"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Before you can properly establish spiritual goals, I think you probably need to define success. A life as a follower of Christ has less to do with rational, logical thought and more with a counter intuitive process. At times, gain means loss and losing means winning. So what seems responsible can be irresponsible and vice versa. There have been many throughout history that have traveled a path that did not seem advisable or even responsible. Jim Elliot, for example, was a man who felt compelled to translate the Gospel to reach an indigenous tribe in Ecuador. Leaving behind a very normal life where he studied architecture and acting, Elliot took what seemed an irresponsible path for what he identified to be a greater good.

Read more about Jim Elliot here.

You may never travel to distant shores to reach indigenous tribes.
You may never be written about because of notable accomplishments.
You may never achieve any sort of public, noticeable status.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I'd be willing to bet that you feel as though you don't do enough and a bit insignificant. The goal of setting goals is not creating a list of goals. It's about achievement. And in order to achieve something truly worth living for, you must value something worth dying for.

I have many things that I want to do before it's all said and done. Some of those goals are so far out of reach right now that it hurts my head just to think about it too long. To make my goals seem more attainable, I have created 3 macro categories:

spiritual, family, personal

Creating spiritual goals is at the top of the list. And it may seem a bit small to you, but my number one spiritual goal for 2010 is to read through the Bible completely this year. Another spiritual goal is to begin to develop a discipling relationship with our oldest daughter, Elizabeth. I'm a firm believer that my kids are an inheritance and that it is my responsibility to develop them.

These are my top two spiritual goals. What about you?

What are your spiritual goals for 2010?

Here's a classic one for you:
'If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.'

To be quite honest, I'm more of an admirer of goal-oriented, organized people. I tend to be more of a binge planner. I have lists, tasks, plans, projects, priorities...and reminders for all of the above, but I often fail to completely follow through. The obvious downside to this is a whole laundry list of things left undone and incomplete. To compliment my lacking talent in the goal-oriented department, I can also be quite unorganized. Sad, but true. And I must add that the combination of the two have caused much frustration and limitation in my life and have, at times, affected what I set out to accomplish.

However, there is an upside to my dilemma of binge planning and mental clutter: flexibility and resourcefulness. Most of the solution is recognizing the problem. Because I know my tendencies, I try to be as proactive as possible to ensure that I'm doing all that I can to do what I set out to do and complete what I begin.

Here are a few examples of proactive things I've done:

• keep a journal (still trying to be more frequent)
  
• use the planner on my iPhone for EVERYTHING (call home, record football game, plan next week, update blog, etc...common, everyday type tasks)
• integrate my schedule with a calendar on my computer (I use Entourage; similar to Outlook)
• use color labels for different categories (helps me quickly identify tasks)
• try to create sub plans (annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly)

I think there needs to be a healthy balance of rigid planning and organization and more flexible, fluid way of getting things done. If you're slanted too much to one direction, you'll be unbalanced and a bit inefficient.

One things for sure, you need a target. Not only do you need a target, but you need to know what that target is and how you plan to hit that target.

So, here's how my plan is shaping up for 2010:
spiritual goals, family goals and personal goals.

I'll expand more on my categories over the next few days.


What about you? How do you plan/organize?



one love. one life.
Guy

For Christmas, we gave the kids a family gift of sorts. We got a Wii...uhh, I mean they got a Wii. If by some weird chance you're unfamiliar with what exactly a Wii is, please do yourself a favor and google it. It is the most fun, interactive family activity we've ever done together. That was the point of the gift. We want to be intentional about having a family night each week. The Wii will be a great tool for the family nights.
Over the weekend, I was playing Duck Hunt with the kids. The objective is simply, point and shoot. Elizabeth did great. Emily waited for her turn to play. I could see that she was bursting at the seams and couldn't wait for her turn to play. Once she got the controller and the game started, she went kamikaze crazy...pointing all over the screen in random fashion. She was panting after. When the dust settled, she hit two targets. The two targets she hit were no doubt, out of sheer luck. She did have fun though.
With the beginning of a new year, I usually spend time reflecting on the past 12 months and setting new goals for the year ahead of me. To be honest, this past year sort of got away from me. Everything just sort of happened. This year, I'm determined to not let it get away and just go by. There are things I want to do. In order to do that, I'm setting goals for myself and family goals. I'll be sharing a bit of them in the week ahead.

In the year ahead, take aim at something so that you hit your mark.

May your day be filled with peace, family and love!



From our family to yours...
Merry Christmas!


the Delcambre's

Currently, I'm in the middle of Mark Batterson's new book called, Primal. It just released today for purchase. Yeah, I'm that important...hmmm. For those of you who know me well, you know that is also a joke. Anyway, I want to give away a FREE copy of the book to one of you. You'll receive the book in the mail before most of your friends. So, I guess you'll be cool by association!
All you have to do is be the first to answer the following question:
How many miles does the earth travel in its annual lap around the sun?

I will mail a free copy to the first person to correctly post a comment here.

Here's a brief glimpse into the book:

Be Astonished Again

We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment.

In Primal, Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. Along the way, he calls you to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in your own life.

As Mark writes, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God? Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon. Maybe it was a mission trip or retreat. Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar. In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit. You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush—and reignite a primal faith.”

Primal will help you live in light of what matters most and discover what it means to love God. It will help you become great at the Great Commandment.

You can purchase your copy of Primal here.

By the way, if you have not read Mark Batterson's previously released books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day & Wild Goose Chase buy them and read them.


You're welcome.

one love. one life.
Guy

also, check out Advent Conspiracy & Rethinking Christmas

I believe that, for the most part, we live in rhythmic patterns.

There seems to be a sort of cadence to life. At times, we are on the mountain top reveling in success and victory. And at other times, we are trying to navigate through a dense valley where everything we touch seems to go wrong...or go nowhere at all. Here's what I know to be true: both extremes are necessary to the journey you find yourself on. Another thing I know, it's the ascent and descent that are most crucial. The path up and the path down is where we really learn about ourselves...who we really are...and determine within who we will be. The temptation is to find a place to settle and make camp. Mostly, because of the degree of difficulty or length of time it takes to ascend or descend. Often, it's during both the ascent and descent that we find ourselves walking and climbing alone. All that there is to accompany us is the path beneath us and God above us. This is when and where we hit our stride.

Successful people seem to suddenly burst out of obscurity. But this just isn't the case. They get interviewed, written about and invited to big conferences. Everyone wants a piece of them. Everyone wants to be there friend and on their blogroll. We notice them during there mountaintop moments. Very few people see them ascending and/or descending. Most people don't want to see them during these times...it can be ugly and revealing.

No matter how visible your mountaintop is or will be, always consider the path up and the slide down the most crucial. If you find yourself on the mountaintop, don't walk on plateaus. Find the path down so that you can scale another mountain. If you're in the valley, look up and move forward.


one love. one life.
Guy

Too often, I allow my expectations to be shaped by my perceived, circumstantial reality. I rationalize more than I believe, and I protect my expectations by minimizing my daily need for God. Of course, I have a sense of need of God in my life but in a macro sense; big picture sort of way. If God can take care of the big things, the big things he's supposed to handle, I'll handle the small stuff. Sounds a bit crazy, but it feels like I've been protecting my idea of faith in an attempt to avoid failure at all cost. After all, if God doesn't fail to come through, then my faith is working, right?
Therein lies the problem.
God doesn't need me to protect my faith by minimizing my need for him through doing things in my own ability. In fact quite the opposite is true. I need to risk it all and get too close to failure in order to overcome the fear that resides within. My expectation for what God can/will do within the margins of the small stuff must be great. I need to trust God enough to trust him all the time.
Luke 9:23...daily.

What small thing do you need to trust God with today?


one love. one life.
Guy

December 10th.
We are deep into it now. Especially given the fact that the Christmas season now starts in October...at least according to retailers.
Hopefully, you are engaged in the season by slowing down a bit, spending time with family and friends, creating memories and maintaining family traditions.
This year at the Delcambre house, we are trying our best to not let the season slip by. We want our kids to recognize and realize the critical reason for the season. Our goal was to spend time each night with a family huddle...talking about what's important right now. It's easy for Jesus to get lost in the shuffle when he has to compete with presents and a jolly fat guy who freely gives them away as each kid desires. For the record, we like the jolly, old fat guy. We're not anti-Santa.
But...we are conspiring this year.
What against?
The erosion of the story...of Jesus coming to earth to redeem a loser like you and me. We have introduced our young kids to Advent and its meaning.
Why? Because there a lot of other 'undeserving losers' like we were who are in desperate need of love, hope and redemption. Instead of celebrating through consumption and consumerism (buying, spending on frivolous and unimportant things) we have chosen to give presence this year. To be present in the lives of our neighbors both locally and globally. We are celebrating Jesus birth by living like him and loving with him. We are conspiring against traditions that have replaced the truest of Reasons for this season.

Join us.

What will you do?

adventconspiracy.org
rethinkingchristmas.com

one love. one life.
Guy