Goals

"Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action. Goal setting and planning are acts of faith." (Preach My Gospel pg 146)

I have been nervous about this summer's plans to travel for six weeks because all routines the kids and I have fine-tweeked to keep this ball rolling will be sacrificed to survival mode. 

Then I remembered a little gem from missionary life. Key Indicators. 

And I quote "Perhaps you have wondered which of your many duties are the most important. To be able to answer this question, you must understand your purpose and know how effective use of time can help you fulfill this purpose." (PMG pg 138) Enter Key Indicators, the metrics which measure your progression towards your goals. SO I need to figure out:

My purpose is:

My key indicators are:

I'm hoping this will simplify the ENORMOUS guilt complex Satan seems to love flinging in my face as each day passes and "nothing" gets done. I'm excited to sling my own metrics of success in his face and know when I'll be satisfied with my day. Hope this helps someone else in their own situation. Because time has become such a commodity in our fast paced culture, I'm constantly judging if I use mine wisely. I'm also ticked when I waste it, but sometimes I confuse myself on what 'wasting' time really is. Like- spending NON structured time with my kids is not wasting time. Or meditating is not wasting time. Laundry is and always will be a waste of time though. And especially ironing. Who irons anymore right?? (Only those who leave their clothes in the laundry basket so long they are a wrinklly mess. SO yeah we still iron a lot.)

Why picking a spouse is like picking a watermelon

Why picking a spouse is like picking a watermelon.

There are a few tricks I've learned in my 29 years about picking a great watermelon. Let me tell you- I served in Tahiti and watermelons are kind of a HUGE deal there. So here are the tips for picking a great watermelon. 

First you look for one that has a nice solid white spot. That shows the little guy has been sitting in the sun ripening. The rest of him should be nice and green. Next, you thump it with your palm to see if it sounds like it's full of water- a hollow sound should be your sign of a good fruit. You also look for bee stings- that look like little scars all over the poor son of a gun. It means it is so sweet bees couldn't resist attempting to stick their pointy bums in there. I wonder sometimes if they died trying to get a bite of my delicious melon. Finally- heftiness. The heftier, the more water, which my friends equals a nice ripe WATER-full melon. 

Ready for the analogy?

The white spot. Has to sit in the sun- which I will play on words as THE SON, so the light of Christ or the power source of the universe. He has to spend time with God and his son to get nice and sweet. 

Thump it to see if its full of what it says its full of. This is that age old wisdom of watch him while he's in difficult situations to see how he handles it. Usually life dishes out the hard stuff and you can just sit back and observe, but if it's too good I'm sure you'll have differences where you purposely or inadvertently thump him and you can see if he's full of compassion or if he's "hollow."

The scars. A good man has been through his fair share of trials and though a flawless watermelon looks pretty- it won't do you as much good in the way of taste. Those unslightly scars are where bees try and sting because they sense sweetness. They show proof of sweetness within, tried and tested. Marriage and life is HARD and you need someone good from the inside out, even if it took them a lot of mistakes to get there. 

Heftiness- because WHO DOESN'T LOVE A BIG STRONG MAN!? But the heftiness could be spiritual. I just happen to have both in my big ole watermelon husband.