2015

It's January.

 The month where everyone, well, mostly everyone, starts afresh, anew, with goals, ambitions...It has somehow become the time of year that we seek to change what we failed at, or start something that we have putting off for whatever reason: Losing weight, exercising more, etc., etc., etc.....

Admittedly, I was one of those with the intentions of using January
1 as a kick off place.  Then comes January 2, and all my well intentions are thrown out the window.
Why does that happen? Why do we start something that we think we should do, and then quit when obstacles come our way, or we choose wrong?
Maybe it's because it's OUR goals.  It's what WE want to do.
As Christians, our whole purpose on this earth is to bring glory to Him, the One who created us.  If we don't consider what His will is for us, or at least take the time to ask Him, all our planning and organizing is for naught.

A few moons ago, I heard of a different way to invite the new year in.  Instead of writing out goals, or resolutions, the idea is to chose a word that you can focus on to change an unwanted behavior, or what not.

Do you need help in the area of Faithfulness, or Forgiveness, or something else?  Choose a word that describes what area in your life you are needing to work on.

Last year was a totally different year than I have ever experienced before.  I was unemployed.  It started out as a necessity to help my ailing mother.  As she started to receive the care she needed from a nursing facility, the need for my constant help diminished.  I tried...really I did...to get a job, but I either didn't receive a call back from a submitted application, or I was turned down when they reviewed my resume.  I even 'failed' at a test given by a temp agency.  How in the world does one do that??

As a result, I lived the life of leisure.  I slept in, became a couch potato, watched a lot of TV and Netflix, and inadvertently, wasted a lot of precious time.

I had no discipline.  Sure, I tried to plan things out, to make my 'off' time more accountable, but I was selfish.  For my entire 22 year marriage, I had worked.  Full time.  Now, I was free as a bird, and I liked it.

But I was undisciplined. That word kept popping up.  Discipline. I wasted time, energy, resources, people....Such a disappointment I was to His Kingdom.

So, as I thought about it, the word Discipline became My One Word.

So, I have my word..now what.

The most logical place to find a way to practice this word, is to dig deeper in the Word.  I've purposed to complete some bible studies this year.  I need to be more disciplined in being in the Word, and there are a lot of new bible studies out there now that will help me in doing that...

Becoming: The Unfolding of You.  This bible study is created by Artist and self proclaimed 'Jesus Lover' Jeanne Oliver.  She and some of her friends are sharing stories and scripture to help others find who they are in Christ.  The first week was AWESOME SAUCE!!!
Fresh Start My friend in Michigan started this bible study to give scripture to help us live intentionally for the Lord. This is a good platform to start the year off with being intentional and disciplined in our relationship with the Lord.
Life Journal Reading Plan One thing I did purpose was to read the bible in a year.  This bible reading program in the YouVersion bible app is designed to read through the Old and New Testament at the same time...I like it.  Of course, I haven't gotten to Leviticus or Deuteronomy yet, ha ha.

We must remember that we are put here on this earth for His Glory.  Once we do that, everything else will fall into place.

Happy New Year!
~Blessings, Ann