2009 Goals

As I stated in my previous post, I’m a very goal oriented person. So as I look to a new year, I naturally am all about setting goals. Why do I do this? Good question. For one, having goals helps push me towards progress.

As I’ve thought about my goal setting for 2009, I am challenged to identify personal goals that will help me grow – first and foremost in my path towards becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ.

I think one of the ways to help this progress is to be consistent in God’s Word. There are several great tools for helping in this. First, obviously is to get a Bible. Duh! I recommend a readable version especially if you’re new to reading the Bible – perhaps Today’s New International Version. A couple of year’s ago, I used The Message, a version by Eugene Peterson. This past year, I used the Revised Standard Version (using the studylight website). My plan this year is to use the bible reader program that is part of YouVersion.com. Along with the reading plan that is offered as part of this website, there is a place where you can journal about your thoughts and points of learning related to the passage. I have recently found this very useful as I have been reading through the book of I Timothy.

Another way of pursing this growth is to hang out with others who are serious about making strides in their own paths towards Christ. I’m looking forward to starting a new group next Sunday with a group of guys who share this desire. We will be using Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden as a starting point for our discussion. I’m looking forward to the accountability, fellowship, and growth that will result as this group develops.

One area where I’d really like to see some growth from a spiritual aspect is in my prayer life. I’m still figuring this out. More thoughts on this to follow.

Obviously, I have other goals related to physical, parenting, marital, financial, and miscellaneous growth, and I hope to share more of those things in a future post. But I thought it was important to lay out some of the details related to spiritual growth first.

What are your goals for 2009?