New YEar, same goals?

Whether you’re a fan of New Year’s resolutions or not, there’s something about starting the New Year that causes us to pause, and reflect on where our life is.  Over the years, I find myself not so much focusing on “resolutions“, as I do goals and planning.

I typically make the goal of losing weight in January… Why? Because I’ve usually not done a good job of eating healthy through the holiday season. But I don’t have regret over that!  I planned for it. (Wait, what?) Yes, I planned to eat poorly.  I planned to enjoy more desserts and delicious food than normal over the holiday season because I enjoy that (have I mentioned that I love dessert, especially chocolate?)  But I also plan that in January I’m going to cut way back on calories and get back to where I need to be. So call it a resolution or not, it’s a reset for me in January.

I also like to set goals for what I want to accomplish with my family. I like to look at the calendar a whole year to time and plan out what I’d like to be true when the year is over.  What do I want to be true for me, my marriage, my kids – what kind of opportunities and experiences do we want to have? In January, I might plan a vacation in the middle of the summer, I might plan a father-son camp out in the spring, I might plan to attend a marriage retreat with Naomi in the fall.  What friends do I want to connect with that don’t live in town?  Can I go ahead and put it on the calendar when I will go visit them?   By taking a look at the whole calendar in the beginning of the year, it helps me actually get stuff done, instead of waiting until the last minute plan the trip, and then getting behind and postponing it, or never doing it at all.  Has that ever happened to you?  

So I want to challenge you this year to take a look at your calendar to plan out the next 12 months. January through December.  Go ahead and plan it out.  You can always change your plans if you need to.  But plan it out now.   And it’s not just the trips or vacations that need to get on the calendar, but what themes do you want to be true for you and/or your family?  Plan for it.  Set a goal.  

For me, one thing that Naomi and I always look at together is how we’re going to study the Bible as a family, how we’re going to memorize scripture as a family, and how we’re going to focus on other spiritual disciplines with our kids that are age appropriate  This is a theme for us.  Cultivating a healthy spiritual life in our family.  In my opinion, these things are too important to try to wing it. If I just hope that these things happen, I’m going to do a much poorer job of actually getting them done.  So I take time to think, discuss, and then plan.  Goals, and planning. 

One tradition that Naomi and I start a few years back, is that we take the proverb in the Bible that matches the calendar year and we pick verses out of that Proverb to memorize as a family for the entire year.  So, for example, as it is 2023 right now, we have chosen Proverbs 23 to look at for the entire year.  We had each member of our family read Proverbs 23 leading up to the New Year, and select the verses that we could all agree on that we wanted to focus on for memorization this year.  As a family we selected verses 9, 13 -14, 17-18, 22- 23.  I would love for you the look these verses up for yourself. 

We will have these verses written out and posted on a chalk board in our kitchen.  As we gather and eat meals together in the kitchen, we will regularly point to the board and recite the verses together. And as we recite them, we’ll discuss them. And as we discuss them we’ll have conversations around how we can apply these truths in our lives. 

I will share one example.  My sweet daughter, Tessa, who is eight years old, like all children, has to be disciplined from time to time.  It is the job of her parents, Naomi and me, to discipline her so that we can help her understand how her behavior needs to change with respect to bring honor and glory to God through living according to God’s ways.  Well, as we have been studying and starting to memorize verses 13 and 14, which say, “Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.  You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol”.   As we started memorizing this verse, Tessa took it to heart.   One day, after Naomi had gotten onto Tessa for disobeying, after some time of reflection, Tessa came to Naomi and said, “Mommy thank you for telling me that I disobeyed and getting me in trouble. I know that it’s your job to discipline me and it’s going to help me, so thank you.” *heart melts*  I’m grateful that the word of God can influence the heart of an eight-year-old in such a way.  When I think about my goals for the year, it’s stories like this, that I want to be able reflect upon as we wrap up the year of 2023. 

So yes, I have some goals, but the most important things in my life don’t necessarily need changing in 2023.  Most of my goals are the same as last year, becuase the same things are important to me. The goals are just specific to the circumstances fo this year. I want to stay committed to my priorities, and I want to also challenge myself in the areas that I’d like to grow in.  So it’s not a resolution I need… but I’m thankful for the time to reflect, plan, and to do a reset.  Without a personal investment in doing an “annual reset”, how will you keep yourself from just drifting through 2023? 

Do you believe in the phrase, “Great leaders GROW”?   If you’re on your journey to be the best leader God’s calling you to be, how will you GROW in 2023?   The answer is, you won’t, unless you take time to set goals, and plan. 

I’d love it if you sent me some thoughts on how you’ve been thinking about 2023 so far…