Goal-Setting – Page 5

March 3 in 30: Goal Setting

March 5, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

So this month was hard to set goals for, given that we move [fergcorp_cdt_single date=”March 12, 2012″]. I decided to try and keep it as simple as possible. I had my goals all figured out, then I forgot to post! So excuse me while I post yesterday’s post today, and get to Multitudes on Mondays later today. Here are March’s goals:

Sleep well before the move and beat jet lag as quickly as possible after – Daylight savings time is this Saturday, so we’ll lose an hour, then two days later, we’ll board the plane at 1:30 a.m., sleep on a North American time schedule, and wake to kill a lot of hours on the plane, then arrive in Hong Kong at 5:00 a.m. and wait for 12 hours until the next flight takes us HOME! I figure sleeping well coming into things can only help. If I could piggyback on this goal, I’d say I want to try to keep my water intake up. That’s one of the quickest ways to beat jet lag.
Maintain a healthy exercise schedule coming into the move so I can get back at it as quickly as possible afterward. Feeling strong and healthy coming into things will hopefully mean I won’t stay away from exercise too long afterward.
Finish packing before the move, unpack and organize the kitchen, bathrooms and homeschool room after the move to get things up and rolling ASAP. Could be a little tricky. We’re not going to have much furniture for a little while (more on that later).

Given what we’re dealing with, I figure if I can accomplish goals this month, I can do it any month! What are your goals for March?

- Carey Clark

February 3 in 30 Wrap-up

February 27, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

Well, it’s been predictably busy. And I haven’t met all my goals this month. In the end, I’m wondering if I entered into this month’s goals in an effort to give myself busy-work so I can keep my mind off the big changes on the horizon and the stress of making sure all the details are taken care of!

What were my goals?

Go to bed on time. Not so great at that this month. And it’s been complicated this week by Sprout who hasn’t slept well most nights. We think it’s just because Daddy is away. But one way or another, I’ve ended up with one of the kids sleeping in my bed each night.
Get up at least an hour earlier than everyone else. Well, we’ve all shifted to about an hour later than normal, but I have actually been getting up earlier than everyone else. I dropped 750words.com during the last week, but at least I’ve still been getting a jump on the day.
Establish a regular exercise routine. I jumped into Turbo Jam again this week, and at first I was ready to give up, but I stuck with it, and I must say, it’s actually getting to be enjoyable. I downgraded myself to the Learn and Burn until I get it right and I’m more comfortable with a faster pace, but I can see it’s going to do something for me. I alternated Turbo Jam with Pilates and I think I got four days of exercise. Things were a little nutty so I’m not sure–maybe three.

There are only [sct date=”3/12/2012 23:56″ align=”none” size=”1″] days until we get on a plane. I haven’t finished packing (still repacking bins and eliminating things I know can’t go in the light of the volume of things that are sitting waiting to fit into a suitcase), and I still have a list of things to buy (things like makeup, vitamins, chicken boullion without MSG). I haven’t a clue what I’m going to try to accomplish in March. One thing about life in China: it’s never predictable. I’m going to take it easy on myself and set reasonable goals like get over jet lag. Watch me. I will. I promise.

February 3 in 30: A Bust

February 19, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

Well, this month couldn’t be much worse for my goals. We’ve been running like crazy all over creation for dentist appointments, doctor’s appointments and other such last-minute priorities, and yesterday we packed in a frenzy and took JavaMan to the airport, which was a bit of a saga in itself, but nevertheless, he is off, and has officially completed the first portion of his trip. He’s in the Hong Kong airport as I type this, sipping coffee. His flight departed at 1:30 a.m. (so we all arrived home at 2:00 a.m.). He’ll spend the entire day hanging around the airport and will be boarding another flight into our city around suppertime there–or around the time we’ll be waking up.

All the hustle and bustle and last-minute activity means I just haven’t done much about my goals at all. JavaMan and I were up late almost every night this week, meaning I didn’t get up and get my day off to the start I wanted. Ever.

This has resulted in me feeling very stretched. However, in the midst of it all, I regrouped a little and decided to force myself to slow down and try to actually enjoy homeschool. (I’ll be blogging a little about that later this week.) I also sat down and used the CM Planner (something I can’t possibly misplace or pack in the wrong box or have trouble shoving into a suitcase) to finish planning the next few weeks of homeschool.

Originally, I planned only until December, since we thought we’d be heading back to China before then, and we’ve been taking things more or less one day at a time ever since, in something of a holding pattern. But I decided I had to know what I could pack and what I couldn’t, so I plotted the whole thing out–mostly with a concern for history, since that involves the most books for us–coordinating the following resources:

Our “spine,” The Story of the World
Courage and Conquest for additional focus on Canadian history
Picture books and historical fiction to accompany our lessons and bring history alive. (For example, right now we’ve just finished studying about William Penn’s Holy Experiment, and we’re concurrently reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond.)

The plan is still pretty optimistic in terms of what we might actually accomplish in the time that’s left, but I think it’s nevertheless doable. We walked to the library today to pick up some of the books we need for this week’s study.

All of that to say, that while I’ve stunk at performing on my goals this month, the month hasn’t been without its successes. I’m trying to think of it this way: now I don’t have to think too hard about what to focus on next month. I can just carry forward all my unmet goals! (Oh dear.)

My goals this month were:

Getting to bed on time. Fail.
Get up an hour earlier than everyone else. I’ve been getting up about a half hour to an hour earlier, but I haven’t been disciplined about my mornings at all. I have a little unwritten rule for this time: I do not allow myself to check email, social media or do anything else during this time. Okay, once again: Fail. Completely undisciplined.
Get back to consistent exercise. Do I have to say it? Fail. I’m not sure exactly what my problem is here. I think I’m bored with the exercise routine I was doing. I really wanted to try Turbo Jam, but the first time I did, I coincidentally started fighting a cold at the same time, and was achy and miserable. Now I can’t bring myself to exercise. I’m going to blame it all on the February blahs. That sounds reasonable doesn’t it? And the busyness? Sounds like I have the makings of a very good excuse here…

I have [sct date=”3/13/2012 21:22″ align=”none” size=”1″] until I see JavaMan again and jetlag has a chance to mess with things. I would like to be more fit and disciplined by then, so that the changes in time zone and routine don’t have a completely devastating effect.

So….if I can pull myself together for this last week and a half of February (doesn’t this seem like the longest month ever?) I’m going to attempt to get my act together and do these three simple things.

Starting with getting to bed on time. It’s 9:39 now. Time to call it a night.

7 Prayers to Pray for Your Spouse

February 14, 2012 by Ashley Pichea

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, I have a guest on my blog. Ashley Pichea, of L.I.F.E. by Ashley Pichea is visiting to write about a subject very close to her heart.

In January, she hosted a challenge: 31 Days to Pray for Your Spouse. So as Valentine’s Day drew near, I asked if she would share her heart here at enCouragement. And that’s not all! In celebration of Love Day, there’s a very special giveaway. More details after Ashley’s post:

One of the greatest gifts you can give your spouse this Valentine’s Day is a commitment to pray for him. Nothing says “I love you” more than a promise {and follow-through} to take his every need to the throne of grace each day!

My eBook, 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse, walks readers through 31 different areas in which our spouses need prayer. {This set of prayers is in no way exhaustive.} As we meditate on and lift up our spouses in these areas, we begin to experience the power of God in prayer.

Today, I’d like to share just a few prayers that you can pray for your spouse this week.

7 Prayers to Pray for Your Spouse

1. Strength – Philippians 4.13

I pray that my spouse would rise up on wings, like the eagles, as he waits upon You. I pray that You would give him supernatural strength to defend against the attacks of the devil and to live in this fallen and sinful world. Strengthen his spirit with Your Word, through Your people.

2. Spiritual Growth – Philippians 3.14

Father, I pray that my spouse would not coast through his spiritual life on “cruise control,” but that he would continually and intentionally put himself in a place of grace – a place where he can learn and grow and mature. I pray that You would continue to grow him daily, bringing him to Christ-likeness.

3. Mind – Philippians 4.8

I pray, Lord, that my spouse would have control over his mind. I pray that he would submit his thought life to Your will. Purify his thoughts, make them honoring to Your name. Help him to dwell on good and not evil, for whatever he thinks on, so shall he be.

4. Courage – Joshua 1.9

Because we know that You are sovereign, we can have courage in the face of the unknown. Thank You, Lord. I pray that my spouse would be a man of courage – that he wouldn’t be thrown by life’s waves and curveballs, but that he would face life head-on, trusting that You are in control of all. I pray that he would hold fast to his faith in You.

5. Joy – Habakkuk 3.18

I pray that You would be the Source of my spouse’s joy. I pray that he would not only find his joy in You, but that he would share his joy with others. May his joy run so deeply that it overflows into every part of his life, drawing others to him and to You.

6. Love for God – Luke 10.27

Lord, I pray that my spouse would be overwhelmed by Your love for him and that he would respond in love for You. I pray that love for You would overflow out of his soul and into his everyday life. May his actions be a result of the love he has for You. May he long to spend time in Your presence, growing his relationship with You deeper each day.

7. Faithfulness – Proverbs 3.3

Father, I pray that my spouse would be faithful – that he would be known for his faithfulness. I pray that he would be faithful in his relationships – with You, with me, and with our family and friends. I pray that he would be faithful to his word – that his “yes” would be “yes.” I pray that he would be faithful to his commitments – that he would stick with each task until it is complete.

Will you commit to praying for your spouse each day this week?

If you’re looking for more prayer ideas, be sure to download my eBook, 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse!!

Ashley Pichea invites her blog readers to join her in “doing LIFE together – living intentionally by faith everyday” at LIFE by Ashley Pichea where she shares faith, family, and the adventures of homeschooling. Ashley invites you to connect with her on Twitter {@apichea} and Facebook {fb.com/ashleypichea}.

And now for the GIVEAWAY details. You can win the following giveaway package:

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
Praying Through the Deeper Issues of Marriage by Stormie Omartian
The Spark by Jay and Laura Laffoon
The Power of Praying through the Bible by Stormie Omartian

You may enter the giveaway by completing the tasks below. The only one that’s mandatory is the first one, but you earn extra entries for each additional task, increasing your chances of winning. You can share on Twitter and Facebook each day of the giveaway for an additional entry. The giveaway closes at midnight EST February 20, 2012, and the winner will be announced one week from today. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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