When I sit down to put pen to paper on my goals for 2012, I get super excited because I know this is one of the ways God has wired me to be and I get great enjoyment fully living into one of the ways he created me. I also get nostalgic as I think back over the past year–the good, bad and in-between. There are definitely years that goals have not been met, years where they have and…you guessed–all in between.
This year, I’ve done things a little different–as you can see, we’re almost through January and I’m just now getting around to posting about my goals. I’ve wanted to take things down a notch and work my goals into a more “do-able” plan–thus the word and theme post from last week. But after seeing my friend Amanda’s goals and then just having that “feeling”–the new year, you just KNOW it’s that season to sit down and craft some goals. Just like seeing the high school student walk into the gym in the dead of winter knowing his destiny is hours of basketball practice; my destiny this time of year is reflection.
Very similar to my friend Amanda, I’ve jotted down some categories in which I want to grow–these are very loose and will evolve to look differently as the year progresses. Stay tuned for a post later this week where I share about my journey with the iChoose2 challenge and my last post on goals and the like (I know…some of you are ready to move on!)
Without further adieu…
Physical-This very much goes back to my thoughts last week about my word for 2012: Strong! I want to be healthy for health’s sake. Knowing the health issues that run in both our families, the Beau and I declare that 2012 is the year that we stop making excuses and just do it. As I’ve been reminded so often, life is short and we are not getting any younger. Now yes, this time of year, many folks are making health and diet goals. Spring break, summer dress season, that vacation cruise with the family this summer. My goals: to be able to live a long life; bend over and tie my own shoe laces when I’m 70 and be that active parent and grandparent that has crazy energy. I know that through a Paleo diet (ugh…I shutter at that 4-letter word) that I feel the best I have ever felt in my life. Running has given me strength and confidence that I didn’t know lived deep down within. Cardio Sculpt will allow me to build some strength while also connecting with some friends I work with about non-work things. Yoga keeps my mind, body and spirit all connected, and it keeps me stretched out! And finally sleep will sustain me and allow me the ability to do all the other things. The thing that I love (and hate) is that over the past 3 weeks, I have realized that diet (again, eek!) really is the key to everything successful for me personally. Now, absolutely, if I don’t get my quiet time in the morning, the Beau will tell you I’m quite the cranky pants. But what gives me the mojo to get up at 5am for that quiet time? Sleep. What gives me the crazy energy to run and do cardio sculpt and yoga before or after a full day of a very busy day job? Eating right, the paleo way. And what keeps me eating paleo? Knowing that I’ve never felt better and the key to me getting up for my quiet time is eating clean.
Spiritual-As mentioned before, if I do not have my morning quiet time, I am one cranky gal. I have really found a great rhythm and study this year and am looking forward to continue my personal study time. Not only is that daily time important, a weekly rhythm of Sabbath really solidifies the importance of unplugging, resting and listening to God. Additionally, I am joining an intentional discipleship community through my church and with a friend have been having wonderful intentional accountability time. This has been something my faith walk has been missing and I’m so glad that it came at the perfect time. It’s amazing what God centered friendships can do for you. I’m also finding encouragement through the iBloom online community and the iChoose2 journey. I’m continuing to serve at our church and find ways to connect in the community through service.
Creativity-This is one that has long been on my radar, but only as of late coming up to the surface. When you buy a house that was built in the late 1800’s it’s easy to get caught up in the ” eventually” list. That list however, doesn’t start coming into play until a lot of other things come around–electric, heat, new water pipes, painting walls, hanging drywall, mudding, sanding, well, you get the picture. We are finally stepping into that zone in some areas that my “eventually” list is starting to become peeked at–it’s not just all nuts and bolts! And with Pinterest coming into play just at the right time, I’ve had some great ideas for loads of DIY–home projects, decor crafts! I had a craft day back in December and am super excited about attending and hosting more in 2012!
Home-So, creativity and home sometimes can mean the same thing in my mind, but I have something very different in mind here. This includes not only the physical aspects of our home (yes–we have big plans for 2012 on the renovation front), but our home as in the home Lewie and I are building. We have a big goal of getting all the trim painted in our home as well as drywall completed upstairs. I’m so excited to start really utilizing Grand Central Station as our home command center–the one stop shop for all things Cracraft. I want to be more intentional about our budget and calendar planning–both event and meal wise and am so thankful that The Beau is willing to sit in on parts of my Weekly Detailing Session during my Sabbath to make sure that we are on the same page and we have meals for the week. I’m excited about our house becoming not just a home, but our haven in 2012.
Personal-This is the one section that should be easy to write, but for some reason, I keep coming back to empty handed. I want to write more, be intentional, disconnect from social media, have more moderation in my life, and truly seek God out and the call of ministry he has placed on my life. I constantly question–“is what I’m doing right now my ministry?” and I’d love to be able to say with confidence–“yes” or “no”. I want to figure out if continuing my Scentsy business is some where I want to be investing a lot of my time. I guess the lack of coming up with a true “goal” in this area is that I just sense I want to pull things together from all the other areas, work on my physical self, my heart, our home and my creative outlets. One things I do want to make sure I’m investing in is this blog. I have long sensed a stirring about where this blog might go, and what direction it may take. I feel I’ve finally stumbled upon that and I’m excited to have that journey. I want to invest in relationships in real time, have fun, work really hard and sleep really hard knowing how hard I’ve worked that day. I want my life to continue to start creating patterns for the next season that it may hold, even if I’m not sure what that season may be. I want to be a better woman, a stronger role model, a more caring and passionate wife, a higher education professional that also sees her day job as her ministry. And in all this, I want to be real. Imperfect. Transparent. Passionate.
I want it all I guess. Perhaps it’s laughable, but I want all that God has for me and that’s what I want my personal goals to go after in 2012.
Each Friday I’ll be posting a little weekly roundup with an update on these goals (you may have caught some of that last week).
Best,
faith cracraft 
Thanks for the mention! 🙂