2016?

Have you thought about what your life might be like five years from now?  If I think back to five years ago, in 2006, I wouldn't have expected my life to look the way it does today.  In some ways, yes, but in other ways, namely my career, certainly no. 

I'm going to print this post, tuck it away, and see how different my life in 2016 is compared to my predictions today.

Here is how I see my life in 2016....

• In 2016, I will be 34/35 years old.  Claire will be in 2nd grade and Max will be in kindergarten.
• I think we'll still have two children, although there's a slight possibility we may have a third. In my mind I see this potential third child as a boy.  Another Mama's boy, no doubt. 
• We will still live in our current house and the neighbors behind us, who are the primary reason I'd ever move from here, are gone. :) The five trees we planted last summer are large, full, and thriving. 
• We are planning a kitchen remodel- new hardwood flooring, new cabinets, new appliances, backsplash, lighting.  We pay for it with cash.
• We will have no debt, other than our mortgage, meaning our vehicles and my grad school student loans are paid off.  We're still driving the same two vehicles we have today and are planning on buying our next vehicles with cash. (Can you see a theme?  I am vowing to not be tied to debt my entire life!).
• I am still working at Target and was promoted to a Senior Manager.  I enjoy what I do (like I do today). 
• Josh is a tough one..... I want to say that he has left Target and is busy full-time with Red.Sea. He is able to be home with our children during the summer and on school breaks.  That said, I can also see him still working at Target too.
• We continue to be involved with HOPE International and serve at our church in the childrens ministry.
• We are tithing (giving 10% of our income).  We are working towards this today but aren't there quite yet.  In five years I certainly plan to be.  We focus our giving on organizations that have a temporal and eternal impact-- meaning, they are overtly Christ-centered.  Today our giving is towards HOPE International, our church, and our local Christian radio station. I see us supporting the same three organizations five years from now as well.  Maybe we will also be supporting children through Compassion International (although I think Christ-centered micro-finance, such as HOPE International, is profoundly more impactful for children than sponsorships through organizations such as Compassion), that are Claire and Max's ages.  So when Claire opens the fridge and exclaims, "there is nothing to eat in here!!!", I can point to a picture of the child we support on the fridge and answer, "No, Claire, our friend _____ has no choices of what food to eat today.  You have plenty of choices."  Perspective and gratitude- if there is one thing I teach my children, it will be this (besides the truth about Jesus, salvation, etc, of course).  I digress....
• We take a family vacation every 12-24 months.
• We spend evenings and weekends watching our kids play soccer/baseball/softball games and in dance or gymnastics classes, but they are not overly scheduled and can just be kids and have plenty of time to play outside with their friends. 
• We are in better shape than we are today.
• We are happy, content, in love with each other and our children, and realize how blessed we are.  We use that gratitude to spread the GOOD news about Jesus and impact lives around us.

That's my vision for five years from now.  It's not necessarily a dream because I think all of it is attainable, especially if we set goals and work towards achieving them.  I can see God shaking his head and chuckling at me as I type these words.  As they say, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him what your plans are".  First and foremost, I pray that my children and family are healthy-- everything else would be icing on the cake.

So, what about you?  Where do you see your life in five years?