New goals for this New Year, bring it 2013

It's that time again. . . time where the world kicks off the New Year by setting various types of resolutions and where your google reader blows up with posts a lot like this one. Now, I love me some resolutions. I am the type of person who gets giddy about setting some fresh, new goals each New Year.

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Shocker, I know. I mean, on your average day, I get excited just making lists of all the lists I need to make. Yes, I am really that cool,  just in case the jury was still out.

Anyways, I really love thinking on the year prior and hashing out what I did well, what I didn't do so well, what I would like to do more of, what would make my life a little easier, what would add some fun to my/our days, etc. It's like a clean slate where you can dream and paint a picture for the next 365 days.

I do think it is important (at least for me) to make the goals as positive as possible. You won't find me writing "Stop drinking soda" on my list. Instead, I would write something like "Drink x oz of water a day." I find that the more positive the association I have with each resolution, the more likely I am to keep at it beyond say January 31st. I also think it's vital that goals are broken down enough where they can be measurable. This keeps me on track. I will probably be more successful if I say "power walk/run 3x a week" instead of a goal such as "exercise more." (this is just an example people, don't think I'm going to get all crazy on you and start running, ok?).

So here are my five main goals for 2013. I could have written down a million little things yet in order to keep from feeling completely overwhelmed I knew I needed to keep it to five. Each month, at the end of the month, I am going to do a little check in post to see how I'm doing, where I am at, in order to keep me accountable. If the thought of that bores you to tears well. . . sorry in advance.

2013 GOALS:
Memorize one new scripture a week : I am awful at memorization. Awful. I tend to use this as an excuse as to why it's ok not to memorize God's word. This is no longer ok (well, it was never ok, but you know what I mean). I was recently convicted of this - if I want Clara, and future children, to learn scripture at an early age, they need to see their momma doing the same. If Clara never sees me studying and reciting scriptures from memory, why in the world would she want to? So here we go. . . one new scripture a week which means at the end of 2013 I will know, from memory, approximately 52 scriptures by heart. Bring it.
***Edited to add: On the evening of 1/1/13 I received an email from a friend detailing 2013 Scripture Memory Challenge (SSMT) that Beth Moore is kicking off for 2013. The general idea is to memorize two scriptures a month and post them in the comments on her blog, on the 1st and 15th of every month. Then in Jan 2014 there is a huge party to celebrate God's word, with other local participants. I decided to follow this plan, instead of what I outlined above, for my scripture memory goal. You can select your own memory verses or choose the one that Beth posts on her blog. Click here for her 1/1/13 blog post and Verse 1. Does anyone want to do this with me and attend the party together in Jan 2014???***

Cook one new recipe a week: As much as I love the idea of meal planning, I struggle with it. We end up eating the same seven - 10 meals over and over and over because I get nervous of bombing a recipe and thus never branch out. Poor Brandon. If he eats another bowl of plain spaghetti or taco soup he just might vomit. Now. . .  Brandon loves to cook, he is good at it, and quite creative to boot, yet I want to step up my game a little bit in the cooking department and not rely on his skills all the time. So. . . one new (to me) recipe a week. And I consider a crock pot recipe legit. Don't judge. I'll link to the completed recipes in each monthly update post.

Organize the photos/documents on my computer (dedicate 30 min a week) : Y'all - this is one that brings me anxiety just thinking about it. I have had "organize computer photos" on my weekly to do list for who knows how long. It is time. Time to delete random documents from college, organize photos and bring some type of order to Microsoft Word and IPhoto. So, I will spend a minimum of 30 minutes a week on this goal. I have no idea how long this will take me. Maybe it will go quicker than I think? Regardless, here goes nothing.

Read at least six new books this year : I love to read yet never make/take the time. I find when I do take an extra 30 min here and there to read something for fun (whatever that may be) I walk away feeling so satisfied and refreshed. One book every two months = six books read at the end of 2013. Your welcome for doing the math. I originally had "read one new book a month" as my goal, but that might just be a little much. Here's a little sneak peak of some I have in mind. . .

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Pour more of myself into this little blog (& into the people this blog has brought to my life) : I don't really know what this means just yet (totally goes against what I said about setting goals, oops) but I have recently been convicted of the power we share by coming together, the power we share in community. So many of us write, share experiences, share photos and in some mysterious way (a total God thing, in my opinion), we are brought together as one. I'm so thankful for those of you who I have "met" and the experiences we share and encouragement we give, even if it's behind a computer screen, our houses separated by thousands of miles. I am excited to see where 2013 takes us. . .

And a little goal I have going into these five. . . give it my all but don't beat myself up if I don't meet the marks perfectly, or if say several of my new recipes bomb miserably. After all, goal making isn't about perfection, it's about trying your best while working towards a fresh new standard.

Your turn. . . Anyone else making goals for the New Year? Want to join in and commit to a weekly memory verse? Please share in the comments or link to your site!!

Happy Jan 1st!