Goals
Several girlfriends and I met last night for the second meeting of our newly formed book club. Right now we’re reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (http://onethousandgifts.com/). The book is about learning to live fully right where you are, wherever you are. To live fully, you have to learn to be thankful for the gifts you’ve been given. The author was able to learn thankfulness by making a list of one thousand gifts from God for which she is thankful.
Last time we met for our book club, we discussed how easy it can be to take things for granted and forget to be thankful for the many blessings we receive every day. We’re all so busy that taking a minute to say “thank you” is often the last thing on our mind. Even finding time to spend with God is difficult… but really, that is my own fault for failing to prioritize properly. God should be priority numero uno. To help with that prioritizing, last time I met with the girls, we decided to set goals to encourage us to work on our own personal challenges including finding time for God and being thankful.
Last night we discussed our goals. The girls had great ideas: reading the Bible every day, doing daily devotions, praying several times a week with their significant other, being less judgmental of others, sending an encouraging note to someone new every week, etc… I wish I could start doing them all, but I’ve decided to start small. I want to make these goals to be sustainable and become habits and then challenge myself further.
My two goals are: (1) Go to church. (2) Thank God for something in my life every day.
Ever since Rob and I moved back from California (almost three years ago) we’ve only gone to church sporadically. At first, we tried a number of churches in hopes of finding a home, but with no success. It is so easy to get discouraged and relinquish Sunday mornings to sleeping in. After that, we attended different churches sporadically, but never consistently. Now, that is going to end!
Just a few weeks ago we tried out a new church for the first time. Two of our friends invited us to check it out and we took them up on the invitation. Other than being a little farther away than we’d prefer, it is tremendous! The congregation is primarily young adults… but our age, rather than college-aged. The worship is inspired and the messages applicable. Rob and I have gone three times now and we’re hooked. Looks like we’ve found our new home! The difficulty will be forcing ourselves to get up and go every Sunday… but, we’ve come up with a pretty good method. We take turns being responsible for getting the other up. The accountability makes it so much easier!
My second goal is to thank God for something every day. I thought about writing a list, similar to the author’s list of one thousand gifts. However, I think for now, I’ll just start getting in the habit of thankfulness. There are so many things I have to be thankful for, coming up with something new every day should be a breeze!
Today, I’m thankful for avocados. Muy delicioso!
