I think when most people hear someone say “goal” they have one of two thoughts — either SCORE, as in the kind that flies into a net during the World Cup, or SCARED, as in “don’t make me think of the future.”

Of course, there’s the rare blend of personality types, like a choleric/melancholy temperament, who actually get excited about setting goals. In their God-given wiring, these natural goal setters are long-term thinkers with a knack for vision-casting and list-making. They delight in coming up with life goals that can be measured, marked off, and purposefully achieved. God has a place for these goal-setters, especially when they are yielded to His kingdom purposes and provide opportunities for others to join God in His work. And God also has a purpose for those who’d rather leave the goal setting to someone else.

Those who live “in the moment” offer a grounding for those bent on casting vision for tomorrow.

Consistent with how God made His body, each person in it has a role to play. {click to tweet}

So when it comes to goal setting, are you a goal setter or an in-the-here-and-now type of gal? Even more importantly, how does the way you’re wired in terms of goal setting impact how your parenting? Are a you vision-planner, sometimes worrier, trying to script your children’s lives? Or are you an easy-going, spontaneous soul bringing joy daily to your off-spring, but over the long haul they may feel directionless?

No matter where you fall on the goal-setting continuum, what if you approached goal setting in light of God’s sovereignty, and embarked on it purposefully and prayerfully?

Really, most of us are busy goal setting even when we think we’re not! When you allow the Spirit of God to whisper a direction or conviction into your soul and then you choose walk in faith in that direction — well, that’s goal setting. When you recognize a place of sin in your life and pursue repentance before God, that’s goal setting. When you look at your resources and decide how to spend what you have and save for what you don’t, well that’s goal setting, too.

So what if we took time, maybe an hour every few months to evaluate how where living and what needs to change? What if we considered the attributes of God and what it would look like to develop those in ourselves? What if we consider the priorities of God and built a lifestyle around those principles? What if instead of begging God to change us or our circumstances, we took the time to pursue in-the-flesh, led-by-the-spirit change over defined period of time?

Do you know what happens when you set goals and cast vision, humbly and prayerfully before God? Well, you’ll end up seeing God move in your life! And when you see God move, you’ll see your faith grow too!

As followers of Christ, choosing to set goals should really be about embracing God’s everyday purposes while yielding to His eternally perfect plan.

So will you choose to set some reasonable, measurable, and purposefully prayed over goals for you and your children?

You can download the “Choose Your Goals” resource available for FREE at elisapulliam.com to help you set some goals for yourself and your family.