If you intend to take goal setting seriously, you must up the ante by writing 
down your goals and revising them continuously. By choosing your goal and writing it down, you gain an edge. Most people simply respond to conditions rather than create conditions for a better life. While there is no magic pill or equation for success, one thing is sure: Those who fail to plan by not writing down their goals, by default, plan to fail.
~ Gary Ryan Blair
Goals
The year is quic
kly coming to a close!
2012 is almost here and this is the week to think about our lives and make a plan for the coming year(s)!
I’m not talking about some silly resolution which will be broken in the first few days – I am talking about really making a plan towards happiness.
Begin by thinking about this past year – what did you like – what didn’t you like – about this past year? What can you do differently to make this coming year better? You must start where you are, and you must be very honest with yourself. You cannot make your life better if you don’t. There may be tough bridges that need to be burned. Transformation is not always easy, but it is worth it.
I wrote a 5 year plan 4 years ago – this year, as I look back, so much has changed, but I am so much closer to my goal! There will be major updates to my plan this year, based on where I am at this moment. It is so exciting! I love reading where I was and where I am now. It has been a long road home for me – but I have come soooo far!!!!
My hope is that we all begin to make choices to become who we have been created to be, and that on our path of becoming, we join together to share unconditional love with others who are hurting. In so doing we will change the world in every way for the better!
This time of year is so busy – the strange this is that it seems to me the energy I most feel when I am out and 
about is frenzied, desperate and afraid of not meeting expectations. There seem to be so many expectations for this holiday.
As an adult, for the past 25 years or so, Christmas has been a strange and complicated time for me. I won’t go into a lot of details, but, trust me – it has not been easy. I used to wish I could just have ‘normal’ Christmases like those I saw around me – with a Christmas tree, lots of holiday buying and ‘stuff’. I thought I wanted that same frantic spirit I felt in others. Every year I would look forward to the day when I would have the Christmas that I wanted, and keep the hope alive that it would come.
Well, this year I am having the most wonderful Christmas Season I have ever had as an adult – and guess what? It has nothing to do with having lots of money or buying super amounts of gifts, or by having a full schedule of too many things to do. This year every little thing is a gift. It is cool to me that Chris and I ‘accidentally’ bought the biggest Christmas tree ever! It didn’t look that big at Costco! ha It is probably 10 feet tall and so beautiful! I love drinking my coffee in the early morning with only God and the lighted tree for company. It is a very special Christmas.
This Christmas I am experiencing Mary, the Birth of Christ and ‘The Fullness of Time’ in so many ways in my life. It is very personal. I am humbled and so grateful. I am giving thanks for all that has brought me to this place. I am wrapping each moment as a gift and I am full of gratitude for reaching home. Little things for me have, and will continue to be, miracles! Giving thanks makes for the most beautiful life in every circumstance.
In 1990, desperate for happiness, I reached out to God and declared it. I wanted happiness, love, peace, joy and I was willing to do what ever it took to get it. I was changed forever by the words of Jesus in Matthew chapters 5-7, and I began this crazy adventure which has been marked by loss, pain, tears, and years of wandering. Yet each step has been sacred and holy as I have given it to God – this is a continual process. I choose the way of the cross every day, and, by God’s grace, I will continue to choose it every moment.
We have freewill – a spiritual relationship is just like any other physical relationship. We choose how much we put into it, and how successful it becomes. I have chosen to give my all. I have chosen to give thanks no matter where I find myself. I have worked hard to accept all life has brought to me and to learn from it. I have chosen to keep my heart open and to allow healing. I have recognized a greater purpose in everything I have experienced and have acknowledged the many miracles that have been at every turn. I have known that many people may have meant me evil, but God only wanted to bring me all good things. Psalm 37 has been my guide and I have LIVED my faith. God has been so faithful and I am blessed beyond what I ever even knew was possible.
I have believed that I would come to this place and … here I am!!! It is a real ‘wow’ time for me and I am so glad to be able to share it with everyone who will listen this year.
What is even more wonderful for me to know isthis:
this is not some secret just for me – it is for everyone! All you have to do is say ‘yes’!
My journey has not been a particularly fun or easy one. It is full of brokeness, control, abuse and loss. The details are grim, in many respects. My life could have gone a different direction – but 21 years ago I started on a quest to find happiness – real happiness – that was my goal – no matter what it took! I was determined to find my way to a life full of peace, love, joy, kindness, gentleness, patience, hope. I took it very seriously.
I really wouldn’t wish anyone else in the world to find happiness, love and peace, by repeating the life-events I have gone through, but I believe the path is the same for everyone. Seeking. The most important thing to seek is goodness. No matter what circumstances you find yourself in, face it with reality – then choose to seek goodness right there.
There are many things in this life which are so bad it is hard to even comprehend them. Face it with truth….it is what it is….your truth is all important. Then look for the good. (I know it’s hard – I’ve made that difficult choice – and, guess what? Every time I made the choice to look – I ALWAYS found goodness.) Take responsibility for your own actions. Look for what you need to do differently in your life to incorporate peace and happiness. Then begin to make the changes you know need to be made – one at a time. Any good you can find. Acknowledge it. Make it as important to find as gold. Every day, every minute seek good. Seek the lesson in all your circumstance right now. Determine to be in control of how you respond to any circumstance. Determine to learn the lessons you need, so you don’t repeat the same mistakes. You have a choice! Keep your hope alive by your choice of the goodness. Allow your worst moments to soften your heart and allow you to see the pain in others around you so you can help them. Show them the good you find.
This is my path to happiness. I have found so more than I ever thought possible! I cannot tell you I have not found it to be an easy thing to do – I can tell you I have found it to be the most valuable and worthwhile thing to do! I have found it an amazing way to live and I highly recommend it. I believe everything I have gone through is for a reason. Without living my faith this way, I do not believe I would not be here today, much less claiming and sharing happiness. It is a miracle to me and makes me a little giddy!!! hee
I want everyone to know that this is all about choice! Every day we are given is a new gift. A new chance to begin to make those choices!!!! wooo hooooo
What do I want?
Where do I get it?
Why are some people successful,
While others wander – lost?
How do Dreams come true?
I believe we can all have the greenest of grass…IF we want it – seek it with passion –
water the grass properly!
Dreams can’t become reality until there is action.
There is a harmony and balance that must be achieved.
Much thought, and planning must be done – then lots of hard work must be accomplished!
We want green grass – but do we want to water it?
Do we have the passion?
Will we wake up and become aware of our gift of our time, our life?
We usually don’t even take notice of our neighbors hard work watering and tending their yard – until they win the ‘yard of the month’ –
then we get jealous and want their green grass!
All things we dream of are possible
If we really want them!
We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing. – Louisa May Alcott
life: acoustic & amplified 