Goals, routines, plans, etc.

Routines are something that I struggle with. I didn't used to. It's just been in recent years since my husband started his own business and stopped punching a time clock that my days have gone willy nilly! My children are now grown and doing their own thing and I'm left to figure out how I want to organize a day for myself. I find that I am not one to naturally be in a routine, but yet I thrive best when I'm in a routine.

I guess my days to tend to order themselves in some fashion but not how I would like. I find that without plan and purpose I spend a lot of time doing nothing. I am a world class procrastinator! Ha ha!

So with the New Year I find myself, once again, thinking about how I would like to order my life. God says to let all things be done decently and in order. As much as I fly by the seat of my pants I know that's not God's way and probably why it never works out in the end.

A couple of things I'm working on for the new year are getting up earlier, making a plan for meals, and at least making a plan for the day each morning.

Getting up early is not something I think everyone needs to do. I don't think one is lazy if they don't get up at the crack of dawn! Ha ha! But for me it's necessary. If I rise early it naturally starts my day on a better foot. I don't feel like I'm behind. I don't feel as though I've already lost most of the day. Maybe that's ingrained in me through my dad. Growing up he would come in my room early each day and say, "Rise and shine and face the day! You're going to sleep your life away!"

Jesus is a great example of an early riser and getting a jump start on the day. Mark 1:35 says, And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Jesus is our ultimate example and he rose early and spent time in prayer. That's what I intend to do also. I've spent a good portion of my life rising early and I try, but am not always successful, to start the day with Scripture and Prayer. It's just been in recent years that I've gotten away from this habit.

Menu planning is another thing I'm working on. When I try to plan a menu it's sort of like putting a square peg in a round hole. It just doesn't work! But, again, I feel like I need this. I've thought it over and wondered if I should just give up on the whole idea and my answer is NO! My style of cooking is to cook what I'm in the mood to eat. Sounds good but it causes so many negative side effects. The main one being that more times than not I don't have anything thawed for supper. If I wait until time to cook to decide what I want then nothing is ready! Having a plan and having meat thawed and also knowing that I have all other ingredients really is key to operating smoothly at meal time.

Another draw back to the "fly by the seat of your pants" method is that I eat only what I want for that moment which, for me, leads to over eating. If I have been craving something all day and then make the extra effort to fix it you can bet that most likely I'm going to over eat! I'm not saying that meal planning will stop my over eating. What I'm saying is that by not cooking a "craved" meal every night then I probably wouldn't be inclined to eat as much. I hope. ;0)

Oh, I always spend the month of January in great thought. Spending lots of time thinking about all the things I want to change, fix, add, rearrange, do, not do, etc. in the coming year. I have never reached all my goals. But, I've reached some! Each year do a little more, a little better. Maybe a little less, if the situation calls for that! After all, isn't that what we're here for? To constantly change and aspire to be better and more like Jesus until God calls us home!