January Recap!

At the beginning of the month I told you about my friend Michelle who has been posting on her monthly goals, and she's inspired me to do the same. The following is my recap of how I did on my goals for this past month.

January 2011 Goals

Spiritual Goals:
1) Follow the TCC 2011 Bible Reading Plan. I'm behind, but I think I'll be able to catch up this week!
2) Memorize the first two verses in the stack of index cards on my desk at work (they are still on my desk, so I can't recall the references). I didn't memorize these verses, but I did memorize James 1:2-8 and Hebrews 4:11-18.  Test me!
3) Pray daily for the unreached people groups sent to my email each afternoon from Joshua Project. I started out okay but have really not been diligent to do this. 

Personal Goals:
1) Wake up when Reid wakes up each morning. Praise the Lord I've been able to do this each day (even today when he woke up at 4:30 am!)
2) Post a Craigslist ad for my (first) wedding dress. I've done this TWICE.  The only response was spam. Sigh...
3) Transfer wedding pictures to online database. I'm still working on this one. It takes FOREVER.  I have half transferred, and I think the other half will be on by the end of the week. Here's a favorite:

 
4) Organize a filing crate for school papers.
5) Take the giant load of dry clean only clothes that have been sitting on the washer for several months to the cleaners. As easy as I thought this would be, I haven't done it.  Mostly because it's a LOT of clothes and was not in the budget last month. But it's ready to go this Wednesday (that's the dry cleaner's sale day!).

Family Goals:
1) Take the day off from school work on Sundays. Haven't had to test this out too much, but now that the school year has started, we'll see.
2) Talk to Reid about other goals for the coming months. We have yet to have this conversation officially though we discuss these things periodically. We need to sit down and write it all out.

Real Food Goals:
1) Research the make-up of the glass jars mom bought me (for making kombucha). Haven't done this either...ugh.
2) Use the Simple Dinners meal plan subscription I got for Christmas to make at least two real food meals per week. Check! I have been doing about three Simple Dinner meals per week!
3) Attempt my first fermentation (I think it'll be cabbage). I attempted both the cabbage and a pineapple chutney.  Currently I'm preserving lemons (my first batch of these molded). Next up is apricot butter.

Just a quick glance at the list above is revealing some interesting insights into my priorities.  Just to look at what's been crossed off my list you'd think I only care about myself and my food (most days that about sums it up).  Part of the reason for the discrepancy in my spiritual and family goals is that these things take discipline.  But the major factor is that I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it--SELFISHNESS. We've been talking in Sunday School and elsewhere about the kingdom of God and how to live in it.  All of our decisions come down to whose kingdom we are seeking- our own or God's. My choices about what I'm going to focus on each day reflect the kingdom I'm seeking. Lord test my heart and reveal my motives. Help me to be seeking first your kingdom! In February I want to seek God's kingdom first, put my family second, and let all the other things (my food and personal goals) be added.