By Sandra Mann
While making up a menu recently a thought struck me that my dinner preparations and goal accomplishments were similar. I will sit down and think about what I want to do, be, change, or have and come up with some goals that will help get me what I want. This is just like planning my meals for the week.
First I make a menu. I will want to make sure I have nutritious meals that will satisfy my family and hopefully provide leftovers for my husband’s lunch the next day. My goals will also need to be worthwhile and in harmony with the over-all plan for my life’s ambitions with plenty of joy and blessings to share with others.
Some of my meals are planned for busy days and are quite easy to make while others are more involved. For example, I can cook some pasta, open a jar of spaghetti sauce, grab the spinach and carrots out of the fridge and make some toast with garlic butter on it and have a meal on the table in 45 minutes. On the other hand, there are times when a special meal is more appropriate. I’ll get up early and grind some wheat, peel potatoes and make a fresh fruit salad.
Next I’ll get the turkey out of the refrigerator that has been thawing for two days so that it will cook evenly and thoroughly. I will clean it, season it and put it in an oven bag to bake. It’s time to start making the rolls now because they need to rise. My family likes potato parker-house roles that have been buttered before they are baked. The deviled eggs will be made from the eggs I boiled yesterday and look great with paprika sprinkled on them. I better not forget a jar of pickled beets that I canning during the summer.
Add a relish tray and homemade mashed potatoes and gravy and the meal looks great. Oh, and for desert, fresh peach cobbler will be just right. (Are you hungry yet?) I have now spent hours in the kitchen and days of preparation while my family is drooling from the smells and volunteering to set the table so we can eat soon.
Finally, I will serve a meal that my family will eat until their stomachs are stretched to the limits. They will wear big smiles on their faces the rest of the day.
Accomplishing my goals seems to be a lot like preparing my meals. Like parts of the dinner, there is a required amount of time for all goals to be met and their benefits to be seen and felt. Some parts are completed right away. They may be easy for me to do, or things just fall into place without much effort. Other parts seem to take forever.
Some are harder for me to get a handle on, or I may have to overcome some fears or limitations within myself. In some cases, part of it might not go smoothly and I have to work harder to get where I want to be.
The accomplishment of these latter types of goals is usually much more satisfying. I feel stronger and more grateful for the experience and have usually learned something valuable that will help me with future endeavors. They may take longer but are worth the wait and can give me a bigger appetite for better things to come.
For more on this topic, click here to read Hidden Treasures: Heaven’s Astonishing Help with Your Money Matters FREE.
- Time to Organize - July 23, 2008
- Little Red Reading Hood - July 19, 2008
- Achieving Goals like Making Dinner - July 19, 2008
