Putting It All Together

The difference between a dream and a goal is a plan of action.

Dreams are great because they give you something to look forward to. Plans are great because they give you a way to attack a problem.

Implementation is the rub.

I am a great idea person. I get lots of them. I act on some of them. I follow through on few of them. I rarely have all the components in place to successfully follow through with implementation.

Since I am a Christian I know the proper perspective is running the race for the long haul. Finishing well. Not wanting to over-spiritualize, I also know that everything I do is a reflection of who I am, and the Savior I serve.

I don't want to continue to set myself up for failure, I want to follow through.

Spiritual Growth

I would like to cultivate a spiritual habit of bible study, consistent, persistent prayer and dependence on the Lord.

Some of the ways I have worked on this is to commit myself to an in-depth, weekly bible study called Community Bible Study. I also am committed to rising early each day. Some of the problems I have had are 1. Late nights 2. Laziness

Some of the ways I have dealt with this is an alarm on my phone, and committing to work on my bible study and prayer anyway if I miss my early morning appointment.


Physical Goals

I have already started the weight loss (or lack thereof) tracking. I do faithfully weigh. I also walk every morning with a walking buddy and that has kept me exercising even when I don't follow my food plan.

Now I need to faithfully stay within my points allotment. I feel entitled to eat whatever I want whenever I want. Some of the ways I have worked on this is to have an accountability partner, print out my menu and pray.

This is a major issue for me. I feel like a failure because I cannot seem to take the "way of escape" that God promises that comes with every temptation.

Financial Goals

Our goals in this area are to be completely Debt-Free. We do not use credit or debit cards any more and I use checks or cash.

We are working on our Contingency Fund and Freedom Account (see Mary Hunt's Debt Proof Living http://www.debtproofliving.com/), which are not funded yet and I want to pay off our mortgage. Our major area of spending is of course the grocery/drygoods bill.

The thing I need to work on is only using cash and not writing checks. I want to take money at the beginning of the pay period and making it last.

Home Management Goals

Having a master plan for the way we Home School, Clean, Cook, do Tasks and Errands is something I have always wanted to do. I now have the bones of a plan in place, which still lacks specific tasks for cleaning and schooling for the little ones.

I do have some great things in place for laundry that work well and for my 8th grade son's schooling.

I have to work on finishing the plan and putting together my chart.

Short Term Goals

Spiritual - Think of my getting up in the morning as an appointment with God that I cannot break no matter what the circumstance. He is much more important than any other "buddy" I have and HE is waiting for me to show up. My goal for this week is to meet Him every morning at my appointed time.
Physical - Think of my staying within my Weight Watchers points allotment as a game. In order to win I have to beat the system. My goal this week is to HONESTLY stay within my point range with no flex or activity points used EACH DAY.
Financial - Think of staying within my spending plan by using cash as a game. In order to win not only do I have to use cash, I need to try and have some left over at the end of two weeks. My goal this week is not to write any checks.
Home Management - I want to think of this as my framework for success. My goal for this week is to finish my plan and be able to fully implement at least a first draft by next Monday.