Merry Christmas, everyone. Here's the last blog post of the year. Onward to 2020!!
1) More intentionality regarding ____________________.C
This is a very personal goal, and I will not share the particulars. I would give myself a solid C as I look back over the year. It may not be the best, but if I hadn't made it a goal, it likely would have been an F. Goals are good for you!
2)
Yeah! I finished this one early. I used the One Year Bible Plan, which provides daily readings in the Old and New Testament as well as Psalms and Proverbs. It's a nice mix. Solid A on this one. I rarely miss a day, and when I did, I caught up the next day. I think I will have the same goal next year, but use a different plan.
What I've read so far:
You Were Warned
Women at the Well
Deception Point
The House by the River
Hope They Like Rice
The Address
First Aid Manual
Broken Grace
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
China Rich Girlfriend
Your Money or Your Life
The Address
Manuel of School Health
Nurse Exam Secrets
Anna Karenina
One Friday in Jerusalem
Murder in the South of France
If She Knew
Wish Upon a Shell
Generous Justice
Bridge to Haven
All This I Will Give to You
Hunger for God
Dig for Your Dinner in May
Dig for Your Dinner in June
Commander in Chief
Dinner with a Perfect Stranger
Youth and Consumption
Romancing Your Child's Heart
Blueback
Dig for Your Dinner in June
Out of Range
The Lost Kitchen
An American Princess
The Stranger in the Woods
Allusion
Camino Island
The Way to Wealth
What You Did
False Step
Tender is the Night
In Our Time
The Meaning of Marriage
Carpool Confidential
Munich
Dig for Your Dinner in September
Our Incredible Journey Home
Stay Hidden
Pretty Girls
Twenty and Ten
Hidden Treasures
A Year in the Maine Woods
How Bernie Madoff Saved My Life
The Whistler
The Money Mentor
Coco and Igor
The Green Hills of Africa
Dig for your Dinner in November and December
The Reckoning
Thin Air
The books I'm working on right now:
Wild Swans
The Power of a Praying Grandparent
4) Spend at least 20 minutes daily in prayer/prayer journaling. (In addition to Bible reading and gratefulness journal.) C
I would say a C on this. Prayer is an area of struggle for me. It's not that I don't sit down to do this almost every day, it's that my mind wanders far too frequently. And we all know that thinking about (translate: over-analyzing/worrying about) an area of concern is NOT the same thing as praying about it. I believe Satan likes to keep us here. This is why I wanted to try using a journal, and this has helped, but I need to figure out a better system.
5)
广东话
I did it, but I need to practice more.
6) Weigh ______ by Will's wedding, July 20. FAIL
(Daily: 10K steps, at least 60 active minutes-per fit bit, 1100 calories or less, 2L water)
I did not meet my goal, though I almost did at one point. This is a high priority for 2020, along with a better plan.
7)
8)
We truly love our church in Hong Kong. Here's our class:
Anyhow, we were blessed, and consequently able to pay off our faith promise to our church in Hong Kong before the end of June. God is good.
9)
This was close, but we made it! Again, if it had not been a goal, I don't think I would have had the discipline to finish this one.
I do this in a variety of ways: having guests stay in our home, having friends over for a meal, taking someone out to eat, providing meals for others in need (after a baby, an illness, etc), sending gift cards for meals when I cannot provide a hands on dinner.
11) Volunteer 3 hours a month on average and
I don't think I've quite hit 3 hours a month, but it's been close. I was able to complete my week as a camp nurse at Living Waters in Maine last summer. I have been going to this camp since I was 11 years old...these folks are like family to me. It is such a blessing to be able to give back to a place that impacted me in such a huge way.
12) Post on my blog weekly. Solid Fail.
I didn't start until Feb 22, and this is my 17th post. I kind of gave up on this one, but I still want to make it a goal next year.
13) Write a real letter or card weekly. Maybe a C??
Don't you love it when you get a real letter in the mail? It's a rarity these days. I've done OK on this, but not great. I started out strong, but then missed some weeks, and then, well...it just went downhill.
14) Buy one new piece of "investment" clothing for Mike or myself monthly. Fail.
As in, didn't do this at all. No excuses, just didn't do it.
15)
Finishing our will has literally been on my to do list for 20+ years. It is finally completed, notarized and in the Safety Deposit box. This is such a relief for me, and it's really silly that it took me so long to finish.
I did not talk to the funeral home, but it's still on my list for 2020.
16)
Actually, after talking to a planner, we opted not to change over to IRAs.
17)
A personal gift. You'll find out about it when the recipient does. It's finished, but I can't tell you until Christmas!!
I'm ready to give these out in less than a week!!
18)
Nothing exciting, but checked this one off the list.
19)
You are looking at an official member of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA)! Pretty happy about this, and looking forward to maybe being able to help others soon.
