• Book: “Desiring God” by John Piper

    Our church Community Group has been going through Desiring God by John Piper over the last few weeks.  As we wrap up our final thoughts on this book as a group I am personally still reflecting on many of the topics that we discussed from this book.  How often as believers do we experience true joy?  The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.  Piper addresses several key areas of Christian’s life including worship, prayer, the word, marriage, money, suffering, and missions to help equip you as you seek for your ultimate joy in God.

    This book helps those who are wanting to strengthen their relationship with God plus it helps reveal why your deepest happiness can only be found in God.  I am thankful for the opportunity to look into my own heart and think about my thoughts as well as my attitude towards God.  It is a book that will make you evaluate your own walk with Christ as you consider the source of your joy.

    In the book Piper points out that enjoying God can seem mutually elusive because we often do not believe that we were created to pursue pleasure. Somehow we believe the lie that “If it’s enjoyable or pleasurable, it’s probably not right.”  One of the quotes that stuck in my mind from the book that originated with C.S. Lewis:

    “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about……when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.”

    I am often content with the little joys of life when I know I was created for so much more.  The back of the book includes a discussion guide if you would like to have a group discussion.  I recommend reading it for yourself or sharing in the journey with others.

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    It was a busy week and I got sick (that doesn’t happen very often) so that slowed me down a little bit but I was able to make some headway on my goals.  Thankfully I was able to get some rest and don’t have to postpone too many items.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday – I fell asleep early one night and didn’t wake up until after the girls were in bed so the book didn’t get read
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
    4. Schedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake
    5. Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items – working on it
    6. Set up a dentist appointment for the girls – scheduled and went to the dentist, no cavities!
    7. Pick up the girls new glasses – picking them up this week

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this one done this week hope to get back on track soon
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – not every night
    3. Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
    5. Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations – went to the doctor and got my shots, wasn’t too excited about this one, but it was necessary for upcoming travel!
    6. Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa – my visa has arrived and tickets are purchased, waiting on Jake’s visa!

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – the time I had allotted to do this was taken up with being sick and trying to get better, hope to get this done next week

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Write a Guest Blog Post – deadline was postponed with sickness
    5. Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes – scheduling this week

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    3. Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meeting
    4. Put together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
    3. Start working on our personal 2011 taxes – we have started the taxes
    4. Put money aside for upcoming trips – putting aside some of the money

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
    4. Go on our Date Night with the Girls
    5. Celebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday Party
    6. Pick up the girls new glasses
    7. Schedule Appointment with Chiropractor

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
    3. Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd Hafer
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
    5. Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Write a Guest Blog Post
    5. Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    3. Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
    3. Complete our personal 2011 taxes
    4. Put money aside for upcoming trips
    5. Pay for Jake’s College Classes

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results