Being who GOD created me to be...

I wrote a few weeks ago about how things just aren't how they should be. That the Church, the world and I am not what we should be. It was a pretty long post written out of a lot of emotion and thoughts that had been plaguing me for a while. But I am not writing tonight to re-hash all of that. I am writing because I have been thinking over the last month about how I want to really get back to working hard at being who GOD created me to be. I think that for awhile, I've slowed down and taken a seat on the side of that road (think Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan) and have been content watching others move on ahead of me. Well, I am tired of that. I am tired of sitting and just expecting GOD to do all the work. And so, I have come up with a short list of goals that I want to work towards over the next year specifically. They are not resolutions, but goals. Resolutions are just decisions to do or not do something (thanks Webster!) and those decisions are easily forgotten, ignored, changed or whatever. But goals are something in which effort is directed towards. Goals are something that are worked for over time. Goals are something that are tangible. My intention is to write my list of goals here and come back to them regularly to update the list or to comment on how things are going. I also intend to add more goals as I accomplish other ones that way I am always working towards something. This is going to take a lot of work and a lot of commitment on my part. But like I said earlier, I am not what I should be and I am tired of just sitting on the side of the road. It's time to start moving again and it's time to do some of the work on myself.

GOALS: 

1. Finish reading straight through the Bible by the end of July

2. Journal my prayers or responses to Scripture at least 3 times a week 

3. Pick a country, a social justice issue or a people group to research and pray regularly for 

4. Find and begin serving at a ministry in the St. Louis area that uses my gifts and passions 

5. Attend and complete the facilitator/teacher training for Kairos (a missions class offered at Team Expansion) 

6. Alternate what I read every time I finish a book (i.e. fiction, non-fiction, fiction, non-fiction) 

7. Exercise at least 3 times a week 

8. Complete 1 art project a month (i.e. an online scrapbook, a painting) 

These are my goals. They may seem easy or be no-brainers. But sometimes the things that seem to be the easiest are actually the hardest, the most frustrating or the most discouraging. I know that there are going to be times when I want to just give up, throw these goals out the window and say "forget it." I know that I am nowhere near perfect. I know that I am nowhere near the person that I should be. And I know that I can't do it on my own, but I also can't expect GOD to do it all himself. This is where I am starting over. These goals are my new reasons to keep getting up every day and working towards being who GOD created me to be.