I haven’t done a goal update in a while!  At the beginning of 2012, I shared a few of my goals with you.  Since we’re halfway through the year, I figured I better take a minute to update my progress.

Here’s a look at how it’s going:

Spiritual:

Read through the Bible in a year with the [easyazon-link asin=”0736902392″]The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order (NIV)[/easyazon-link].

**I’ve got to be honest.  I am doing terribly at this one.  I fall behind and then feel like I need to catch up, but it overwhelms me to read all the Old Testament stuff I missed.  I’ve decided to change my goal to reading the New Testament by the end of the year.  I’ll still be reading through some of the Old Testament with the girls in the fall, but I won’t make it through all of it.

Grow in hospitality (by inviting others into our home regularly)

**Doing okay on this one.  I have a goal during this busy season of inviting two to three families per month into our home for dinner.  I met that goal last month.  This month, I’m not so sure since we’ll be on vacation and a few other trips and days away.

I will be doing some freezer cooking (and blogging about it) near the end of the month, so that will definitely make it easier to have food on hand.  Maybe I will be able to make that goal!

Explore adoption (this is also a personal goal, as well  — they all kind of go together).

**Still haven’t done much on this one.  I’ve read a book, but that’s all.

Financial:

Pay off our home mortgage as quickly as possible.

**Making good strides on this one.  We took a lump sum we had been saving towards getting John a different truck and put it towards the mortgage.  Also, we are paying a little extra on principle every month.

Save towards replacing John’s 30-year-old truck.

**We both felt like we should take the money that we had been saving for this and put it towards the mortgage.  Since then, we’ve put a little bit into the “truck fund”, but it will still be awhile before we can replace it.

Try a 1-month cash-only challenge.

**Haven’t done yet.

Fitness

Complete another 1/2 marathon

**I did this for my birthday!  You can read about it here.  Craziness!

Complete [easyazon-link asin=”B002QZ1RS6″]INSANITY[/easyazon-link] and [easyazon-link asin=”B005PO7ABI”]P90X2[/easyazon-link].

**I finally finished Insanity.  We just kicked off P90X2.  More to come on Monday…

Work-out 4-5 per week throughout the year.

**I’ve been fairly regular about this.  It is an ongoing effort, but 30-Day Challenges definitely help!

Marriage

At least two date nights per month + 2 at-home date nights per month to save on babysitting costs. 

**Meeting this goal pretty regularly.  It’s harder now that we don’t have AWANA during the summer — this is terrible, but it was our babysitter for date night!

Two overnight getaways together during the next year. 

**We just went on one to OKC for our anniversary.

Mothering

Hold and cuddle each child daily. 

**Still something I have to intentionally do, but it’s becoming a little more “natural”.

Apply principles from [easyazon-link asin=”0966378660″]Wise Words for Moms[/easyazon-link] and the book [easyazon-link asin=”0972304649″]Don’t Make Me Count to Three[/easyazon-link].

**I read the book, and I use the Wise Words for Moms sheet with Scriptures and questions to help me.  I remember to use it about 3-4 days per week!

Take each girl on a mommy date (one per month).

**Not doing so well at this one this summer.  We have been so busy with summer activities, this hasn’t been a priority.

Personal:

Read 12 non-fiction books + 5 fiction titles (list to come).

**You can see my progress on the post.  I’ve read about 1/2 of the list and added a few others.  I should be on track to finish by December.

Write a workshop and present it at three churches.

**This may be a goal I abandon.  I presented for my mom’s group, so I have an outline now.  I would really like to make a little book to go along with it and all kinds of other ideas.  I’m just a little overwhelmed with the thought of it, so I’m still trying to decide if this is something I really want to pursue or feel called to do.

Make home management, homeschool, and blogging binders. 

**The Home Management part is done and continues to work well for me.  I’ll be working on the homeschooling part and blogging part over the next few months.

Continue to simplify my life.

**Never ending.  Just when I think things are simplified and sorted, more stuff crops up!!  I just keep plugging away!

Blogging:

Become better at planning ahead.  Make a yearly, monthly, and weekly plan.

**I’m doing better in some ways…and worse in some ways.  I have two series I started and haven’t finished, so I need to work hard on those!

Put tighter limits around blogging and non-blogging time to prevent burn-out and give enough of myself to my little ones.

**I’m going back to using a timer, and I’ll also be putting certain hours I can work once we start school.  I’m having some struggles here, but I’ll share more about that soon.

Redesign and combine Motherhood on a Dime and The Amazing Mess. 

**Done!!

 

What are some of your goals for the rest of 2012?