Goals

Just a little over a week ago, on Memorial Day…the first day that we were to begin putting action to those goals we gave to Matt…I was on a morning run and God spoke very clearly…I spent most of that day putting down those thoughts!

Last fall my son and I were talking…we were talking about his dreams and goals for his life and some of the things he wanted to do…He spoke these words to me and they have been a milestone for me as I moved forward from that point…they gave me a new perspective and got me thinking/dreaming/setting goals…He said, “Mom you are never too old to dream and don’t wait to pursue those dreams/goals when you have your life all together.” Those may not have been the exact words, but that is the message that I received…

Okay…so I began thinking and processing and dreaming and God revealed a project that He wanted me to work on that was directly related to my passion in life. As I worked through this project there were times I really felt that I must have gotten the wrong message from God because this was just too difficult…it was at those moments that He said, put down the pen and let me write and He did just that…He wrote-it wasn’t me-it was God working in me and through me!

Then came February and we were getting ready to launch several Foundations classes and one was on Heaven and Hell, taught by Andrew Hess. I really felt that God wanted me to actually participate in this class…okay, but would this be a class on Theology and if so do I really need this in my life right now? His answer was yes you do…Oh yes, did I ever need this in my life…it was anything but Theology…in one sentence…It changed my perspective on life Forever!

I could continue giving you example after example of things God has done in my life…moments with Him on my runs…moments with Him during my quiet times…moments with Him in the car… but what I want to share with you is what God gave me on that Memorial Day morning while I was running.

In Philippians 3:12-14 it says… “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

I googled the word “goals” and this is what I got…

-A goal or objective is a desired result a person or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve—a personal or organizational desired end-point…

Then I googled the phrase “definition of goal” and this is what I got…

-synonyms…aim, PURPOSE, target, object, objective, end mark

-The PURPOSE toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective.

So from the above here is my thought on goals…Goals have a purpose in our life to move us toward an objective. Without goals in our life, we can become stagnant and miss the “more” that God has for us.

If you have been on staff at WVC for any length of time you know that Matt asks for our goals several times a year and one time being around the end of May for the summer season-Memorial Day through Labor Day. I don’t know about you, but too many times I get that email and think to myself…how can it be time to do goals again…I can barely remember what my last goals were, which probably means that I have not come very close to accomplishing many, if any of them. Why is this not more important to me? How do I expect to grow if I don’t set goals and then work towards accomplishing them? What steps do I need to take to change this? I began to think through these questions and began to pray about the goals God would have for me for this season.

That is great, but I have done this in the past…I would pray about it and then life’s distractions would take over and then before I realized it the due date was either here or gone so now I had to get something on paper, which meant it was something pretty simple and something I thought would be reachable…it didn’t really stretch me and since it was just done as an assignment I never took ownership of those goals. They got printed and filed away in the back of my journal…

No, not this time…they are not getting filed away…and I want goals that will stretch me for it is when we are stretched that we grow. So I started early and I started with the first goal…

Spiritual Goal…What will make me a better person? What will help me in my ministry and in my family? What will stretch me? Solitude and Fasting along with continued prayer and journaling. While all of these require a commitment…Solitude and Fasting for me requires much more of a commitment as I do very little of these right now…in order for me to go deeper and grow, I felt like these must be present more in my life. I am dog sitting for a friend for a couple of weeks in June and I am looking forward to some of this solitude time, but the challenge will be when I return to my normal routine…I must figure out a way to make more time for this…I must change my normal routine in order to grow and go deeper. How about you…what needs to be in your life to stretch you and help you grow? What will help you in your ministry…in your family? What will make you a better person?

Physical Goal…For me this was easy this year…I have been running on and off most of my adult life and I love it! For the past 10 + years I have wanted to run a Marathon. Since I am all about dreaming and setting goals…I figured it was time…it was time to put action to this dream I have had for too long…I knew this would take some time to train for and that I would need to change my eating habits, but I was really hoping to accomplish this in 2012… so after almost giving up on my search for a marathon towards the end of the year and in a warm location and hopefully a somewhat flat area…I found it…The Cocoa Beach Marathon 2012 in Cocoa Beach Florida on November 25^th…here was the description they gave… “Experience one of the most beautiful waterfront courses on the east coast. 14 “space” themed aid stations along a partially shaded mostly flat course”…Thank you Jesus, just as I was about to give up looking He came through! How will this help me in my ministry? How will this help me go deeper? How will this help me further His kingdom? Well this requires great commitment…there will be times when I want to give up, as is in our ministries and in our own lives…it will require perseverance, which is required in our ministries and in our lives. This will help me be a stronger person not only physically but also mentally to be able to experience the “more” God has for me and carry out His calling in my life! What physical goal will help you carry out God’s calling in your life?

Emotional Goal-I am refueled emotionally as I see my progress with the other goals! How about you…think about it…what refuels you emotionally?

Relational Goal-Relationships with others, whether that be family, friends, co-workers or strangers, are all important and sometimes we get so caught up in the “being”-being with God-that we forget that our other relationships are important to our calling as they are part of the life God has called us to. So who do you need to spend more time with? To help me accomplish this goal and to hopefully develop a more consistent pattern of spending time with the important people in my life I have committed to spend every day for the month of June with at least one other person…husband, kids, grandkids, friends! This idea came to me after receiving several emails from restaurants & stores on June 1^st. They could be redeemed for the entire month of June (my birthday month). It is going well and I am making wonderful memories, but it is challenging too, as there are days that I don’t want to do anything…remember it is when we are challenged that we grow!

Reading Goal-This was an area that I really felt that God wanted to stretch me in…in the past I would just look on my bookshelf and pull a book or two off the shelf…I think I have had the same book on my goals for several times. That would be okay, if I was actually making progress but that was not the case.

This will be a challenge for me, though I love to read…I find it difficult sometimes to make the time. The time must be before 9pm, at least for me…I will need to be very intentional about scheduling this time. I wanted more challenging books…books that made me think…again going deeper and growing. So one pointer here, never go to Rob if you want help finding a book to read, as he gave me one book then another and then another and then yet another, at which time I said thank you so much and I will be going back to my office now!

So, I now have four great books on my reading goal. I may not get through all four, as I don’t want to just read them to say I read them all, but rather I want to grow deeper in my relationship with God as I read them…so I will do my best!

All this said…Even though you have already turned in your goals-at least I hope you have-I want to challenge you to really look at those goals you have set for this season. Just because they have been turned in doesn’t mean you can’t change them or adjust them. Ask yourself some of the touch questions…pray about each goal…are you stretching yourself…are you stepping out of your comfort zone…will your goals cause you to grow? Change them…adjust them if you need to and then move…work hard towards accomplishing those goals and watch what God will do in your life! And remember it doesn’t have to be giant steps as you seek to accomplish them, but rather every step taken forward is a step in the right direction! You can do it!