The Abundant Wife

This may be the first time I have ever written down a list of New Year’s Resolutions or Goals.  For me, it always made more sense to do this sort of thing at the beginning of the school year (September 1) rather than the beginning of the calendar year (January 1).  However, since I started keeping track of my monthly goals last June, I now need new goals for a new year.

I was reading an old post by Crystal Paine recently, in which she recommended setting goals based on your priorities, and then choosing focus areas in those priorities.  So my goals list will look a little different in 2013!  I hope doing my goals this way will give more structure to my goal-setting.  So, without further ado…

Spiritual:

• Daily “quiet time” — Read my Bible and write in my journal 6 days a week.
• Finish reading my Bible beginning to end for the 4th time.  (I’ve read Matthew-1 Thessalonians since June.)
• Finish the last 2 membership classes (of 6) required to join our church.
• Join a Bible study.

Marriage:

• Weekly “date night.”
• Weekly scheduling/planning time.
• Other.  (You don’t get to know everything!)

Parenting:

• Decide on a name and give birth to the new baby (sometime in late January or early February).
• Research pre-school homeschooling for Naomi (who will be 4 years old this summer).
• Visit the Sacramento Zoo.
• Consistent bedtime routine from 7-8pm: bath, brush teeth, read books 15 minutes each night.

Health (Body/Mind):

• Walk each day.  Floss daily.  Drink lots of water.
• Read a book each day (even if it’s just a little bit).

Home:

• Purge and organize to make room for the new baby.
• Home improvements.
• Freezer cooking (for the new baby’s arrival, and other times).
• Clean once weekly.

Blog:

• Write 2-3 posts weekly.

Finances:

• Choose new insurances (auto, home, life) and write a will.
• Make money by selling items on eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist.
• Make money substitute-teaching.  (I substitute-taught twice in December, and 4 times in November).
• Use Mvelopes to budget for purchases. (I began on December 30).

Ministry:

• Assist Brad with administrative tasks of youth ministry.  (I began on November 29).
• Look for opportunities to be generous.
• Look for opportunities to build real-life friendships.

I know 25 goals looks ambitious for a girl due to have her 3rd child in less than 2 weeks!  For that reason, I have intentionally tried not to add many new things aside from those that I hope will make my life simpler or easier in some way.  Many of my goals overlap in purpose and achievement.  I also know that I will put all goals on the back-burner for the first 8 weeks (or as many more are necessary) after our new baby arrives so that we can focus on rest and recovery.

So, how about you?  What goals do you hope to accomplish in 2013?