Prep: A sheet of paper for each member of your family or a copy or two of the "My Goals This Week" worksheet found below. A large sheet of poster board.
Lesson: Start off by telling the story of Lot and his wife to your family. The story can be found in Genesis 19. Lot and his wife lived at the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, two very wicked cities. The Lord warned Lot and his family to flee the city, as it was about to be destroyed. He told them to go and not look back. Lot and his family were less than immediately obedient. They barely escaped the destruction with their lives. When the Lord cautioned them not to look back, He was telling them to repent of any wicked doings they had committed and to move on with life in a righteous and wholesome direction. Lot's wife did not obey. Not only did she look back, her grievous sin was that she wanted to go back.
In the January 2010 Ensign, Elder Jeffrey R Holland gave a message entitled The Best Is Yet To Be. He speaks about how faith is an action that can only be completed by looking forward, to the future. You can't have faith pertaining to things that have already past. For example, you must have faith that prayers can and will be answered before they are actually answered. Otherwise, you simply reap the blessing and not the blessing and the testimony. He gives council on forgiveness, forgetting and leaving the past in the past, and looking forward to the future with anticipation and faith.
Goals help us do just that. By setting goals, we are giving ourselves something to work towards. Goals are things of the future, not the past.
Activity: Have each family member make a list of goals to accomplish over the next week. These should be plausible and not impossible to accomplish. Things such as "doing all my chores without being asked" or "cleaning out the junk drawer" are good examples. Don't set a goal so lofty there is no hope of getting it done. "Deep cleaning the house" is probably not a good week-long goal. Then, as a family, set some more long-term goals. Write them on the poster board. What would you like to accomplish this summer? A household project? A vacation? Whatever it is set the goal to accomplish it. Then comes the important part... make a plan on how you will get it marked off your "To Do List". If it's a vacation that you need to save up for, maybe the goal of collecting $10 a week from the family is a good goal. Kids can take some of their allowances (if they get them) and put them aside to help pay for the expenses of a vacation. Or make a deal that they won't get to buy anything from the store, but instead put that money into the vacation fund. You will have to figure out what works for your family. If you are incredibly ambitious make a family 101 in 1001. Or make Bucket Lists. Remember, whatever the goal is, make sure it is something that is attainable.
Treat: Ice Cream Sundaes or a cute football or soccer themed cake. If you do a cake, you can use a cake mix, vanilla frosting colored green and black licorice to make the the markings on the field.
