Goals

Today I wanna talk about goals.

But I'm DEFINITELY too exhausted to write anything coherent.

Oh well, I'll give it a try.

Who's got goals? Some people can't live without them, others think they're a waste of time. I don't really know what I think. I'd like to be the type of girl who can set a long-term goal, spend time working towards it, and then enjoy a little success when I reach it. Sounds great, right? But for some dumb reason, that doesn't work for me.

I can think of only ONE time when I set a goal and actually followed through on it. It was after my seventh grade basketball season. Basically, I wasn't a very big asset to the team that year. I got maybe 5 or 6 baskets the whole season, but I really, really wanted to be a starter my 8th grade year, so I worked hard at it all summer. I worked out and went to skills camps and all that. Then, when the season started, I worked my butt off every day and listened to the coach all the time. I tried my best to make sure I got noticed (and scored lots of points). Well, it paid off. I was one of the high scorers for my team that season! It felt great. :) yay. Then, I started a summer team with tougher competition. If I had kept up the trend of setting a goal and working hard to get there, maybe we would've done well. I could have improved my basketball skills and been able to present a challenge to the other teams by the end of that season. For some reason though, I just didn't. I don't know why, but I was sick of it. Sooo I went back to scoring a few points here and there, and that plan just sort of... went away...

Hm... I forgot where I was going with that. Umm, goals. I guess I still have goals, I'm just not putting my all into them. I'd rather have fun with life when I can, and go where God takes me. I don't know if that's an "acceptable" mindset or anything, but that's my attitude. I want to graduate with a 4.0, that's something I'm actually working kinda hard for. I want to have a decent chair placement in band, so I'll practice a few times during the summer. But those are things that come easily to me. 2 Corinthians 12: 9:

⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

So, what I take that to mean is, don't spend your life stressing out about improving yourself. Somewhere in the message bible (no clue where, Jeremiah maybe?) it says "Self help is no help at all." If I'm just setting goals to improve my basketball playing, singing, or grades, and all I'm doing all the time is giving 100% to that goal, then what am I giving to God? Instead, we should be keeping goals in mind and watching for opportunities that God might bless us with, while praying about where he wants to take us and giving our best to him. hmm... hopefully that made a little sense.

Another little thing that I like to do is pray that God will make my will His plan. So, I ask Him to help me grow in such a way that what I want is the same as what He wants for me. That way, by working towards the things that I want, I'm also glorifying God and living my life for Him. That's a win-win situation. :)