Setting Goals

Jason and I try to set goals for the year each January.  I have used the categories set out in Crown Financial Ministries' Money Map to make broad, over all goals.

Money Map




Then, I have taken the advice of someone I don't remember....an article I read?  a radio program? ... anyhow, I wrote it out by hand ages ago.  So we divide up the year into quarters, then months.  I transfer the overall goals into a to-do list, sliding them into the quarters or months, taking into consideration what other things we know will be going on at that time of year.

Once a month I check over that quarter's goals, and put the things onto our weekly family calendar.  We really prioritize our short-term goals (needs, not wants), and keep evaluating and praying about the long-term goals.  Sometimes those long-term goals turn out to be just wants, or our priorities change, and they are replaced or go away.  

Now, life, and kids, are full of surprises that don't fit on goal sheets.

And then, there are our personalities. I am a list-making, planning person, but Jason is used to waiting for the "tones" of the next call.  Obviously, we can drive each other crazy in our outlooks on life, yet we need each other's perspective.  All of life's surprises and the differences between us keep us dependent on God, Who knows the Plan He has for us, and Who is our Shepherd.