Goals for 2024

I'm grateful for the blessings of life. I'm looking forward to a new year, new adventures, and opportunities to grow. I'm happy with previous progress and where I'm at, but I want to continue to improve and be better. I feel that some of the places I need to focus are:

• more meaningful prayer, conversations, and relationships
• more time quietly pondering and journaling, recording inspiration and insights daily
• more time writing my personal history and less time writing book reports
• more patience
• more faith and trust in God
• more charity and love for God and all of His children
• more exercise and better health
• but all of this while doing less, not feeling like I have to do everything (more simplicity and focus) ;)

This all sounds quite a bit like Phillip Bliss's words from "More Holiness Give Me":

More holiness give me,
More strivings within,
More patience in suff’ring,
More sorrow for sin,
More faith in my Savior,
More sense of his care,
More joy in his service,
More purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me,
More trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory,
More hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows,
More pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.

More purity give me,
More strength to o’ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains,
More longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy—
More, Savior, like thee.

Along with the goals to focus my time and heart better on the Lord and His purposes, I'm looking forward to more time traveling, reading, hiking, and building meaningful relationships. <3