Goals

I'm not usually one for making resolutions, or at least making them and calling them that. I'm more a "goal-setter," a person who sets a goal and doesn't stop short of attaining it. That said, I'm setting some goals for myself this year. On the radio this morning, the hosts of the morning show I listen to cited the research of some famous psychologist who says that you are more likely to keep resolutions if you tell less people about them. Since no one reads my blog but me, I figure this is as good a place as any to record what I want to achieve in 2012.

-Read 120 books with 20 of them being nonfiction and 10 being "classics."
-Lose 60 pounds.
-Take vitamins and Synthyroid every single day. No exceptions.
-Work on keeping the house clean and my classroom organized.
-Walk 300 miles in 2012.
-Tithe without fail.
-Attend church twice a week.
-Rebuild my savings account.
-Pay off all credit cards.

I realize some of these seem trivial. It doesn't seem difficult to take vitamins and doctor-prescribed medicine that you know you need, but in the hustle and bustle of life, I often forget. I know I feel better when I take my thyroid medicine, and I had a friend express the need for me taking prenatal vitamins. (Sidenote: No, I am not expecting!). I whined that I just forget to take them, and she made the point that if I have a child with a neural birth defect, and I didn't take vitamins in order to prevent it, I will never forgive myself. She's absolutely right. So vitamins and meds it is.

Some of my goals are embarrassing. I hate admitting to anyone that I don't tithe like I'm supposed to. I know the importance of it, and I know that not doing it lets God down. This year, I've let other things get in the way. I have to re-prioritize. Also, I know I'm supposed to be in church regularly, but sometimes taking a nap and spending Sunday night in my pajamas is so tempting. I'm ashamed that I choose my own comfort over putting God first when He sacrificed His Son to die a most painful death just for me.

So these are my goals. I'm hoping that blogging them out there to no one in particular will keep me more accountable.

Selflish, Ungrateful Me

Sometimes I complain too much--about the weather (too cold in South Carolina today!), my lack of savings account (should have known when I decided to teach), and the fact that we don't have a house of our own yet (so tired of this one-bedroom apartment). What I forget to do, however, is give thanks for all the things I do have--electricity, heat, and a fuzzy jacket to keep me warm on this 20 degree morning, money to pay bills with enough left over to have some spending money, and a one-bedroom apartment that is in a safe location and is truly big enough for what we "need."

I complain so much about things that I should never bother complaining about. Truthfully, when you think about it, anything we complain about has to fall into one of two categories. It is either something we can control, or something we can't. If the issue is something we can control, then we should simply work to change it. If it is something beyond our control, then there is no reason to complain about something we can't change. This is an excellent thought, but something I hardly put into practice. Instead, I whine about the price of milk at the grocery store, without pausing to be thankful that I can afford it.

Things could be so much worse than they are, and for lots of people all over the world, things are a lot worse than "how bad" I have it. There are families who go without food, clothes, shelter, etc. There are children who have no one who hugs them or tells them they are loved.

Truthfully, I lack nothing. I have everything I need and then more on top of that. I have been so ungrateful for the life I have and the people/things/luxuries in it. I plan to spend this year being more thankful for what I have...trying to hone in one thing I'm thankful for each day.