2024 Goals: Staying Connected

As I look forward to 2024, I have set some goals for myself that I think are measurable and achievable. I want to keep in mind the word, "Connected" that I talked about yesterday so these three objectives have to do with staying connected to the vine.

1. Take one day each month for a personal retreat day where I disconnect for either an entire morning or afternoon to read, pray, and listen to the Lord as I work on the following.

• I will continue to spend time each day in God's word and prayer. Because I'm in a leadership role in both our church and our district I want to spend this year reading through the Bible again and seeing what God has to say about leadership. Sometimes my idea of leadership and God's view of it do not line up.
• Look at the struggles in my life and evaluate them in light of perhaps being pruned, then pray and listen to what He has to say to me. I often view unpleasantness or uncomfortableness as a negative thing and do everything I can to change it. But this year I want to step out in trust, knowing that the Lord is working in all things. 
• Journal through this process.

2. Connect to and love the people in my life through specific actions. 

• Meet with different women once a week for coffee, conversation and prayer.
• Encourage friends and family through notes and cards, spending time with them, etc.
• Twice a month invite another family or person over for dinner.

3. Focus on the ministry that God has for me and cut out the activities that are a distraction from that ministry. If I want to be fruitful, I want to do a better job of being focused on God's call on my life. I am implementing the following activities.

• Spend more time writing at least 3 times a week so I can continue to encourage in this way.
• Take those speaking engagements that arise and that fit into my schedule.
• Do a better job of leading and mentoring instead of trying to do all thing ministry activities myself. 
• Connect with the team of volunteers I work with in different ways - through conversations and listening to their heart, encouraging them with notes, gifts, etc. Do this on a rotating basis with different team members and at least once per month. 

So those are my three top objectives for 2024. I feel good about these and as I prayed about it and thought about it, this seemed to be the direction I should go. 

Do you put together goals or objectives for each year? I would encourage you to think about one or two things that you can focus on in 2024. 

Have a Happy New Year!