A New Approach to New Year's Goals

Every year at this time, I take time to review the goals I set the previous year and make new ones for the coming year. I typically set goals in five categories: Professional, Financial, Physical, Personal/family, and Spiritual goals. In addition to goals in those categories for the coming year, I also set three-year, five-year, and lifetime goals.

But this year, I decided to try something different. I wondered what it might look like if my goals were focused on partnering with God to cultivate more of the fruit of the Spirit in my life. What would that look like?

First and foremost, I know I must be faithful in prayer, and ask God daily to produce this fruit in my life. So that's pretty much goal number one, the overarching goal. In addition, I outlined in my journal at least one (and in several cases, three or four) tangible goal for 2010 that would, by God's grace and with his help, increase my:

LOVE
JOY
PEACE
PATIENCE
KINDNESS
GOODNESS
FAITHFULNESS
GENTLENESS
SELF-CONTROL

I thank God--and it is only by his grace--that this fruit is already present in my life because of the Holy Spirit's presence in my life. But I'm excited to follow Christ this year in purposeful, focused, conscious ways to see if I can bear more fruit in 2010. It's gonna be a great year!