Goal Check (Update)

With a little over a month to go in the year, I thought it would be good to take a few minutes to evaluate yearly goals. Back in January, I wrote about setting goals instead of resolutions, and I want this to become an ongoing process with me. My first update can be found here. As I said before, I like having the accountability of reporting to others. It keeps me in line.

For the three areas of my life where I set goals, I can see some progress. I also see areas where I need to either focus more or completely change specific goals. I'm not making excuses, but a lot can happen in a year.

1. My Faith: My daily quiet time became a priority for a good portion of the year, but when school started, I had some trouble. Then in October and November after I started working part-time, I got derailed. I'm trying to get my morning routine back. Reading my Bible daily was the same as above. I failed on the scripture memorization goal. I even tried to do it with the kids, but it didn't become the priority I wanted it to be. I know how important this is, so I don't want to scratch it. I just don't know how to get there.

2. My Health: I did read more books this year. Next year's goal should probably be to turn in a library book before I have exceeded all my renewals. Finishing a book within two weeks would be even better. Getting up at 5 every morning is habit now, since Ashley has swim practice early each weekday. But I'm not getting the productivity here I wanted. With my running, I have become a stronger and faster. I still hate my scale. I try to eat better, but I also indulge. I'm anticipating a new personal record in the marathon next week in Dallas. You will probably get an update on that soon after.

3. My Work: I roughly finished my first book, but it's different from the one I wrote about in January. That one is still in the works. I did launch a running blog in January, so I don't have to bore my non-running readers. You can check it out here. Weekly posts will hopefully be routine on this blog again, now that my training has scaled back and marching band/football season is over.

I hope you were able to set some goals at the first of the year. It's a good time to evaluate where you are, and there is still time to finish some up. I'd love to hear about your progress! 

Thankfulness

For my faithful readers, you may be wondering why I haven't been posting weekly in the past month. I apologize, and it's not that I've become bored with blogging. On the contrary, I have had a multitude of topics to write about, but time has not been on my side. It has been hectic in the Wright household, mostly due to my  marathon training and a part-time work schedule. If When I survive the next three weeks (Dallas Marathon), you should see my blog back to a regular routine (such as one that exists for my family).

I've seen a lot of posts on Facebook this month for thankfulness, and with all that we've had going on, this subject is prominent in my mind.

So in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, here is my list:

• I am thankful for my family. They love me when I'm grumpy/hungry after a long Saturday run. They don't care that I'm not a great cook, or super-crafty, or even a great housekeeper. Most of the time, my children want to be around me, and we spend a lot of time together as a family.
• I am thankful for extended family who are close in distance. After spending three years in Sicily, I am grateful to be able to drive to visit them within a couple of hours.
• I am thankful for my husband who served his country for over 10 years in the Navy. 
• I am thankful for our church family, and that I live in a country where I can freely worship.
• I am thankful to have the opportunity to write whatever comes to my mind. I am also grateful that there are some who actually enjoy reading what I write.

What are you thankful for?

God's Provision

After the first day of school, when I considered crawling back under the covers for the rest of the year, I was half kidding. Then the month of October hit, which brought a whammy or two.

I am grateful to sit here typing this post in a month where people tend to focus on thankfulness. I want to take a minute to tell how our family recently experienced God's provision. In order to get an idea of how remarkable this is, I will give just a brief outline of what transpired. 

For several years, we have always had just enough. I have often wondered why we can't get ahead, because it seems every time extra money would come in, there would be a dead car battery or something one of the kids needed. I would get upset because the extra had to be used, but one day I reached the point where I saw the extra money for what it was: God's provision. When I left my full-time job over a year ago to homeschool Austin, I wondered how we would manage. Instead, I have been amazed with how God provides for us. 

In order to keep from curling up in a ball this October, I tried to focus on this provision. Three days after my husband was out of work, my car was burglarized. I was running at the park, and I returned to a busted window with my purse and running backpack stolen. This really tested my limits, and I'm ashamed to say I fell apart about the break in. I like to think of this as a brief setback. I worked on switching my perspective to the positives, and began to pray for God to carry us through this rough place. I didn't want to worry about how long we would go without a paycheck.

As a result of prayer along with determination not to worry, I am so blessed to report that we survived a month without a paycheck. This was also a month of two birthdays, a class reunion, and an unplanned trip out of state. The credit card remained unused and savings untouched. We sure ate a lot of potatoes and ramen, but complaints were minimal.

All I can say is God is so good!