A New Approach to New Year’s Goals

Every year at this time, I take time to review the goals I set the previous year and make new ones for the coming year. I typically set goals in five categories:

Professional
Financial
Physical
Personal/Family, and
Spiritual

In addition to goals in those categories, I also set three-year, five-year, and lifetime goals.

But this year, I decided to try something different. I wondered what it might look like if my goals were focused on partnering with God to cultivate more of the fruit of the Spirit in my life. What would that look like?

First and foremost, I know I must be faithful in prayer, and ask God daily to produce this fruit in my life. So that’s pretty much goal number one, the overarching goal. In addition, I outlined in my journal at least one (and in several cases, three or four) tangible goal(s) for the year that would, by God’s grace and with his help, increase my:

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

I thank God—and it is only by his grace—that this fruit is already present in my life because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life. But I’m excited to follow Christ this year in purposeful, focused, conscious ways to see if I can bear more fruit this year. It’s gonna be a great year!

Photo via Flickr

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Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler is a literary agent, an award-winning writer, editor, pastor, and speaker from southwestern Ohio. His thirty books, which include The Bone Box and American Idols (The Worship of the American Dream), have sold millions of copies. He has co-authored eleven books with Josh McDowell, including the best-selling Right from Wrong (What You Need to Know to Help Youth Make Right Choices), and the award-winning Don't Check Your Brains at the Door. He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and an Amy Foundation Award, among others. Bob is a frequent speaker at churches, conferences, and retreats. Bob was ordained to the ministry in 1980 by the Salvation Army and earned degrees in English Bible from Cincinnati Christian University and English Communications from Bloomfield College. In 2000, Bob (with his wife, Robin) helped to co-found Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford, Ohio. They have two children and four grandchildren. He has been a disc jockey, pastor, magazine editor, freelance book editor, and (with Robin) a foster parent to ten boys (though not all at once). They live in Hamilton, Ohio. You can follow Bob at @bobhoss.

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