I’m a Christian on a mission to love God and live for Him. My heart’s desire is to walk so closely with God His Spirit is reflected in all I say and do. As I yield to Him, moment by moment, day by day, He’s transforming me into the wife, mom, daughter and friend He created me to be.

I didn’t always have this single focus. My list of goals was long. Perhaps you can relate.

Love God and live for Him.
Be a loving wife and mom.
Have an organized, happy home.
Facilitate strong workshops.
Have a fit, well-dressed body.
Positively impact family and friends.
Create beautifully scrapbooked photo albums.
Learn another language.
Volunteer in Sunday school.

I kept falling short.

My quiet times were amazing some days and non-existent the next.
I was controlling, critical, and crabby instead of loving, patient and kind.
My junk drawers and piles were out of control.
I gained ten pounds.
I hadn’t created a family scrapbook in ten years.
Foreign language cds sat unopened, collecting dust.

I longed to be a woman of exceptional qualities – one who reflected God’s Spirit. But my flesh kept getting in the way. I yelled when I should have spoken softly. I ranted when I should have raved about God. I reacted in my flesh when I should have responded in the Spirit.

Then it happened. One ordinary morning, God transformed my living room into a sanctuary as he spoke to my heart. In the game of soccer, when do you score a goal? God asked.

This seemed like an odd question, but I sat up straighter. God had my undivided attention.  You score when you kick the ball in the net.

God continued. Yes, and if soccer is an analogy to the game of life, when do you score?  What is considered a goal?

I began to recite my list. When I do things to know and love You; be a good wife and mom; have an organized, happy home; facilitate strong workshops; have a fit, well-dressed body; do things to positively impact family and friends. . .

God interrupted. Wrong.

Wrong? I questioned.

Yes, wrong. There is only one way to score in the game of life. It is to know Me, love Me, serve Me.

Only one goal? I couldn’t believe it. Even though I put God first and was choosing to take Him along as I tried to score in all those areas, they were still separate goals and I was in control.

God went from being one more thing on my to do list to the creator of my to do list and the focus of every task.

I finally understood why some days I didn’t make time for God. I had so many ways of scoring goals it was often the most urgent or pressing ones that got my attention. If my boys woke early, I gave them my time and focus. If I stumbled over dirty clothes, I did laundry. If I remembered an e-mail I needed to send, I went to my computer.

I was excited to share this one goal idea with my family. For our next object lesson, we drove to a soccer field where rows of nets line the field. I explained each net represented a different goal – good grades, time with God, listening to Mommy and Daddy and so on. Then I told them to go score goals in the game of life. As they ran I hollered, “Great goal, but don’t forget you need to score in the area of . . .”

It didn’t take long before my oldest son declared, “I’m exhausted!  Is that your point?” It was a great point. We do get exhausted when we run around trying to score in lots of different areas. We sat on the field and opened our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 5:9, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” God’s Word tells us we have only one goal in life – pleasing God.

I sent my boys back on the soccer field to score in the one goal that matters – loving God and living for Him. I explained as we keep our eyes on this one goal, God will transform us into the students, siblings, friends . . He created us to be. They had energy to spare as they laughed and ran scoring on our only goal in life – loving God and living for Him.

One God. One Goal. Love Him. Live for Him. This is my life’s mission. It is my family’s focus. I am choosing to serve God continually. Not occasionally or when I feel like it or when things are going well . . . continually.  It’s not about me and my spirit; it’s about God and His.  I choose to yield day by day and moment by moment to the remarkable Spirit I have within me. I keep choosing to do less and allowing God to do more. I don’t do it perfectly, but I go to the One who is perfect. He is transforming me into the person He created me to be. One who knows Him, loves Him, lives for Him.