Where Do I Want To Go?

My last post was a summary of positive highlights from 2010. I’ve been thinking a lot on where I want to be, how I want to be living and what life is all about. Because of those rambling thoughts, I am going to summarize themes I want to live by. You could call them resolutions or goals but I’m not sure that works. I think of them more like a set of guiding principles and values I want to measure my life by and from these goals should emerge.

These are my personal goals and they include items about my job but are my own thoughts and have nothing to do with work other than their impact on how I work, I suppose.

I Will Choose To Glorify Him

I want all of my decisions and actions to Glorify my creator. That means I want to check the below themes against this one and if they don’t line up they get dropped. I’ve been thinking of adopting a verse of scripture for myself for the year and I am pretty positive I’ll be settling on Psalm 100 as a chapter and Psalm 100:3 as the verse. Psalm 100:3 reads (from the ESV):

Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

That sums it up well. I want to seek His glory through my actions. I want to dedicate so much more time of my life to studying His words and being in prayer with him in 2011 than I have in past years. I want every decision, task and desire to seek this and be satisfied and content in Him. I want to be seeking His will in all of the below themes and if they aren’t His will then I want to drop them.

Committed Husband and Father

What I mean here is I want to be the father to my children that I need to be, that I am called to be at each moment. I am going to be the husband that I am called to be. I’ve done this already in years past but I can do more around the house. I can make the kids even more a priority than I do.

Caring Friend, Family Member and Neighbor

I want to have an ear that cares and listens to others and looks for opportunities to lift others up, help with a physical need or prayer need. I’ve done this but I want to do so even more. I want to see people as Christ sees them and remember that that neighbor part pretty much includes everyone.

Hardworking Employee

I already am in a lot of ways but I can always do better here. When I think of the first theme and ask myself if I am always putting in the kind of effort that would glorify God, I’d have to answer with an honest no at some times. This doesn’t just mean being good at finishing tasks, that is easy. What I mean is I want to reach out for new opportunities, see the SQL practice grow, get out there more for the company, think of new ways to help our clients, etc.

Healthy Person

There is no reason for me to be where I am at right now with my weight, my energy levels and my conditioning. I really hope to see myself make commitments and decisions that are geared towards a healthy long term life. I want to enjoy time with the kids, enjoy waking up a bit early each morning for prayer and Bible study and have energy to carry me through the day.

Wise Steward

I have been blessed with jobs that pay decent wages with nice bonus structures, etc. Instead of spend this in the wisest way, I’ve wasted more than I should. When I look around the world and see various ministries with outreach to poor nations, I realize just how fortunate I am to have been born where and when I was born. I’ve recently stumbled across a few blogs like Katie Davis’ and my heart has been torn for the so many suffering in this world. So many kids the same age as my own children who have so little and such rotten health and circumstances. I look at the wastes in my own life and it doesn’t make sense. It is time to work on getting free of the mortgage and other remaining debt and allow us to be free to do more out of our abundance. I want to keep this in mind when making decisions moving forward. I this this them goes hand in hand with health and worship in many ways.

Constant Student

I enjoy learning. I want to grow in a few directions in 2011. With SQL Server learning to make myself a better employee and consultant for my company’s clients I hope to go on to more certifications and training. I also have decided to stop taking classes at Luther Rice University for the cost and inflexibility in scheduling but I plan on pursuing a seminary degree that will allow me to study at home, on a schedule that works with those other goals higher on the priority chain in mind, and a more affordable price. I also plan on buying a Kindle soon and hope to do more reading (not just SQL books, I do enough of that as it is… But fiction, historical non fiction and books from Christian authors like Tozer, Lewis, Ravi Zacharias, Packer, etc.)

Helpful Voice

I want to remain active in the SQL Server community and be a helpful voice in the crowd rather than just additional noise. I want to post quality blog posts, craft presentations that teach and help others and continue to see the Seacoast SQL Server Users Group grow. I am also going to look into the possibility of starting a second SQL Server Users Group in Portland, Maine, where I work now.

Summary

Lots of goals and themes and I think they all come from the same place in my heart. I don’t know what tasks I’d assign myself for each one necessarily but these are what I want to have in mind when making large and small decisions in 2011. Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 was a great year with fond memories and I hope that 2011 turns out to be even better for you. Thanks for reading this far and I hope for more interactions in 2011 with you. Post your goals or themes and share them back here with me. I’d love to see what your motivations will be for 2011.