Goals for 2011

I know most people usually post a New Year-related post around, oh, say, the 1st of January. So, I'm a little behind. Meh {shrug}. Oh well. (On a related note, be looking for our Christmas New Years Family Update letter in your email inbox soon.)

Here are a few of my personal goals for 2011. I'm excited about everything God is teaching me already this year!

• God - to adopt prayer as a theme for direction and focus this year ...
• Seth - not sharing, but I have some :)
• Benjamin - to foster independence and eagerness to take on responsibility, to be more consistent about his allergy regimen (meds) and more creative with his food options
• Talia - to help her control her tongue and become more thoughtful of others through careful listening, to provide muscle-strengthening activities and experiences to challenge and strengthen her (she is diagnosed with low muscle tone)
• Leila - to read outloud to her more often, to implement physical therapy strategies consistently (No, she's still not walking; yes, she is 20 months old.), to monitor weight gain and healthy intake, to teach basic first-time obedience (another round of the "terrific two's" coming right up!)
• All Children - to teach them to work and serve others cheerfully through implementation of age-appropriate duties ...
• Taking Care of Myself (physically, mentally) - to run a 5K, to get up earlier than the children consistently, to get 7 hrs. of sleep every night, to read 12 challenging books on subjects such as parenting, educating children, biblical counseling, biblical topics, wisdom/life topics and to take notes/journal as I go ...
• Homemaking - to keep my plan simple enough that I will stick with it, to provide easy, fast, healthful, economic meals for my family that fastidiously accommodate Benj's allergies
• Teaching/Mentoring, Ministry & Relationships - I have several goals in this area, mostly involving specific relationships and ministry opportunities, which I'm not going to share publicly. The main focus of my goals in this area is to focus on my strengths (like one-on-one relationships) and not spend a lot of time and effort in areas where I am simply not gifted (like leading small groups).
• Finances - to continue to shop wisely and hunt for excellent bargains, but to let it occupy a much smaller chunk of my time and attention, to actively work to reduce our budget, not just get great bargains ...

Do you set goals for the New Year? What is your favorite goal for this year?

Suffering

This past week has been a bit of a blur for us as we have been grieving with a close friend who suddenly lost her husband (31) last Wednesday morning. We are grieving over the loss of a good friend, while our hearts are broken for his precious wife and 3 young children. We long to "do something," while knowing that the best thing we can do is to be faithful in prayer and in friendship day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.

I have been reading much on the subject of comforting those who are suffering and understanding what they need in their time of tragedy. I found this article on a friend's blog this afternoon. It is well worth reading.

More Things Not to Say to Those Who are Suffering | CCEF

Ammendment:

Here are two more links from a friend's blog.

Grief 101
Grief 102