Setting goals for our year helps us to be more intentional with our lives. But what does it look like as a Christian woman to set goals? Why do we set goals? How can we go about goal setting so that we set the right goals and follow through in His strength?
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When I was a child waiting for something exciting like vacation or Christmas, it seemed the days would drag on-and-on-and-on. It is different now. You’ve heard the phrase “time marches on”, but I picture it more like a sprinter than a soldier. Time runs, and it runs fast. (Although, if you have young children you may identify more with Gretchen Rubin’s view, “The days are long, but the years are short.”)
Time is limited. And as we become more aware of this truth, we feel the call to be intentional with our lives. Intentional means “designed, done with design or purpose, deliberate”.
So consider what that would look like. A designed life. A purposeful life. A deliberate life.
Making goals begins with knowing your destination.
An intentional life begins by being purposeful about the minutes and hours, days and week, months and years that make up that life. In Part 1 of our series, we talked about choosing One Word in order to be more intentional with the time we have in the coming year. But as Yogi Berra put it
If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.
Ahh, the wisdom of Yogi. I don’t want to end up end up someplace else. And I prefer at least have a destination in mind. Paul knew where he was going. Somewhere to press on toward.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14)
Yes, Paul had a goal. Do you?
Getting started on your journey.
Often when we think about setting goals, we begin by asking questions. What do I want for the coming year? What do I want to change about myself? About my life? What do I desire?
But there is a better place to start.
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Delight means “To have or take great pleasure.” What happens when we take great pleasure in the Lord? I believe our hearts become aligned with His. Jesus expresses a similar idea,
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)
The Greek word for wish can also be translated desire. But first comes the abiding.
So let’s start with delighting and abiding. And then we can ask different questions as we approach goal setting this year: What does God want me to do this year? Is there an area of my life He wants to transform? How does he want to mold me to be more like Him? To love more like Him?
And when we change the questions, we change the focus of our goal setting. It isn’t just about us anymore.
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Related: How to Abide in Christ Just as You Are
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How to Map Out Your Year as a Christian Woman
1. Spend time in prayer.
For the LORD gives wisdom;from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; (Proverbs 2:6)
I know, it sounds so obvious. And yet I can get so busy doing that I forget about just being. Being with Him, in His presence. Seeking Him and His wisdom. But I need God; I need His wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully, and I can’t do that on my own.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)
2. Search out Scripture to learn His will.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2, emphasis added)
How do we transform our minds? By saturating it with His Word.
Often we treat finding God’s will for our lives as something mysterious. Something that requires hours of prayer (though we will want to spend time in prayer) where God speaks to us to tell us something to do, some decision to make. But if we want to know what God’s will for us, we should start with the obvious—what He has already revealed to us through His word. Often he spells it out for us,
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)
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Related: How to Stay Connected to God Through His Word
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And I believe the more time we spend doing His revealed will, the more we will be able to discern His will that isn’t specifically written down.
All of the things I see in my life that need to be improved or changed are based on what He has lovingly taught me through His Word.
3. Remember to make goals for your whole life.
If the focus of our goal setting is about Him instead of us, does that mean we should only set goals having to do with our spiritual lives? Things like how much time we will spend in prayer or Bible study, how many verses we will memorize? Of course not. The truth is as Christians all of our life should glorify Him.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. And He has already prepared the good works we are to walk in.
And as we read in Luke,
… You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)
4. Know why you want to set each goal.
Having a powerful why will help motivate you to follow through. Your “why” is the reasons you do what we do. Examples of some powerful “why’s” might include:
- I want be consistent in homeschooling my kids because I believe God has lead us to educate them—heart, mind, and soul.
- I want a cleaner home so that I feel comfortable asking people over. Hospitality is a way I can show God’s love to others.
- I want to be in better physical shape so that I have the energy to do all the things I’m called to do—to educate my children, build our family relationships, and serve others.
5. Develop the habits you need to reach your goals.
What is the secret to reaching your goals? It’s really about habits. Some people might call these the “action steps” to reach your goals, but habits are about doing things so frequently they become automatic. And that is the key to making lasting changes. We don’t have to think about them to do them. Let’s use the same examples as we did above:
- I want be consistent in homeschooling my kids. Habit: Start each homeschooling day with my top 3 priorities such as Bible time, reading aloud, and math.
- I want a cleaner home so that I feel comfortable asking people over. Habit: Put things away right after I’m done with them.
- I want to be in better physical shape. Habits: Set a morning aside each week to plan meals or walk for 30 minutes each day.
6. Enjoy the scenic route
I truly believe that God wants us to be intentional with our lives, for us to “number our days” and live wisely. But let’s not forget: We can choose a word and we can make goals, but we are not the Blessed Controller of all things. (And we wouldn’t want to be!) We want to remain flexible.
The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
People will always come before plans. God before our goals. So may we always be sensitive to His leading.
A few resources to help.
I’ve created a FREE printable to help you with every step in the An Intentional Year series—for both you personally and your homeschool.
If you want to learn more about the how of goal setting, check out the following resources:
How to Change Your Life by Setting Goals by Crystal Paine, Money Saving Mom
The Beginner’s Guide to Goal Setting by Michael Hyatt
The Right Questions to Ask When You Miss the Goal by Michelle Myers, She Works HIS Way
One Last Thing
A goal without a plan is just a wish.― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
To live an intentional life we can make goals. But without a plan, it simply won’t happen. Something I’ve learned the hard way. You can learn how in How to Make a Plan for a More Successful Year.
Do you have goals for the coming year? I would love for you to share them with us!
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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.
Great post!! I love that you challenge us to think about our life from an eternal viewpoint. It’s so easy to get caught up in day to day troubles and forget the ultimate end in mind, glorify God.
I often write to remind myself of these truths! You are right—it IS easy to get caught up and miss the big picture.
My word in 2016 was “Intentional” and in 2017 it was ‘Fearless’.
The past month or so the Lord has been dropping in my spirit that in 2018 He wants me to spend time receiving from Him so He gave me the words ‘Healing’ and “wholeness” for not just me but my family.
I kind of wrestled with Him a little bit because I always want to be ‘doing’ for Him. But the other day He dropped the word ‘Yield’ into my spirit lol so I am yielding to His Spirit.
Thank you for your beautiful post!!
Blessings sweet sister!
Donna Miller
Donna, thanks so much. I struggle with wanting to “do” too. And I think he calls us to do, but we get the order wrong so often. We really have to stop doing long enough to listen and yield to know what we are suppose to be doing.