Monday, December 27, 2010

DEVELOPING A GAME PLAN -SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK

This week (the week between Christmas and the New Year) is a great week for evaluation, prayer, reflection, planning and goal setting! In light of that, last week one of my good friends emailed me some great questions to consider as we "wrap up" 2010 and "ramp up" for 2011. Thanks, Jeremy... I've tweaked the questions a bit below...

So, as you prepare to spend some time in reflection and evaluation, why not consider these basic areas / questions:

My Spiritual Life

Am I closer to God today than I was on January 1, 2010?

What "key" spiritual "graces," habits or disciplines will I build into my life in 2011 that will help me grow closer to God and
become more like Jesus? What will my "spiritual growth plan" look like for 2011?

Will I honor the "Sabbath" and regularly set aside a day for resting my body, recharging my emotions and refocusing my spirit?

Will I become an active part of a life-giving local church and invest my time, energy and resources into accomplishing the mission Jesus has established for the local church?

What priority will I give to corporate worship and the local church?


My Emotional Life

Is there someone I need to seek forgiveness from?

Is there someone I need to forgive?

Will I become an active part of a small group in order to fill my world with life-giving relationships?

Where is there "clutter" in my life that can be eliminated? My garage, attic, storage space, home closet(s), desk, filing cabinet, computer, car, truck, etc.?
(Go ahead! Clean it out today!)

My Relational World

On a scale of 1 - 10 ("1" being "in the Intensive Care Unit and in desperate need of resuscitation" and "10" being "hitting on all cylinders / totally awesome"), how would I rate my marriage?

What practices will I build into my marriage in 2011 to increase intimacy and fulfillment?

What books will me and my spouse read or what marriage conferences will we attend in order to build intimacy and fulfillment into our marriage in 2011? (Book Recommendation: What Did You Expect by Paul Tripp)

On a scale of 1 - 10 (use the same pattern mentioned above), how am I doing as a parent? How would I rate the relationship I have with my kids? How would my kids rate the relationship we have?

What practices will I build into my family in 2011 to bring our family closer together and move our family closer to Christ? (Book Recommendation: Long Story Short by Marty Machowski - available at a2 Info Desk.)

Have I scheduled a date night with my spouse for the month of January? When? What will we do? Why not?


My Physical World

How much do I weigh?

For my body type, is that amount of weight okay? Am I honoring God with my body?

According to my age, how much do I want to weigh at the age of 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75?

Do I have a complete physical scheduled between now and March 31? (If not and you're above the age of 40 and it's been more than two years since your last physical, schedule one now!)

Do I need to change my eating habits? What healthy eating plan can I build into my life in 2011? (Book Recommendation: Body for Life by Bill Phillips)

Do I exercise? What exercise plan will I adopt in 2011 in order to honor God with the body He has given to me? (Book Recommendation: Body for Life by Bill Phillips)


My Financial World

Are my finances in order? Is personal debt strangling the life out of me?

Do I have a written budget? Have my spouse and I reviewed this budget and agreed upon it?

Do I have personal debt other than a reasonable mortgage? Is being debt free in 2011 a possible goal? What will we do to get there?

Will I make a commitment to attend Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University this year? If not, why not? (Book Recommendation: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey)

My Intellectual World

What books am I going to read in 2011? (Biography, Spiritual Formation, Classics, Fiction, Business)

What is my reading goal for 2011? How many books will I read each week / each month? How many hours will I read each day / week / month?

What seminars / classes will attend in 2011 to continue honoring God with my mind by using my intellect?


My Personal Calling

What do I do best and how can I do more of it in 2011?

What is my calling? What is my mission? Am I pursuing it? Why not?

Who do I know or who could I know in a similar field that God might use as a mentor in my life?

What caused me the greatest amount of stress in 2010? What am I going to do to fix that?


If you've not had the opportunity to check it out yet, John Ortberg has written an excellent article over on Christianity Today's website that will help you think through the process of developing a spiritual growth plan. You can still check it out by clicking here. (Also, if you've not read his book, The Life You've Always Wanted, I would highly recommend it to your 2011 Reading List. God has used this book in a profound way in my personal life. I highly recommend it.)

If you want to really dig even deeper into the evaluation aspect, the folks at Lifeway have provided a pretty intense Spiritual Growth Assessment tool you can check out...

Also, as you consider a Bible Reading Plan for the New Year, the folks at YouVersion.com have provided several Bible reading plan options worthy of your consideration. You can check out all the options by clicking here.

Finally, make plans to join us for GAME PLAN this Sunday! We'll be digging deep into several of these areas!

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