Simplify and Organize and Memorize and Prioritize!
As a family, we have begun the year like so many others...with a list of goals to accomplish in 2009. As a couple, we came up with practical ways to carry out our goals. Our family goals and several of our personal goals are similar giving us some accountability together.
After a time of unwinding and gearing up for the new year this weekend, I began with a thought...why do we buy homes big enough for our families? Is it truly because as people we need the space or is it that our stuff needs the space? We believe that our home is just the right size for our family. However, it's so easy in our culture to fill every corner, shelf, and closet with stuff. Hence the reason for two of my goals.
My first goal: to simplify. I'm really good about 'borrowing' other people's great ideas. A friend told me of her 25 meal plan which is to cook 5 different meals a week with a 5 week rotation. This will keep us eating at home, eating more healthy, and saving money and time with a thought-out plan. So far the first three meals have been keepers! My next goal goes hand-in-hand with this goal, but as I organize stuff, I get rid of stuff, making cleaning simplier and requiring less time, which makes more time for the more important things!
My second goal: to organize. All CDs will be put on itunes. All DVDs will be taken out of their cases and put in a DVD album. Clothes that haven't been worn in a year will be given away, donated, or consigned. All paperwork will be sorted through. All my Southern Livings and Paula Deen magazines will be sorted through as I tear out my favorite recipes and put them in a binder. I think I'll see if our church or other ministry could use the magazines for preschool cut-outs.
My third goal: to memorize. This week it's Psalm 73.28 and Jeremiah 32.38-41. Over the past two years, I have prayed for a desire to know His Word and to hide it in my heart. As a mom of three little ones, it's hard to find uninterrupted time to do in-depth Bible studies. In addition to my daily retreats with my Father, I can memorize Scripture throughout the day. I take the notecard with me in the van, to the kitchen, and hold it as I rock Asher. I just memorize verses that come to my heart as I am with Him and that speak truth of where I am now and where/who I desire to be.
My forth goal: to prioritize. I'm a calendar/task-oriented girl. So with my calendar in front of me, I begin the week writing down my goals. I make sure that my retreat time, Ben time, family time, meal plan, workouts, and date nights are written down first. Then I can go back and fill in appointments and tasks.
Because of the goodness of God, the love of my husband, and the joy of our children, I set out to be all that our gracious Father desires me to be!
Happy New Year!