Have a blessed New Year!

As we start a new year, it would be good to set some goals for yourself and your family. To begin with, you may want to write down a short statement that encapsulates your purpose for life, for example, "To touch lives for God". Ask God for a theme verse to guide you in the new year. You could meditate on this verse and ask God how it should apply to your life.

There are seven aspects to consider in your goals setting. You could add on. For each, write down a couple of measurable goals you want to accomplish next year.

1. Spiritual: You may aim to read the entire Old Testament by end 2011. Or perhaps set aside time once a week to fast and pray for certain needs.

2. Professional: You may want to include specific courses you would like to attend to help you in your professional development. Or perhaps being able to move into another area of work.

3. Finance: You may want to consider how much to save each month. Or perhaps reconsider some of your investment options.

4. Family: You may want to consider what you hope your family can accomplish together this year. It could perhaps be the salvation of one particular member of your family or spending time together once a week to have family devotional time.

5. Home: You may want to consider delineating home responsibilities for each member of the household to accomplish.

6. Leisure: It could be reading a certain number of books/magazines. Or perhaps pick up a new sport/hobby.

7. Health: It could be exercising three times weekly or taking fruits after every meal.

Whatever your goals, they should be measurable and realistic. That is, by the end of the year, you should be able to note down whether those goals have been accomplished.

Finally, let me leave you with a few quotes to encourage you in your endeavours.

“There are infinite possibilities in little beginnings if God is in them.”

“What you are is God’s gift to you; and what you make of yourself is your gift to God.”

“You are God’s project and God never fails.”

“Success is progressive realization of worthwhile goals.”

Wishing each of you a blessed and fruitful New Year!