In thinking about my goals for 2009, I rather liked the way Gina did hers, in the fashion of the Independence Days Challenge. I decided to do my along a similarline, in that I’ve chosen broad categories instead of very specific goals and I’m going to report on those on the last Thursday of each month rather than weekly.
Here are my goals for 2009:
- Health - I want to recommit to my health, I let this slide more than I care to admit and must get it back on track. Its not about weight loss, but rather about making healthy choices. I know what to do and need to do it. I fall too easily off the wagon and find it exceedingly difficult to get back on, which means I have to try harder not to fall off.
- Small Business - I’ve been registered as a small business for several years and have consistently done a few things each year under this DBA name. It’s time for me to ratchet that up, and actually put some effort behind being a cottage industry and an entrepreneur. I want to include my many vast interests and talents and believe I can do so successfully, if I just focus a bit more.
- Self-sufficiency – I don’t believe in total self-sufficiency, but I do want to work on increasing our self-sufficiency through greater food production and food preservation. Learning to make cheese would fall into this category.
- “Wifely” Duties - I think any list of goals that doesn’t include being better partner/wife, trying harder, focusing more on our relationship and how better to make us closer would be severely lacking.
- Community Building – I want to work on creating a better community network, locally and virtually. Admittedly, I’m not sure where to go here, but I’m a work in progress. I’ll include volunteer work here, as well.
- Spirituality- I’d very much like to find a church home. I believe in a Saturday Sabbath and that makes my pickings rather slim in our small town. I have two options really, one is a Seventh Day Adventist church, which Jeff isn’t terribly fond of, the other is a 7thDay Baptist fellowship 20 miles away. I’m not keen on driving 20 miles one way for church, but plan on checking it out. I’ve seen some mentions locally about a Messianic congregation and am going to try and find out more info on them as well. Though I believe they’re in another town, again 20 miles away. I’m wondering if I should keep a Saturday Sabbath and worship on Sunday at a local church… oy I need to pray about this more. This will also include spiritual study, retreats, lectures, etc.
- Education - One should never stop learning, right?
- Three R’s- Reducing waste, frivolous spending, waste, etc. Reusing everything possible. Recycling the rest.
Thank you for visiting me here in 2008, I look forward to spending 2009 right here with all of you in my virtual community.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Happy New Year and I think your list is great. I don’t like making resolutions but yours is more like a pathway thar you want to follow. I love it.
Margaret
Will you be selling items through an Etsy shop? I am loving shopping on line although I do it limitedly. So much nice work is done by those on the blogs. I like your list of changes to make through the year. Health has been first on my list too. If you have ideas please share them. I so need to get back to basics in that area.
Thanks!
ok, now I feel like I should go and reword my goals.
Happy New Year, I look forward to spending 2009 with you
Happy New Year to you!
I have been writing up my hopes and goals, wondering where and how 2009 is going to take Willow’s Cottage.
I have a friend who attends a Messianic church (in Southern California, but there may be a network of those congregations) and I can ask him if he knows any in your area.
Have a wonderful new year!
We look forward to hearing of your journeys as well, Kathie. I certainly hope you are able to find a church home soon. We have been encouraged and guided and helped so much by our church family. It’s truly a blessing.
Happy New Year!!
You mentioned you were thinking about keeping a Saturday Sabbath while assembling at a Sunday keeping local church. If you don’t mind suggestions, I think you are right to keep the seventh-day Sabbath and there is clear Bible evidence that the seventh day is the Christian Sabbath. The ministers in a Sunday-keeping church may be sincere but for some reason are not able (or perhaps not willing) to see this in the Word of God. This presents a credibility problem. You will be listening to spiritual instruction from a minister who either does not understand or is not willing to believe what the Bible says about the Sabbath (if you have any doubts that you are right about the seventh-day being the Sabbath, see my blog, where I have recently had a debate about that and have a number of Sabbath-related posts). If you cannot trust him to teach correctly about the Sabbath, how would you be able to trust him regarding other matters in the Bible?
I think you are on the right track to pray about it. God may open up doors for you to attend with a group that keeps the seventh day Sabbath somewhere if you are patient. There may be groups you are not even aware of in your area.
I should show Himself your goals, if only so he’ll stop saying “Aren’t you trying to do an awful lot this year?” Which I am, but I figure if I don’t aim high, I won’t get anywhere. Curling up with a good book or surfing Happy Recipe Sites is always too tempting otherwise.
I like the way your goals are organized. Mine will probably be posted tonight; they’re written out but yesterday was a bit crazy.
Kathie,
I find your arguments and struggles regarding the seventh-day sabbath to be very familiar. It was back in 2005 when I first began to understand about the sabbath day, and was stunned to realize how this one error in doctrine has led to so many other false teachings. Your article was written back in January and it is now August, so I assume you have resolved your choice of church by now. If not, my advice to you is that you cannot keep the true sabbath and attend a sunday-keeping church at the same time. Believe me, it does not work.
You will find they teach other false doctrines such as eternal torment in hell, eternity in heaven, Christmas, Easter, commandments of God to be no longer binding, and so forth. I tried for four years and it tore m apart. My situation is quite similar to yours, in that the only sabbath-keeping church in town are the SDA’s where we now attend church, but they have some serious issues, all of which come from Ellen White. It is sad really, but on one hand they claim to hold bible teachings as the standard, but the reality is somewhat different.
Like you, I have another option for a sabbath-keeping church (Church of God 7th Day), but they are a (2) hour round trip. I am going to their church in order to “belong” somewhere, but will not attend bible study nor permit our children to do so. On the surface the COG 7th Day looks ok, although they keep the Passover on the wrong day, but at least they have some understanding of it.
Have you held sabbath services at home with your family an friends? I have done so with the kids, but as my wife is not really interested, it is challenging just the three of us. I wish you all the best and send you my prayers.
God bless,
http://www.learnthebible.ca
P.S. Sorry for any spelling errors, but it is late and I am very tired.