greatness, I don't see the giants before me near as much. =) All the more reason to focus on God!

I'll tell you about my power-packed accountability plan for this first quarter later...

How about you? Do you have new year resolutions or goals for 2010?

Chicken Dancing

December's been a doozie of a month for me and I'm still wading out of the bog I ended up in. It's been weeks since I've done any writing. Weeks. And I'm having a really hard time getting back to my keyboard. Not because of time—I've had lots and lots of time, but because I did something Israel did after they left Egypt with Moses.

Israel was in Kadesh-Barnea, right on the brink of entering the Promised Land, and they chickened out. Guess where I've been this month? In Kadesh-Barnea doing the chicken dance. It's not a very pretty picture. More than that, it's not a pretty experience. I know what I'm supposed to be doing, the path I'm to be following, but instead of moving forward I've settled for the chicken dance.

Sure, as I danced I read some excellent books that challenged me spiritually and counted as research for my writing project, so the time wasn't wasted. The problem came in with my mindset and my focus. I fixed my eyes on the giants in the land and on all my weaknesses—which is exactly what Israel did there in Kadesh-Barnea. Check out what happened to them as a result:

Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath saying, 'Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers, except Caleb...because he has followed the Lord fully.'
~Deuteronomy 1:34-35 NAS

Israel's chicken dance landed them in the desert for 40 years, and that generation died in the desert.

I have no desire to die in the desert which means I need to quit doing the chicken dance, face my fear, get moving and go in and conquer the land God has given to me. I need to get cooking. *grin*

How about you?
Have you been chicken dancing or cooking?

Hey You!

One of the things I'm doing this year is getting back into Scripture memorization, even though I'm not walking in the mornings now. I've joined the accountability team at Beth Moore's Living Proof Ministry blog where we meet on the 1st and 15th of each month to check in and write out the verse we'll be memorizing over the next two weeks. It's incredibly amazing and encouraging to see the number of people doing this. Wow!

The first verses I memorized were Philippians 3:13-14

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 3:13-14

For these next two weeks I'm memorizing a verse that I rediscovered while preparing my lessons for the girls I co-teach on Wednesday nights at my church. I'm hoping to blog what I learned from that lesson (I always learn so much when I prepare a lesson!) but for now, here's the verse:

Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. ~I Chronicles 28:20

We're to be courageous and act, not just sit there trembling and hiding in our cozy little corner. We have God's promise that He will be with us, enabling us to do the work He has called us to—until the work is finished!

This is right where I'm at now. Until the work is finished. I have work I need to finish so I need to be strong and courageous and act.

This is a verse that has jumped out and grabbed me several times over the years, and I had been asking God which verse to memorize next. When I looked this passage up for my lesson, I knew this was the verse. I challenged the grade school girls to memorize it with me and told them that I hope to be able to quote it to them next Wednesday. I also enticed them with a reward if they could quote it, and a few of them seemed interested in taking up the challenge.

But for now, here's a message to myself...
Hey You

Hey You

For Wonders Worked...

Last night I accomplished a goal, which will enable me to reach for the next goal on this journey. This encapsulates how I felt:

For links to more Word Filled Wednesdays
run to the 160 Acre Woods!

Regrets & Resolutions

This week At The Well is hosted by my dear friend, LauraLee. Here are the thought questions she put to us:

The New Year is a time for us to let go of the past and look forward to newness. Everyone thinks about that differently. Answer any of these questions, all the below, or just give your thoughts about the New Year.

1. What is your favorite "resolution" in the Bible?

2. Do you do a New Year's resolution? Why or why not? Does your family make a resolution together?

3. Usually a resolution comes as a result of regretting something you didn't do the year before...how do you let go of the regret and move forward?

4. (optional...only if you wish to share) Have you ever made a resolution in the past that you didn't keep and wish you had?

Okay, to be perfectly honest with you, I cannot remember the last time I made a New Year's Resolution. It took me about two year's failed resolutions to realize they didn't work for me. Thankfully, I found what does. Goals.

I like to dream big. If you don't dream big, you end up with small, and in my case, barely enough to squeak by. One of my favorite quotes is:

When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either. ~Leo Burnett

So I dream big and reach for the stars. Yes, it means I don't quite reach my goals (as Joanne can attest to. LoL) but it keeps me moving forward and that forward motion is so important.

For this year I have writing goals, Bible reading goals (Cover to Cover, chronologically in 2009), and now, new this morning, I have Scripture memory goals, which I want to share with you. My friend Kristen posted about this and it was exactly what I've needed and wanted, and I'm soooo excited! Beth Moore, at the LPM blog, has encouraged and challenged us to join her in memorizing 24 verses (of our choice) this year. There's a huge accountability team there (when I just checked and there's 2936!) and I joined in. (For those of you wanting to memorize John 15, go visit Vonnie, that's what she's doing this year!) Scripture memory is something I used to do as I walked in the mornings, but when that ended, so did my memorization time and I've missed it greatly. I'm starting with Philippians 3:13-14. I've got my 3x5 card on my keyboard and I'm working on it.

The week between Christmas and New Year's is a time of looking back, evaluating and then looking forward for me. In that order. It's an important time for me, and yes, regrets do play a part in there, but I do not dwell on them. I use them as a tool to push me forward so that they don't weigh me down. How? By giving it to God and forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward. (Which happens to be the first verses to memorize this year! LoL, imagine that.)

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead; I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 3:13-14

Don't forget to join us at LauraLee's for links to more At The Well thoughts.

Cover to Cover

One of my favorite events of the year is finishing up a read through of the Bible and turning back to Genesis and starting all over again. There are times when I haven't made it in a year, but that's okay, I made it. This last time it took me two years to read from cover to cover, and I was blessed tremendously and grew so much. This time my plan is to complete my cover-to-cover expedition in a year. I know that there are others that are doing the same thing, and I think it'd be great if we were to encourage each other in our journeys.

My plan is to read through chronologically, because that's how I like it best. It puts the Biblical events in time-line order and puts them in perspective for me. I've done it this way four times now, that I have recorded, and I love it.

I'm not one to get hung up on the schedule. There are days when I read a chapter and others that I read ten—to me the point is that I'm reading and meeting with God. The schedule provides structure for me, but I don't let it bind me up in knots. I'm not one that works well with knots. Realizing that was very freeing for me, and as a result, when I hit the back cover of the Bible—well, when I finish Revelation 22:21 I know that the next passage I'll read is Genesis 1—regardless of what time of year it is.

This last time through, I finished at Christmas and I started in Genesis 1 on December 26th because I didn't want to wait. If I continue at the rate I'm reading right now, I'll be done early. But there are times when I slow down, for many different reasons. So, my goal is to finish by December 31, 2009.

What about you? Do you read cover-to-cover or do you jump around or do Bible studies using a book? I'd love to hear how you approach Bible reading.

I've been turning over ideas of how to encourage each other in this journey and the only one I've settled on so far is a button to put in my side bar. Feel free to copy it (by saving it to your computer) and post it in yours, too. It will not link back to me, although the one in my side bar will link to this post to remind me of my goal to complete my read-through in this calendar year. It is simply a picture to encourage and remind us of our goal. Better yet, make your own button and link it to your post telling us how you read through. I'd love for you to leave me a comment here with a link to your post so I can be encouraged by it.

Also, be sure to check out Linda's Heart of a Ready Writer blog. She's reading through this year too, and blogging about it.

Forward...March!

I love this week between Christmas and New Year's. It's always been a time of reflecting and thinking for me, as well as resting and reading, but this year it's been entirely different.

Christmas afternoon, after the gifts were opened and dinner was done, I reached for my journal, eager to start my yearly time of reflection. That's when I realized my journal was missing. My search turned into a hunt as I racked my brain trying to remember when and where I had last used it. I finally found it, a half-an-hour later—in the little drawer unit I set up earlier this year to help keep me and my writing somewhat organized and consolidated.

I settled in my chair, and while the family watched Lord of the Rings (again) I eagerly turned to my last entry, ready to begin my journey. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the date of that entry: January 20, 2008. That's 11 months ago! Nothing could have reminded me of the changes that have taken place in my life this last year more than that jolt did. When I realized that blogging was the next step God wanted me to take, I set my journal down and started figuring out Blogger (sheesh, what a journey that was!) and working on Patterings. I determined that whether anyone ever found me here didn't matter, it was an act of obedience on my part, and my obedience could not be contingent on other people.

God has blessed me so abundantly! The changes that have come about in my life are not the ones I anticipated, they are completely different, and so much better than I could have imagined! This last year my life has changed tremendously--not only am I writing on a regular and consistent basis, but God has blessed me with a circle of soul sisters that I never dreamed of having.

As I look forward, I've really been wrestling. One of my goals that was modified, has been plaguing me for three months. I've wrestled with it, prayed over it and even tried ignoring it (which, btw, didn't work). I wanted direction. Handwriting on the wall or even a neon sign would have been nice, but that hasn't happened. Instead I feel God asking me to simply trust Him and keep writing. I feel a bit like Namaan might have. He went to the prophet looking for a miracle, and received a message through a servant instead. 'What? Dip in the Jordan River seven times?' What? Keep writing and trust You? How can something that sounds so simple be so hard? I want answers, I want definites. But I also know that if I knew I probably would never budge from where I am. So, I'm strapping on my seat belt (to keep my tail plastered in this chair to ensure that I finish this project God has not released me from—even though I asked for release) and taking one baby step at a time and trusting Him.

God is faithful.
He will finish this work He's started in me.
My mission: obedience.

If an Elephant Can Fly...

For the past month I've been looking for a theme picture for my year—one that would challenge and encourage me. I was scrolling through pictures for another reason when I saw this print entitled "Un Petit Voyage I" by Ségo and I fell in love with it.

I've been feeling like I'm facing an impossible task, and it's all I can do to keep from hiding under my rock to escape. This picture, and verse, encourages and challenges me, and the bonus is that it makes me smile.

When God calls you to a task, He provides the means to accomplish it.

For more Word Filled Wednesday run to the 160 Acre Woods!