It is that time again. Time to look ahead at the coming new year. 2011 is just two days away. I have mentioned in the past that I do not make New Year’s Resolutions. And I don’t. I know if I try I will fail. Instead I set goals. Maybe it is really all the same, resolutions/goals, but for some reason setting goals instead of resolutions seems more attainable to me.
You might remember this post from last January. I was very down and very discouraged. It still makes me cry when I read what I wrote on that day last year. I still remember those deeply sad and lonely feelings. I was encouraged and touched by the many of readers who took the time to read that post all the way through and responded with kindness and caring. It made me feel like I was not the only one out here with these feelings.
Has anything changed from the day I wrote that post? No, not really. We are still carrying a massive amount of debt in fact in the spring, Larry had his overtime cut back which was a shock to us both emotionally and financially. I thought it extremely ironic that in January we decided to stop using all credit cards and start paying down our debt and then he lost a majority of his overtime. Which put us behind. Today we are still behind and our finances don’t look all that great. Then in September the remainder of his overtime was cut bringing us down even further. The stress was tremendous.
I also did not meet many of the goals I set for myself. I did not get the house decluttered. Although we have gotten rid of a lot, we live in a very small home and we have much more to get rid of. I did not meet my goal of reading through the Bible in 90 days. I signed up for this challenge twice and am official Bible in 90 days drop out. I decided to set my own course for reading my Bible. I also did not meet my goal of becoming more healthy.
What did happen……
I changed my way of thinking.I learned that I cannot do these things under my own power. No matter how hard I try! I need God to guide me each and every day! I have decided to give it all to God. The debt, the clutter, the unhealthy lifestyle. I am just taking it to Him. I cannot do this on my own. I’ve tried and my way does not seem to be working! I am reading my Bible daily in small bits a chapter or two at a time. It is ok that I if I do not follow someone else’s reading plan. I’m not a failure. I need to take time and read. I need to remember to always take my worries and cares to God or I can too easily slip back into that depression that has held me tightly in it’s grip in the past.
As far as our debt. This is a major source of stress for us. But…..we are working on it. I have paid off one bill in the last couple of months and for the entire year of 2010 we did not add one bit of debt to what we already have. We did not use one credit card. Our Christmas was smaller than usual but that turned out to be a good thing. (the boys didn’t seem to notice at all and are happy with what they received) We are not carrying any Christmas debt into the new year. NONE. That has not happened in a very long time. It is a good feeling. The debt we already have? Yes it is going to be a long and hard road to pay it all back but I have peace about it and we will get through and pay it off.
I have learned that I have so much. Not in things but in friends and family. I am thankful for each and every one. Both in real life and in the online community. I have friends I have made because of this blog that I have never met in real life.Friends I have met through adoption. Friends that have changed me for the better, friends that have made me take a long and hard look at myself. Friends who have helped me to see I am not alone.
I have had some wonderful opportunities this year. I have had the chance to step out of my comfort zone and accepted a position with our local homeschool support group as secretary. I was not sure I fit in and if I would do a good job. The ladies in our group have been so kind and patient with me. I have had some great opportunities this year to review books and products for several different companies and homeschool sources. This has been fun for me!
I have the blessing of being able to stay home each day with my boys and be their teacher. I remind myself daily what I privilege this is. To get to watch them learn new things and ask questions and take on new responsibilities.
I remind myself how truly blessed I am to have such a hard working husband who will go the extra mile to provide for us.
Out of this horrible stress that came from Larry’s overtime being cut, we have had time to do more things as a family. Play games, go on hikes, take the boys to the park and just spend time together. We don’t need a lot of money to do those things.
I truly feel that this was supposed to happen to us. Otherwise we would never have changed. We want a different life than this constant living from one paycheck to the next. There is a way out. Our short term sacrifice will have a long term pay off!
Below I have posted some of our goals for 2011.
Goals for 2011
I do have some goals I want to set for the new year for both myself and our family. If I reach them all that will be wonderful. If not I will continue to work at them until I do.
For Myself:
- to pray more
- to read the entire Bible. I have no time limit for this goal other than to be finished by the end of 2011. I am currently reading the book of Numbers
- to have a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father
- to do a Bible study or two
- memorize scripture
- to spend more time with friends and family
- to read more. This year I read 59 books. I would like to double that. I love to read and read daily. This should not be difficult
- to prepare more meals ahead of time. To do more freezer cooking/baking
- keep my home cleaner and neater
- continue to declutter
- to be more patient with my boys
- to start an exercise routine. My goal for this is to start walking. I have the Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds Ultimate Collection that I want to start.
- to find a way to bring in an income from home to help out with our finances and still stay home with the boys.
- to be more gracious
Family Goals:
- to include more family devotions each day including Bible reading. Our Christmas season was much richer by putting God first in our celebrating and I would like more of this in our everyday lives.
- to spend more time together doing things as a family playing games, going on hikes, reading, just spending time together
- to participate in ministry opportunities as a family. (I have a few things in mind that I will be sharing in the new year.)
- to attend church regularly and consistently (we have started doing this and only missed one Sunday during the advent/Christmas season)
- to be more hospitable and have guests in our home, asking our best friends over after church from time to time and spend time together just laughing and visiting and enjoying each others company
- to shine Jesus light to others
Financial Goals:
- to tithe
- to pay off our outstanding debts.
- we are following Dave Ramsey’s plan and need to start saving our for our baby emergency fund of $1000.00
- to tighten our belts and cut back as much as possible
- to earn as many gift cards as possible through surveys and swagbucks. In 2010 I was able to earn over $250 between surveys and swagbucks which helped out tremendously with Christmas gifts.
Household:
- to declutter each room in our home and each cabinet, closet and drawer and only keep what we love and truly enjoy having
- to make our home more inviting and cozy
- to make our home our haven
- to coupon more and save as much as I can at the grocery store.
- to not pay for any household items out of pocket. To utilize drugstore rewards program to the fullest
- less TV. This mostly applies to the boys as Larry and I do not watch a lot of TV.
- to plan out our meals and meal prep ahead of time. So I am not spending as much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up
- to make more of our bread
- have a garden (we usually have one each year but want to increase it)
- to make more of our food from scratch
School:
- to be more organized with my school supplies and curriculum
- to have a better organized plan for our school days
- to make items more accessible to the boys
- to clean out and organize all of our books and keep only those we love and use the most
- to have more outdoor time. More nature studies, nature walks, observing the birds and such
- daily Bible time
- read aloud more. We already do this daily but we need to spend more time reading
- to be more spontaneous. If a field trip or opportunity comes up I want to be able to participate if at all possible
- to do more hands on projects with the boys, especially in the area of science. This is something both boys have asked for
My Blog:
- to share with others ways to save and help someone who may be struggling with many of the same things I struggle with
- to encourage others in their homeschool journey
- to encourage others in their journey to pay off and get out of debt
- to share ways to save money and be content with what we have
If you have read this far, thank you! I am thankful for all of my readers! I hope I am an encouragement to you in some way. I want to make 2011 a wonderful year. I am praying that 2011 gives us the opportunities to reach these goals. Do you have any goals you want to reach? Is there an area you are struggling with? I’d love to hear your goals and dreams and struggles and pray for you in the coming year and let you know you are not alone.
signed….
Michele
a flawed child of the King
