LiveDifferent Challenge (39): Where are you going?

So I’ve not yet risen from the ashes of sickness–I’m writing this while lying in bed.  But I couldn’t let too much of 2009 get underway without posting some resolutions.  I like knowing where I’m going, and even though I’m not the one in control, I like being purposeful about the course of my life.  So what about you? Where are you going?

It’s always fun to look at last year’s resolutions (posted here) and while I’d like to say I had 100% success, I didn’t.  But, one significant praise from 2008 is that I CAN see how God graciously allowed me to love more. He challenged me, showed me areas of weakness, and pushed me past some limits.  I’ve so far to go, but I’m not what I once was!  Probably my biggest praise, however, is from 2008 goal to not worry about money.  This was a big one. And what a perfect year to make that a goal, seeing the economic state of our nation!  This is where I saw God work in leaps and bounds in my life.  2008 brought Jeff and me through by far our leanest times, and also by His grace we ended 2008 in probably our most abundant times. And God was so good through it all!!

So if 2008’s banner resolution was the Love More, my 2009 banner Resolution is to Give Thanks Always.  My hope and prayer for 2009 is that my life would be characterized by a firm resolve to give thanks always.  A thankful heart is a humble heart, a thankful heart is a joyful heart.

My husband always says, ungrateful people do not get the gospel. They don’t understand it.  Because if we truly understood the gospel, we would never be ungrateful.  If we truly comprehended the amazing grace, mercy, love, abundance that has been poured out to us in Christ, we would never cease to give thanks to our God, in every single circumstance.  My heart’s greatest desire is that I would be a woman of thanks.  That praise and thanksgiving would flow from my heart.  So that is my prayer for 2009, that thankfulness would characterize my life.

A few other nuts and bolts which pertain to the mundane details of life–the sacredness of the mundane, if you will.  As I recently read, “If God doesn’t rule your mundane, He doesn’t rule your life, because that is where you live.”  Amen!  So, 2009 Goals/Desires…

1. Continue reading through the Bible each year

2. Pray every morning with Jeff before he leaves for work (God help me get out of bed!)

3. Pray & read Bible with Dutch every day (even if just 30 seconds of prayer and one Bible story!)

4. Read 25 books

5. Write a rough draft of The Sacredness of the Mundane.

6. Take kids walking every day that it’s not raining, and get back to pre-pregnancy weight!

7. Graduate with MA from Multnomah!

And a desire (not necessarily in my control): Buy a home in West Linn near our church.

Admittedly #5 is the real beast.  I’ve never written a book.  And I’m attempting it while having two kids in diapers. But hey, you gotta aim for something, right?

So there you have it. Pretty basic stuff.  That’s where I’m headed, I think. How about you? Where are you going?