Friday, December 29, 2006

Resolution Time Already?


It's that time of year again. The time of year where I feel I have to get all introspective and decide what New Year's resolutions I am going to setting for myself. Because, invariably, someone will ask what is your New Year's resolutions, and I always feel like I'm so not with the in crowd if I don't have some lofty goal upon my list.


I am naturally not too much of an introspective person. I do not sit down and go over my whole year to see what was good and what was bad. And then try to write a bunch of goals to fix what didn't go right. Not that I think goals are bad. Don't get me wrong. I probably need to learn how to do that so that I'm not floundering in the sea of wasted time. But goal setting has never been my strong point. I'm more of a last minute procrastinator type. My best work is done under time pressure. If I try to do things too far in advance, I tend to end up picking my work apart anyway, because I've got the time to get disgruntled with it.


But back to New Year's resolutions. Okay, sure, I've got the same old, same old that seems to get passed down every year like a well worn pair of hand me down overalls. Lose some weight, be more patient, be more organized, dust once in awhile. They seem to get recycled over and over. But these all seem so, oh, dull compared with some your wonderful, introspective, well thought out goals that I've been reading. How do you do that?


Okay, I may not be a great long term plan person but I am a list person. I loooove lists. They do help me to see what I do need to get done. They help me to remember; which seems to be an elusive concept sometimes to me. I think it has something to do with 6 pre-schoolers, each needing my undivided attention. right. this. minute. But lists are short term goals. Goals for the day. Which sorta makes me feel like I fail in the plan department. Hence, the trouble with New Year's Resolutions.


Which makes me really glad that God is the King of Planning. He tells me in Jeremiah of plans.


Jeremiah 29:11 -14a

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the
Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to
you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will
be found by you," declares the Lord,...



I'm thinking I like God's plans. So how does that fit into my list oriented personality? Well, here is how my list will look:



  1. Seek God with all my heart

  2. Trust God with all my heart

  3. Give God daily control of myself so that His plans may be accomplished


This my mind and personality gets. I can break it down. I can do it day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. I pray for God's grace to do that in 2007.

29 comments:

Barbie @ Mamaology said...

I think your goals sound great. (Seek 1st His Kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be added unto you.) So I think you got it all covered:)And yes I can attest that little ones at your feet all day seem to make goal setting and lists take second place. But what a blessing you are for all 6 of those little ones. Wow 6 I am truly impressed!!!

Happy New Year Susanne!

Julie said...

Girlfriend, if you follow those 3 resolutions, you'll SOAR through 2007.

Blessings to you, and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Eden said...

Awesome goals, Susanne. Follow those 3 goals you've set so far, and God will give you the grace to see the others fulfilled one way or another.

Happy New Year!

Taya @ Delightful! said...

Hello, I've been enjoying your blog for a little bit now. Great stuff! Your list is excellent! These are goals that I really need to do as well! Seek, Trust and give over control. So hard but so necessary!

Anonymous said...

Isnt it great that God wants us to propser, keep us safe, give us hope and a future. Im praying for a peaceful quiet settled year for 2007 this year has been hard.

If I dont say it again Happy New Year
Susanne

Beck said...

I found out this past year in a big way that God is in control of my life, so a lot of my resolutions are centering around what that means for me now.
And also to lose some weight. Sigh.

Barb said...

This verse has been on my mind a lot lately and I'm counting on it. Your list would be a great one for all of us to adopt, Susanne.

Happy New Year to you, my friend.

Carol said...

Since I'm one of those non-goal-ish, last-minute types as well, your little list looks mighty appealing to me. It's a good list.

PastormacsAnn said...

I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" type either. But I like your list. A "Life List' if you will.

Do we really need any other goals than these?

Thanks Susanne. I'm looking forward to spending more time at LTTTS with you in 2007. You always give me a lift and point me in the right direction.

Laura said...

I love love love that verse. It is so reassuring and encouraging. Thank you for that. Laura

Kim said...

Great goals...we all need to do this. Thanks for causing me to think on this more...excellent post!

Kim

Chris @ Come to the Table said...

Susanne,
You have said it so well. I seem to do best when I can break things down very simply too. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses. I often mediate on these words to quiet my fears and put my trust in the Lord.

Christina said...

Great post. I am also a list peron, but not a planning person so I totally understand.

Good idea for your resolutions. Maybe I aught to think along these lines.

Much Ado said...

Susanne, your goals have just summed things up perfectly. Great verse and wonderful goals - keeping these 3 in mind for 2007 and everything will fall into place

Kate said...

Susanne - I am a little disconnected from blogging at the moment, but hope to get my act together soon! Just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Especially Heather said...

Give God daily control of myself so that His plans may be accomplished

This is my favorite... It is the toughest to accomplish, but the one with the most rewarding benefits as believers.

Thanks for sharing these with us!

Susie said...

I love your list. It seems so simple, but these are truly harder to do daily than any weight loss, or exercising program. The results, however, will bring far more peace, joy and understanding than any thing else we do. Thanks for posting this. Great insight!

Islandsparrow said...

Those are my resolutions too!

Blessed New Year from another list lover :)

Lori said...

I love your resolutions =) Great list.

Janice said...

Wow! I love that verse it just reminds me that God does have a purpose for my life. Thank you for the post. It is Encouraging.
Janice

Unknown said...

Those sound like they pretty much cover it. . . .

Katherine@Raising Five said...

So with you on this, Susanne. Heart, not sacrifice.

Lori said...

This beautifully written. I too love lists, because I love the feeling of crossing something I have accomplished or completed off =)

Donnetta said...

Seems to me these are the best and most important goals of all!!

By the way, I haven't forgotten our own little goal we are working on together. I'm trying to find a better way to implement it into my daily routine. I'm still willing to go at it with you if you are! Let me know... I'm working on a more defined plan for myself. Once it's complete I'll let you know what my plans are. :-)

Linda said...

I don't see how you can go wrong with that list!! I sometimes feel like when I set goals I'm just setting myself up for failure. I don't tend to be real good on the "follow through". I do have things I need to work on (lots of them), but I have learned that my best laid plans can sometimes be totally destroyed by things I can't control. Learning to live one day at time is certainly a worthy goal - one I'm working on.

Janis Rodgers said...

Those are the best and most complete goals that anyone can have! How great that you boiled everything down to that! If you do all of that then 2007 will be a year of great growth in the Lord! Happy New Year!

Janis

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! If we seek Him first, everything else falls into place.

Kelly said...

Loved your goals. Simple and to the point! The one about giving up control hit especially close to home for me.

My husband's life verse is about seeking Him first. Life would be much simpler if we could live this out!

Pamela said...

Susanne, you are so sweet and thoughtful, I always enjoy reading your uplifting comments. I love that you have reminded us that God is the great planner, that he has wonderful plans in store for us, and I eagerly await whatever light he may shed for us! Happy New Year! :)