Goal

I had a goal for today. It was to reach my LOVE goal (yes, inspired by Pat Luna our Stepping Stones to the Future consultant ... I can hear her now, "We HOPE to raise this amount. We have FAITH that we will raise this amount. But, we'd LOVE [Alabama style] to raise this amount.").

I started out getting fit and losing weight 22 weeks ago (5 months). When I started the people at The Rush asked me why I wanted to lose weight and what my goal was. The why was pretty evident (I'll blog some before and after pics next week). My hope goal ("I hope to lose") was 50 pounds. As I approached that goal in March, I knew I could do better. I haven't grown taller since high school, so I set my LOVE ("I'd love to lose") goal of being at my high school weight of 177 (that would be a total loss of 70 pounds).

I had a goal for today. It was to reach my Love goal.

BIT: I've had another goal that I've been working on for some time. In 2008, in preparing to come to First Farragut, I started trying to get fit. I was running. As I remembered it, my celebration of greatest number of miles run in an hour was 6. So, I've been trying to reach that same goal 3 years later and at least 50 pounds lighter. I kept wondering why I wasn't able to do it.

Last week I achieved my goal. I ran 6 miles in under an hour (and then two days later I ran an average pace of less than 9 minutes per mile), only to find that my record wasn't what I remembered. (see http://brewsterbits.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-miles-hour.html). You don't have to take the link ... it was 5 miles an hour. I was working toward a goal that I had already achieved weeks earlier.

We have to set goals in order to work at our mission (purpose). The mission of getting fit and losing weight needs goals. The mission of raising money needs goals. The mission of running needs goals. The mission of the church ... needs goals. I shared with the Charge Conference last year that one of our goals as a church was to have an increase in worship attendance for 2011. I'm excited to say that we are on target to achieve this goal.

Goals challenge us. Paul has a goal that he shared in Philippians 3:10-12: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the GOAL; but I press on to make it my own."

Goals inspire us. Paul was all about inspiring people through difficult times ... inspiring them toward the goals. "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up."

BITTER: This morning ... I was one pound shy of reaching my Love goal of losing 70 pounds. So, spiritually "I press on for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." And I'll press on physically ... maybe Friday ... I'll find Love. BTW: If you see me running in your neighborhood ... Call me FLASH!