Twelve in 2012

{Troubles in Blogland: On several occasions now I have written posts that proceed to spontaneously delete themselves. The frustration makes me want to plain quit sometimes. Alas, I continue and try again. Those posts do always seem to be the most wordy, can-she-spit-it-out-sometime-today writings. Here I go again with what I hope to be a more succinct, pleasant read, even though it may not have the same sassiness and passion of the original post.}

My last post has me thinking about priorities.

Did you ever read that email forward about priorities; the one that describes to put the rocks (most important) in the jar first, followed by the pebbles (those things of moderate importance), and last the sand (least important)? It says if you put the sand in first, there will be no room for pebbles and definitely not rocks. However, if you put rocks in first, there will be room between them for pebbles, and plenty of room yet for sand.

The next year is going to be a big one. The Year I Lived In Korea.

I want it to be good, to be great really. I believe it will help to prepare some goals, just to make sure all the big rocks fit. I've made my Thirty Before 30 list, and it's going pretty well. This will be a tangible way of fitting some of those things and a few others into 2012.

Twelve in 2012:

{First, I need to frame my 365 1/4 days so they don't slip away from me without meaning.}

1. Read Scripture first. I always feel better when I do this. When I do other things first, my day just becomes a mess. I need this to be healthy and centered.

2. Write right away. I love to write here, in my journal, and on my up and coming children's education website. Why do I always put this on the metaphorical back burner? Or sometimes off the stove entirely! I write best in the morning, and I want this to be my second priority in the day. It is after all the very work I feel inspired to do in this season.

3. Use afternoons for to-do's, to-make's, dog to-walk's, body to-exercise. I am most productive in the afternoon with a lot of quick tasks to check off. I don't do this well in the morning because, after all, I have the whole day to get them done.

4. Use evenings for relationships: to spend time with Husband, make new friends, and enrich relationships with family and friends through phone calls and Skype.

{Next, I want to make sure my year in Korea is characterized by the adventure it should be.}

5. Explore Korea. Don't sit at home watching TV (not that we'll have one...a TV doesn't quite work with our allotted 600 pounds of household goods) when I could be out experiencing this new culture!

6. Embrace travel. Travel Korea and to other countries, too, like Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand. I might never get another chance to be in this part of the world. I want to embrace the opportunity.

7. Eat. I don't want to be a glutton. I just want to enjoy the food and the eating without worrying about food journals or calorie calculations. I have kept this weight off for over a year. It's time to tune in to my stomach full time and enjoy eating the way it was designed to be enjoyed.

{I hope for a year of heart and head transformation.}

This is a 30 mm bullet (actual shell, replica -uh- whatever the top part is called...). Matt has hundreds of these at his disposal in the gun of the A-10!

8. Support my husband. Sometimes I forget he will have the task of defending South Koreans and their way of life. I am so proud of him for offering his skills on their behalf. However, I'm sure our whole worldview is about to change drastically. Also, I'm so glad we're bringing the little dog because Husband is going to be really busy at work. Thank goodness there will be other wives there who can become my insta-friends!

9. Volunteer in a Korean orphanage. I don't know exactly what this will look like, but I am so convinced I should go there.

10. Love God. I want to learn to love God just because he's God, not because of what he will do for me or because I want to go to heaven.

11. Trust God. I want to learn to trust God with the next ten minutes. Even with this list, I long to recognize that I plan my course, but God determines my steps. I don't want to get wrapped up in doing all these things this year or next year or in my life. I just want to trust God with what he's offering me for these next ten minutes.

12. Prepare for the next chapter God has in store for us: The Year I ________.