A Time to Renew – 2014

Jan 1, 2014 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

 

Launching into a new year it often causes us to launch into the new you. Although you have probably heard or read much on goal setting, resolutions, planning, etc., allow us to encourage you to do so. We probably won’t offer too many new insights but committing to do it is a huge step in and of itself. If we can help you make the jump to actually do it, we believe we have added value. If you are going to leave a legacy, you must be purposeful about who you are and it begins with a plan.

If we were coaching you, we would be working with you to ask what goals and plans do you want to see happen? What are you going to do about it? When will these be set? When will you commit to achieving these goals? What steps need to happen next, and then next, and then next to see these become a reality?

Let us remind us of the quote we used in last blog:

“It is necessary … for a man to go away by himself … to sit on a rock … and ask, ‘Who am I, where have I been, and where am I going?” ― Carl Sandburg

Find a time and place. Please see last blog for these recommendations in Review and Reflect.

Where are you going? If you read our last blog, you read about reviewing and reflecting on the past year. We believe in this, but suggest for all of us to not stop there.

We have been encouraged, and attempt to practice each year, to dream a little about the coming year. Here are some questions for us to ask, plans to make, and calendaring of events to make this year a great year:

• What are some dreams I would like to move closer to accomplishing?
• What family events or development would I like to see happen this year?
• What is on my bucket list, and what can I make happen this year?
• What goals would I like to achieve in a variety of areas of my life?
• How can I improve as a spouse and/or parent?
• What spiritual growth goals do I need to target?
• What physical goals do I need to set?
• What areas in my calling or career should I be looking to achieve more?
• What personal and professional goals should I be seeking?
• What other areas should I be planning and expecting God to work and open opportunities for me to improve?
• What do I need to do to make these happen?
  Who needs to know about these to help me to achieve them?
• When will I write them down and put these commitments on a calendar?
• What else do I need to think through, pray over, plan on, and put down in writing?

And finally, when will I sit down and answer some of these questions? A new year is kind of an opportunity for a do-over.

Do it well.

~Jim and Jerolyn

 

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What 60 Years of Marriage Looks Like – Part 1

Sep 11, 2013 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

Yesterday, Jim, our son, Shay, his wife, Haley, and I went to breakfast at a local café. It was a quaint little place with a toy train that continuously circled the rooms on a high shelf. As I looked around the café, I noticed a little elderly couple sitting across the room. He was dressed in a sharply pressed maroon dress shirt and slacks. She was wearing a Kelly Green suit with a matching tam on her head. They sat side-by-side at the table and both had their napkins tucked into the tops of their shirts to protect their clothes.

I quietly asked the waitress about them. She said they were in the café every day and always dressed to the nines. She called them a very sweet couple and said that the wife often asked about the cook and even went back into the kitchen to greet him.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of this beautiful couple. They were so dignified and yet so “at home” with each other. I didn’t see them talk once, but their silence communicated something special between them – a familiarity, a comfort, a oneness.

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