Ready, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim . . .

For the past few years, I haven’t put pressure on myself to come up with resolutions. But there’s something different about this year.

While I don’t think we should set ourselves up for failure with resolutions we aren’t motivated to accomplish, I do think there is empowerment in setting goals and defining HOW to accomplish them.

It’s nice to have a goal to get out of debt for example, but unless you look at your monthly bills and watch how many times you visit Starbucks in one month, it’s simply a pipe dream.


So here are my goals for this year. I hope to inspire you not only to dream up some goals, but figure out exactly what it will take to accomplish them.

1) Be (almost) halfway done with my Masters in Biblical Counseling by Dec. 2012.

I have about 2 dozen of classes, plus observation hours, that I need to complete to graduate with my Masters in Biblical Counseling from West Coast Bible College and Seminary. I’m very excited about taking these courses. I actually do not want to become a counselor; I’m simply interested in learning and I believe this knowledge will help me in future opportunities.

I’m planning to tackle at least 10 classes in 2012. I’ll start out with one class a month and for the months I take vacation or there are holidays, I will give myself a break.

2) Read a book a month. Since I’ll be reading a lot of ministry-heavy books for school, I’m planning to even it out with “fun” books for me. Leftovers on this list include: “You Lost Me.” by David Kinnaman, “Entreleadership” by Dave Ramsey, “SuperFreakonomics” by Levitt and Dubner, and “The Visible Man” by Chuck Klosterman. I’m planning to read during my lunch breaks at work to complete this goal.

I own this bills calendar. Super cute and very sturdy.

3) Pay off our credit card and car debt by June 2012. We are crawling out of some of the most financially difficult years of our lives and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Last month, my husband and I sat down and hashed out where every last dollar will go until June 2012. Luckily, December was a three pay check month so we “saved” that paycheck to pad out budget for food, entertainment, and other unexpected expenses along the way.

My anchor cutouts on kraft paper.

4) Finally I have a slew of Etsy goals for this year. I already have very specific goals for the first quarter of 2012. I will spare you the details, but my goals include improving my shop photos, increase sales, experiment with Etsy’s Ad Search, increase my product line, and communicate my store’s purpose.


I would love to hear about your goals for 2012! Feel free to comment below.