While the summer has purposely been more laid-back, the area of goal setting was not completely ignored. Instead of household or organization projects, there was a simple goal of taking care of myself. This sounds trite, I know.
But my spirit and mind had endured a long season of burnout and stress. Weary days, tired days. Long days.
I had ignored our personal convictions of pausing and resting and the biblical command to do so. The price paid was high and the toll on both my physical and emotional self was huge. I needed to pause. To stop. To intentionally rest more.
So, I made a NOT TO-DO list for most of the summer. Yep, I sure did.
I didn’t attempt certain projects slated for warmer days…
didn’t bargain shop with the same focus,
didn’t try elaborate recipes and kept meal planning simple,
(cooking & couponing are hobbies of mine, but they take energy & time)
purposely paused several ideas for ‘another day’…
took a personal retreat without guilty feelings,
spent extra time in prayer & reading the Word,
read FICTION (by and large, I read non-fiction, so this was a treat!),
and focused on making memories with the family.
Caring for my mind and spirit was the goal.
And while taking care of self is definitely not shelved, the focus is shifting a little to a more normal pace of living this principle out. This intentional rest was necessary and so beneficial, but the right now season requires more of the organizing and planning I laid down a few months ago.
With fresh energy, I move forward!
“Without GOALS and PLANS to reach them,
you are like a SHIP that has set sail
with no DESTINATION.“
Fitzhugh Dodson
I have long appreciated my 3in30 goal setting in the first half of the year :: simple and contained. Three goals to accomplish in 30 days. Very motivating and energizing, not to mention that it keeps my mind from wandering onto new ideas!
After a summer break, here are my goals for September:
:: Clean out our closet and evaluate clothing purchases for my husband and myself. This is long-overdue, and I think my husband needs new clothing for work. A necessary goal here!
:: Establish a routine for freezer cooking express. I like the idea of meals or partial meals, breakfast foods, etc in the freezer on hand for extra busy days. Freezer cooking express is making as much as I can in one hour each week. I hope to get on a weekly routine, we’ll see.
:: Continue to NOURISH. Back in March, I spent time praying about this word of direction for 2011 and was prompted to outline the summer as I did (with a lot of encouragement from my husband as well). It would be very easy and tempting to ignore this need for soul care, so I place it as a goal — to continue praying, asking, and seeking out ways for nourishing my spirit and taking care of my mind and body.
That’s it! Let’s see how the month goes…
