I have talked about my word for the year, balance, but I didn't break down my specific areas of balance. My balance has slipped, so maybe I need to make the areas more public so that I feel pressured to keep up my balance. I am trying to keep all of my goals SMART....Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely...so that I don't overwhelm myself.
FAITH I want to spend more time daily with God, reading the Word, praying, and listening. I want to find a small group Bible study, either for Jim and I or just me. I want to get my Emmaus group active again, I miss my small support group!
JIM Jim and I need monthly date nights, quiet time for us to reconnect and spend time together which isn't always easy when life gets hectic. I also want to spend more time with Jim, without distractions of tv, phones, and all the other things that get in the way of communication.
DELAINEY I want to establish a better bedtime routine with D. She already has one, but there are improvements that could be made to make it easier and calmer for all of us. I want more playtime with D as well. We spend time together, but I want more time to just play, to enjoy her childhood with her. I also need to work on my level of patience with her...sometimes I forget that she is 8.
Nancy I need to spend time alone....I crave that time. I want to write more often. I want to work on my scrapbooks that are piling up. I want to learn a new craft (knitting is the top of the list and my friend Julie has given me the tools I need...I just need to do it).
Finances Jim and I need to establish our emergency fund. We need to continue to work on our debt in order to plan for the future.
Food Meal planning makes life so much easier at our house and I need to do that every week. We want more "real" food in our diet...less processed foods. I won't get on my soap box, but seriously, eat more real food people! I want to establish a food budget as well...I want to track what we spend on our food. I have a feeling that we spend more than we need.
Health and Wellness I need a yearly physical...I pay for insurance and insurance pays for a physical, it's like throwing money away when I don't get one. I want to move a little more each day...with the goal of running a 5k at some point in 2014 (that is D's goal, but I am sharing it with her). I also want to take a more holistic approach to the wellness of my family.
Giving Jim and I want to increase our giving...both through our finances and our time. I would like for us to find something that we can do as a family to share the joy that comes from giving.
So that's it, that's what my balance looks like to me. Each month I find different ways to work on my overall balance and do a monthly check up to see where I need to focus. I am getting ready for my March check up and I know that it doesn't look good, but I think that I am going to add a quarterly check up as well (because that looks much better than March).
For those of you who picked a word for the year, how is it changing your life?
