{"id":2400,"date":"2011-12-29T01:00:02","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T09:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.doorposts.com\/blog\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2011-12-29T06:50:15","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T14:50:15","slug":"helping-our-children-run-the-race-setting-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.doorposts.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/29\/helping-our-children-run-the-race-setting-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Our Children Run the Race – Setting Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cI press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus\u201d <\/em>(Phil 3:15).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re running a race.<\/strong> So are our children. The beginning of a new year is a good time to reevaluate our goals. Are we running in the right direction or are we distracted by lots of good and not-so-good things along the way?<\/p>\n

New Year\u2019s has traditionally been the time for goal setting in the Forster household. We sit down and write up not resolutions, but goals, by God’s grace, to strive for during the next year. We also look back over the past year, assess how we did on last year\u2019s goals, thank God for any progress He has allowed us to make, and recommit ourselves to diligent labor in Christ’s kingdom.<\/p>\n

I would like to encourage you, if you don\u2019t already do this, to set aside some think-and-talk time with each of your children <\/strong>over the next few days. Make some hot chocolate (with lots of marshmallows on top) and put out a plate of cookies, or take an older child out to the local coffee shop or a favorite fast food restaurant. Together outline some specific goals to work on over the next year.<\/p>\n

Here are a few verses to guide your thinking:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God\u201d (1 Corinthians 10:31) We are here to glorify God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLet us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man\u201d (Ecclesiastes 12:13). We\u2019re here to fear God and obey His Word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these\u201d (Mark 12:30-31). We\u2019re here to love Him with all our being and to love our neighbor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think about goals in some or all of the following areas:<\/strong><\/p>\n