December Evaluation

Due to circumstances this past year, I'm not really changing my goals. Some will go that are not top priority, but I'm keeping the ones that fit with the overarching goal of having a God-centered life and the things I see Him leading me to right now. So thus far this is how it goes:

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Yes, I'm working more directed prayer into my day
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Yes! 
• Memorize verses with the kids - We have memorized 13 verses together
• Memorize Scripture- Doing this with the kids in school time

Marriage

• Go out for a date once a week- Yes
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes we went away for our anniversary!
• Read 3 books together this year- Did not read any this month, this goal will not be met
• Discuss plan weekly on Sunday Saturday afternoon- We are discussing plans but still need improvement on consistency and sticking to our plans as much as it depends on us

Kids

• Spend 30 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Getting better at this, still have a lot of growing, but at least we are progressing :)
• Go to playgroup each Tuesday- Did not really happen this month and this one will likely be going away
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- I have met this goal! 
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Need to go through pictures with Jim so this is on hold currently

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Not at all, did some cleaning, but there is still no consistency here
• Keep up with my calendar- Status quo, still need improvement here
• Being fully present when with my family- Getting better at this but always room for improvement

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- Yes! This month I read "A Christmas Carol" and "The Man Who Was Thursday" to complete the Back to the Classics challenge I have been doing this year
• Journal 5 days a week- Yes! God has really been giving me opportunity to do this in the morning
• Write (books) 3 days a week- I have written down some ideas for my nonfiction book I'm working on, and looked at part of a section with my writing group
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing and research publishing options- No additional work on this during the month
• Finish Rosetta Stone Russian level 1 - Have not worked on this
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- YES! So thankful to have a new Sister in the group
• Blog 3 days a week- Thanks to all the book reviews I did I met this goal!

Health

• Go to water aerobics once a week- Started back to find out that our instructor was moving and they are going to begin charging for classes so only did this half the month and this will be no more
• Maintain weight until birth- Did well with this, still gained some but far better than other pregnancies
• Lose weight after giving birth- Just maintained this month

December and 2016 is at an end. It's so hard to believe that another month and year have come and gone. As I look at my goals for this year, I am reminded once again that God is ultimately in control of all things and that our goals are good for guidance, but God ordains our days. As our family grows and the stages of life change, different things have a greater priority and for a season life looks different than it did before. As Jim and I look forward to 2016 priorities are going to look a little different because the size of our family has grown, our kids are older, and we desire to do life together as much as possible, something that has not really happened since moving to Louisville. This means some goals that have been present will go and other things will be added. But we know God is working in all of this and by His grace we will grow in being a family that He wants us to be.

How was your December?