Thursday, February 02, 2012

The first month of the year has slipped quickly by.  It seems I didn't have a whole lot of blogging time but I wanted to review, for myself mostly, what happened towards my word of the year.  This once a month reviewing, I'm hoping, will keep the word before my eyes and in my thoughts.  It's going to be a working out of my thoughts towards the goal so it's not always going to be make total rational sense.  Hopefully it will, but knowing me, it might just be a whole lot of sorting out.

 My word for the year was "Purposefully".

"having a purpose, determined, resolute, full of meaning, significant"
As I thought about and prayed about how to apply this in my year and towards my life, I really felt like I had to list different areas in my life and list specific ways I could make them more filled with meaning, a more determined plan towards improving or growing within each area, rather than the general drifting my life seems to have taken in the last couple of years.  I began with these areas and I'm sure they will be added to as the year goes on.

Living Purposefully:

-as a wife
-as a mother
-as a daughter
-as a sister
-as a friend
-as a servant
-as a child of God
-as a child care provider
-as a learner

So far the areas I've got certain goals in place are:

-As a child of God
     -to know Jesus more
          -read one chapter per day starting with John
          -record thoughts and impressions as I read
          -regular prayer times
     -to be obedient to what He asks in His word as revealed to me
     -to love others better as each opportunity rises
     -participate in the church 3 day fast

-As a wife
     -practice courtesty
     -practice a more gentle voice
     -read a couple of Godly marriage themed teaching books

-As a child care provider
     -refresh my litany of crafts
     -revamp my craft room

-As a learner
     -learn to use my big girl camera out of the automatic mode

That was my start so far.  A lot of it is the breaking of bad habits I've allowed to slip in and making new ones to replace them.   The fasting dates have come and gone at church.  I participated and failed and started again.  Ye old flesh screams out at the thought of no food.  Reading a chapter a day of the Bible is going in jumps and stalls but I'm determined to make it a habit.  I'm 3/4 of the way through the first marriage themed book which also helps with another goal and that is my prayer goal.  It's a book by Stormie Omaritan on praying for your marriage.  Lots of good, good stuff in there.  You don't have to have a marriage on the rocks to glean good things from a good book and make a good marriage better or to gain insight and encouragement to be prepared for when the trials do come.  And don't let the title fool you, changing a marriage usually means changing oneself!  Practicing courtesy in marriage and daily interactions I'm determined to make a habit to where I don't even have to think about it, no matter how frustrated I am.  Baby steps on the way to making it happen.

So a not bad start to living a bit more, okay a lot more, purposefully this year.  We'll see what February holds.




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6 comments:

ellen b. said...

Way to go Susanne. Wow...where did January go? Have a wonderful weekend.

Mom24 said...

Good for you! It's not easy to change, but so worth it, isn't it?

Faith said...

those are all great goals! and yes...January flew by!! i think for me it's because my area of NYS is having SUCH a mild winter. We haven't had to shovel snow yet!!! in fact, our total has only been about 3 inches!!! lol....

Barbara H. said...

Way to go! A monthly review sounds like a great way to keep these focuses (foci?) before you.

nikkipolani said...

You're even tackling your word of the year with purpose! I like that you've broken it down into manageable and meaningful chunks.

Linda said...

I've missed reading these Susanne. Love the new car. Isn't it funny the way we can get attached to our vehicles. I know I do.
I will need to get a new washer and dryer when we move into the new house, and I didn't even know about that feature. Something to look for. Thank you so much for visiting Susanne.