It seems to me that at the year’s end some of us are more prone to look backward and some more prone to look forward. Which are you? I tend to direct my eyes straight ahead. I’m a future thinker through and through — a lot of times even to my own detriment! I have my kids to thank for forcing me to live in the present.

Anyway, I have quite a few goals for 2017. Some of them are small, some are big, some are vague. I feel strange writing them on the internet as now I will be held accountable! Oh well, here they are:

• The first goal on my list to be a better wife. Our three kids suck up a lot of my attention and time and patience. My husband shouldn’t get my leftovers, but he does. I have lots of areas to work on, but I’m starting with kindness — in the way I speak to him, the way I treat him and act around him.
• I’m an over-thinker. This year I will redirect that brain power to something that will actually make a difference. I want to stop thinking, thinking, thinking and start praying, praying, praying. I also plan on keeping a list of the things I am praying for so I can see how God has answered them.
• I will memorize 12 verses this year, one a month. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but my brain just does not memorize things easily. Since I’ve discovered it’s harder for me to memorize things than the average person, I’ve let myself off the hook of memorizing the Bible. However, I was deeply convicted a couple months ago when I heard a pastor ask how many verses the congregation thought they could memorize by midnight if he would give them $1,000 for each one. He said the words of God are worth more than paper money and we should treat them as such. Ouch. I would also like to help my kids memorize scripture too, but I’m not sure how to go about doing that. Any ideas would be appreciated!
• I want to do one kind thing for someone else with my kids each month. I want to keep that Christmas giving spirit going all year, showing them what’s important, not just telling them.
• I want to send my grandmother something in the mail at the first of each month (a card, a small gift, photos). She doesn’t use a computer or cell phone — well, she has a cell phone, but doesn’t know how to use it — so mail makes her so very happy.
• I’m informed by my sweet grandfather that I don’t email him nearly as many photos as my cousins do. Yikes! I will email him on the first of the month as well.
• Along those same lines, I get sucked into my own world and neglect to ask about or care for those around me. I want to get in the permanent habit of calling or texting people that come to mind right then and there. When my friend’s mother is sick and I have a passing thought to ask how she is, I want to drop what I’m doing for a moment and send her a text. When a friend I haven’t talked to for a long time keeps popping into mind it might be the Holy Spirit, I want to be better about picking up the phone.
• Is this boring yet? I’ll wrap it up. As far as my blog, I aim to post once a week, on Tuesdays.
• And finally, I want to create a plant wall in my bathroom. My idea is only three shelves and some plants, so I’m not quite sure why it seems like climbing Everest.

I’ll be sharing some office organization ideas and my financial goals next week. I think. Oh man, my weekly blogging goal is already falling apart. How about you? What is your major goal in the coming year?

The photo credit and a big giant thank you goes to David Albers Photography for getting these amazing shots of our wild ones!