Below is my post from January 2, 2012, republished here from my old blog (Kerry Beck’s blog)
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I’ve thought about this for awhile and am having a hard time coming up with just “one” word to sum up my 2012 new years resolution. I keep trying to decide between Faith & Focus. My friend, Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press, suggested I hyphenate those words as faith-focus. So, I’m going with “faith-focus” for 2012.
God has truly challenged me to grow in my faith these past few months. I feel as though the last several years have not been very deep in faith. Since my gift is service, I have found ways to serve those around me. I know this is part of growing, but I really want to deepen my relationship with Him.
I just finished reading Lou Holtz’ biography. (For those of you who are not sports enthusiasts, like myself, Holtz is one of the most winning coaches in college football). Holtz shared that his wife spent an hour a day in prayer. I remember spending more time in prayer when I was single and am challenged to do so again. So, I am publicly stating that I want to grow my faith by spending more time in prayer with my Lord.
Another lesson I learned from Lou Holtz is about prayer. Lou & his wife prayed before accepting a new coaching position (and he moved alot in his career – 11 moves in 43 years). He mentions this throughout his book. When he was released from University of Arkansas, he was asked to visit Minnesota the very next day.
Minnesota offered him the head coaching position. When he returned to the hotel with his wife and kids, they could not decide if this was the right move. So, Lou told everyone to go & pray for 30 mintues. They would come back together in 30 minutes and make a decision at that time.
In their family meeting they all came together with peace that God wanted them to move to Minnesota. What an example of prayer.
Not only do I need to grow in my faith, I need to stay focused on what’s most important. I can talk all day long about priorities and organization. I can even make daily lists and get LOTS accomplished. However, many times I wonder if I’m accomplishing the right things.
Back in October I listed 3 goals I wanted to accomplish by February. I posted those goals next to my desk, to stay focused. I have so many ideas in my head that I want to accomplish, so I can get sidetracked. The other activities are good, but not always the best. Posting those goals in a place I saw it everyday reminded me of what is important.
I’ll let you know that I am right on track to finish my 3 goals. Two are already done & the last one will be finished this month.
This week, I’ll be posting my 3 goals for 2012 next to my desk. I will see them every day. I might even post them in the kitchen because I spend lots of time in the kitchen.
I’ll be sharing some ideas on goal setting over the next few days. You can see a listing of these previous posts here.)
In the meantime, I will start with “prayer”. I will be praying all week to decide exactly what direction God wants me to go in 2012. I’ll post those goals next to my desk and I will continue to pray for God’s guidance on a daily basis.
Having said that, I am not so rigid that I might not make a change this summer…if & only if I pray about it. I want to stay in tune with Him this year…
How about YOU?
What is your word for 2012?
UPDATE: My 3 goals from October were completed in February, right on schedule. In fact, you are looking at it. My goals were to create & launch my new homeschool website & blog.
