Philippians 3:14 Friday, May 15

It's time for another Philippians 3:14 Friday! Putting my goals down in black and white and knowing that I'll come back to evaluate has really helped me to "press toward the goal" in several different ways.

1. It helps keep me on point--I find that I'm easily sidetracked. I start one task, see something else that I think I need to do "right quick", and end up doing myriad small tasks without accomplishing the bigger things that sometimes need to done to completion. (I remember a scene from the old M*A*S*H series when the David Odgen Stiers' character was newly assigned to the unit--the other staff were used to doing things as quickly as possible, making do with less-than-stellar conditions, etc. The new doctor, on the other hand, came from an environment of almost painstaking perfection. At one point, as he is about to demonstrate a new procedure to them, he makes this statement "I do one thing at a time. I do it very well. And then I move on." There are some situations where that may not work or be the wisest choice, but there are times that it would benefit all of us to be a little more single minded!)
2. It helps me to see where exactly I deviated from the plan--at one point last week I told my husband that I thought I had pulled out more stuff than I had time to put back! It does help me at times to stop and re-evaluate!
3. It encourages me when I see the things that I actually complete

And so, without further ado, my goals for last week were in two parts, one for Home-home, one for home-away-from-home

Part 1, for Louisiana

• Finish purging books --I more than met my goal of purging at least 25 books
• Dust and straighten the bookcases--not to perfection, but finished, nevertheless
• Finish my bedroom clean-up--the one thing that I totally did not do.
• Pack for the Georgia trip--done

Part 2, for Georgia

• Unpack--done
• Get my daily routine going--sort of done
• Catch up my blogging and email --done
• Do some advance posts--working on

And now this past week will be done somewhat in reverse--our son and I will be leaving toward the end of the week to go back to smalltown (Home-home) for about two weeks. We also found out this week that we'll be leaving Georgia for good and moving back home for at least a couple of months in August. Crazy schedule, isn't it? Meanwhile, my goals for the coming week:

1. Catch up on my couponing--clip those that need it, file them, and pull out any expired coupons
2. Pack most of my stockpile to take back home now, rather than later
3. Go to the Explorations in Antiquity Museum in LaGrange, Georgia (and take lots of pictures)
4. Work on financial aid information for son's next year in college
5. Print new business cards for ministry contacts
6. Get at least 3 posts uploaded and pre-scheduled for A Virtuous Woman, 2 for Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

Longer term goals:

1. Work on that 10 pounds I was going to lose in April
2. Make outline for Bible study series on the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31
3. Finish cleaning/organizing front bedroom at home (now that most of the pure junk is purged)
4. Clean out my dresser and dressing table in my bedroom
5. Look for new curtains for the kitchen--at least get a real idea of what I want, and whether I can sew them or just buy them
6. Fast three days (three one-day fasts)
7. Pick one Bible study course to work on this summer

Would you like more accountability and encouragement to "press toward" your goals? Join us for Philippians 3:14 Fridays at Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?

Until next time...