Trying to Recap 5 Weeks at Once

....or really 8 Weeks at Once!

You may have thought that I fell off the wagon...abandoned ship...retreated into a fox hole....jumped off the merry-go-round....gone AWOL....etc.....since it's been so long since I've written a post.

I could give you a ton of excuses...life has been busy....my family has needed me....I've been traveling....had to study for a final exam....etc.....but they would just flimsy excuses for undisciplined behavior. That's it -- I've been undisciplined in my behavior, and it has affect my pursuit of my 2012 goals.

To review, my goals are in three areas: Finances, Spiritual, Personal. 1. We're trying to keep our discretionary spending within a weekly budget while, at the same time, reducing debt. 2. I'm trying to be more consistent in spending time with the Lord. 3. I'm pursuing my bachelor's degree in Writing.

Because I've been undisciplined in my behavior, the pursuit of my goals has been faulty, at best, during this 8-week hiatus.

1. Finances - Only 4 out of 8 weeks have we hit our goal of staying within our weekly budget with our discretionary spending. The wall in my study has not been filling up with our posted tallies of success. The good news is that we have continued to reduce debt -- just not at the pace that would have been achieved if we had been more consistent at maintaining our budget.

2. Spiritual - this area has suffered the most in my undisciplined behavior. Spending time with the Lord has pretty much ceased. I got to Ephesians Chapter 5 and that's where I still am! Verse 1 of Ephesians is "Be imitators of God." I thought alot about this verse when I read it back in mid-March. I have certainly failed to obey this verse! God is not undisciplined -- He does not quit or "take a break" -- He is the definition of faithfulness. Forgive me, God, for my failing to meet with you and to read your Word and to memorize it. I did not finish memorizing the passage for March (did 2 out of 3 verses) and didn't memorize any of April's verses.

3. Personal - my class for Spring 2012 semester is officially completed, and I did get my "A"! Even though I got an "A," I struggled with being diligent in my work at the end. I suffered with a lack of motivation during the last news story assignment. And, my writing reflected my attitude -- it was not my best work. Consequently, it was graded lower than the rest of my news stories. I did make it to class ON TIME for the whole semester!!! That was an achievement in itself! :) My writing on the blog, as you know, came to a standstill.

So....what have I learned? What will I change? How do I begin anew? Are my goals unattainable for the "long haul?" These are questions that I need to ponder and address.

I've learned that my blog is vital to maintaining disciplined progress of my goals. When I stopped writing the blog, I no longer had any accountability in these areas so I slacked in each of them.

Are they unattainable goals? No, they are not....I know that each one of them can be accomplished. I proved that during the first 2-1/2 months of the year.

Change in my attitude and actions must occur if I want to accomplish the goals. I need the accountability that the blog provides me. I must choose to be intentional and disciplined.

Today is the first step in beginning anew. The embarrassment and shame of having to admit that I've been undisciplined has stopped me in the past few weeks from writing. Who wants to admit to the world that you've been undisciplined and failed in your Christian walk? Not I; and yet, it's done -- I've written this blog and proclaimed my failure to the world. And, now, I'm ready to begin anew in pursuit of my goals.

So, stayed tuned....more posts will be arriving for your reading pleasure. Well, it may not be exactly for your reading pleasure, but it is most certainly for my accountability!

Next Post: Webmaster?