"If you don't know where you're going, it doesn't matter which road you take."

Happy New Year!!  

Exactly.  Happy New Year.  

With each new year that seems to come and go - like most people - I think of New Year's Resolutions. 

What do I want to accomplish this year?  

This year is a little different for me than in years past.  New year, new marriage.  

I'm a few days behind - it's almost January 3rd - but I keep thinking about goals I want to set for myself and for my new family.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have one big, primary goal that I have  been taught as long as I can remember.  The goal to achieve eternal life.

Whatever goals I decide to set for myself and whatever goals Clayton and I decide to set for our family, the focus needs to be on our greatest goal - that of achieving eternal life.  Will the goals we set for ourselves this year help us be where the Lord wants us to be when we need to be there?  Will the goals we set allow us to be in positions to serve?  Will the goals we set help or hinder us when it comes to becoming parents?  Will these goals help us be an eternal family?  

What does the Lord want?  Does the Lord really care if I look awesome in a bikini?  Mmm - probably not.  But He does care that I am self-sufficient, am healthy, that I take care of my family, that I bring his children into a loving home and into an eternal family and teach them His Gospel.  The Lord wants me to come back to Him when my time here is through.  He wants ALL of us to come back to Him when we pass.     

 Here's a gem I found on lds.org.

When speaking to Latter-day Saint women, President Kimball also counseled us to set goals that require us to “reach and strain. … Growth comes from setting your goals high and reaching for the stars” (“Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign, Nov. 1978, 103). He also said: “We do believe in setting goals. We live by goals. … We must have goals to make progress” (regional representatives’ seminar, 3 Apr. 1975).

"If you don't know where you're going, it doesn't matter which road you take."

I still need to think of my specific goals for this New Year.  But I know what road I want to take.  

I want to take the Lord's road.  I want my husband by my side.  I want my future Clayton and Kortney Juniors to be there too.  And all of you.  :)  

I'm going to challenge myself to "reach and strain" this year.  I'm not sure how, but I know why.  I want to grow this year.  I want 2012 to be the best year yet. 

 (And NOT because the end of the world is December 21, 2012.....haha.)   

List of goals to come.  :)