More thoughts on goal setting for 2015

From my collection of antique postcards

I'm still thinking about my goals for 2015 and so, in preparation, I've reviewed my list of some of the purposes I want to take into consideration.

A book I enjoyed studying and then teaching to the ladies in my Sunday School class is God's Wisdom for a Woman's Life, by Elizabeth George.  I would just like to share a quote from that book. (If you have not read this book, you might want to check Amazon or Christianbook.com.  It is well worth your time.  It's one of those books I consider life-changing.)

 In a chapter titled "I Need Help with My Purpose", Elizabeth wrote that "Busy women tend to bog down in the day-to-day matters of their lives and fail to understand how the work they are doing today fits into God's purpose for their lives and their futures.  We all forget to look beyond the moment with its urgency ... Instead we muddle through each day ... never comprehending its purpose and where it fits in the grand scheme of our life."

I have found this to be so true, and so several years ago I spent a few hours considering God's purposes for my life.  Taking into account God's purposes for all believers and for me in particular, I came up with a list which I wrote out and placed in my prayer journal.   Since doing that, I make it a point to review God's purposes for my life frequently, and always at the beginning of a new year.

God's overarching purpose for me is the same as for any believer: To bring honor and glory to God with my life by using the spiritual gifts and the talents He has equipped me with.    I have broken this down into a 3-part personal "job description":

1) Be a godly wife [this includes being a good homemaker]; mother, grandmother, daughter.

2) Use my teaching gifts and other spiritual gifts for God's glory -- to encourage fellow believers and help them to grow spiritually, and to reach out to those who don't yet know Him.

3) Use my writing talents and other talents to God's glory -- again, to encourage my fellow believers and to point others to Him.

Then I have a list of areas where I need to grow and change to become more of a woman after God's own heart, based on a study of Proverbs 31:10-31 which I went through some years ago.  Here are the areas:
 
* Myself -- work on kindness, hospitality, careful speech, health & energy
* My husband -- work on taking better care of him, helping him, benefiting him
* My household -- work more diligently at watching over it
* My enterprises -- work  harder at discovering how God might have me use my skills and interests to benefit our family.

All of these are important factors to consider in making a plan for 2015.  Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will share the word God has given me for this year, and then go on to share my goals for the new year.