Plan to have a great year Day 3

So today we are on day 3 of our "family therapy session" where we are working as a family to plan our best year ever. We are following Natalie Bacon's plan and so far I have really enjoyed the discussions it's sparked. You can go to her blog and find the 5 day plan here.

Yesterday we came up with visions for our life and also for our family. One thing we agreed on was making these family Bible studies a regular thing. Since all of us have pretty busy lives we agreed the goal would be to do them 3-4 nights a week, some weeks we may get more in and some weeks we may get less in but we are going to be a little bit relaxed about the amount we do and focus instead on the fact that every little bit is a step in the right direction. The kids have renamed the family Bible study time to Family Therapy Sessions, I'm not sure if this is sort of a tongue in cheek thing or if they honestly feel like we need therapy, it's pretty likely we do need some form of therapy. 😄

Day 3 is all about setting goals and Natalie suggests using the smart system which she explains on her blog. This is really an excellent post about how to set goals and what are good examples of goals I thought it was especially helpful for the kids. so here are my goals for this coming up year.

Health- keep learning about healthy meal prep, learn at least 1 new recipe a week. Teach the kids to cook healthy meals. my plan for that is to have each kid help me cook dinner at least once a week. Lose 20 pounds and keep it off! Take my medication and supplements every day. Exercise 4 times a week.

Relationships- spend time doing a devotion/ prayer with the girls before school, family therapy  3-4 nights a week, weekly game night, spend 1 on 1 time with each kid at least twice a year. I already take the girls out for their birthdays but in the past I've let their friends come along. This year I want the time to be more one and one.  Date night with Shane twice a month. To repair my relationship with my parents I'll start inviting them over for the holidays and try to spend more time with my dad at least once a month.

Finances-  pay off our loan, put $200 in our savings, sell 1 liter of puppies.

Career/business- write a book and publish it. Spend an hour a day promoting, take 1 writing course. Post on FB twice a week.

Personal/spiritual- Read a chapter in my Bible every day, get more involved in church (ideas for that, start a LifeGroup at our church, volunteer for something?)

Recreation/play- 1 mini vacation with Shane, 1 mini vacation with the kids, spend less time on media and the phone.

Environment- be more consistent with having the kids clean their room, plant 2 rose bushes, plant 2 fruit trees, redo bedroom, bathroom, tape and float living room. learn about recycling,

Service/ contribution- Make friends with some of my neighbors that are lonely or alone. Volunteer once a month at a food bank, animal shelter, nursing home or the pregnancy center.

I'd love to hear some of your dreams and the goals you are setting to reach them.