…Looking Back

Seeing that I made my goals for 2009 public one year ago, I thought it would be fitting to share how those goals were accomplished and/or not accomplished. It is good to regularly examine our lives before God; the Bible says in Lamentations: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.”

Because of God’s grace, I finished reading through the Bible last year. Honestly, this was a somewhat easy goal because it was so measurable. I knew when I fell behind, and knew what to do to catch up. For a task-oriented list maker, a goal like this is good.

Then there were the more subjective, though no less important, goals. I copied verses into two notebooks–one dedicated to humility, the other to temperance of speech. I do plan on using these as references for many years. It’s one thing to know what God says about these character traits, it’s another to live them out. I did find that God used experiences to grow these traits in me. Conformity and refinement are rarely pleasant, and so frankly last year was painful in many ways.

…Looking Forward

Bible goal for 2010 is slower-paced. Study one book at a time–as though digging for gold, rather than raking leaves. I’m starting with the gospel of John and am looking forward to having a couple neighbors join me.

Lots of treasures in Proverbs; I’m going to memorize some of them this year.

Finally…and probably most importantly…prayer. When I think about my relationship with Jim, communication is key. We talk about everything–from the earth shattering to the mundane. And the more we talk, the closer I feel to him. It is a rough picture of how my relationship with Jesus is to be. For crying out loud, He knows me infinitely better than my husband, and He STILL loves me! So although this is not a measurable goal, I intend to learn more about prayer by praying.