“What are you looking at?” isn’t just a question for when you’re staring out the window. It’s a good question to ask yourself from time to time. It’s important because what you’re looking at and seeking for is a huge indicator about your heart.
Continue reading “What Are You Seeking?”Category: Goals
A Birthday Challenge
Birthdays have always been special days in my life. My family made a big deal of them when I was a child, and I’ve kept that tradition with my family as well. Breakfast in bed has been a fun tradition. Special meal, cake and gifts are a part of the day as well!
It’s a great day to celebrate, but for me it’s also a great day to reflect on the past and make some good goals for the future. I probably do this more on my birthday than on New Year’s Day.
This past weekend as I celebrated another birthday, I connected my goals for the next year with what the Lord has been saying to me in my Bible reading. In
II Chronicles, I had read about Josiah uncovering the Books of the Law and lamenting that the Word had not been obeyed. He loved God’s Word and longed to follow it because He loved the Lord and sought after him.
I was convicted that my life doesn’t always show my love for the Scripture. Oh, I read it every day and it changes me, but I realized that I have gotten very lazy with Scripture memory. If I really loved it, wouldn’t I be pouring it into my heart? I read about a group of people who had been saved and their lives were radically changed. They loved God’s Word so much that it wasn’t unusual for them to memorize the entire New Testament! Do I love God’s Word so much that I want large doses of it in my mind, or am I satisfied with status quo? I was convicted and challenged!
So on my birthday, I asked the Lord to give me a greater hunger for His Word. I began that day to memorize Colossians 3. Three days later, I’ve gotten through verse 3! My goal is to memorize one verse a day, which means in 25 days, I’ll be finished with the chapter! This has been my pattern in the past, and I’m asking the Lord to help me stick with this and memorize this precious passage of His Word.
Another goal I have is to memorize Psalm 63 this year. This is the psalm for my age and there are only 11 verses! Listen to verse 8 ~
My soul followeth hard after thee; thy right hand upholdeth me.
How good is that?! I long for my soul to follow hard after the Lord this year! What a precious remembrance that His right hand upholds me! Whatever comes to my life, He holds me!
I’ll keep you updated about my Scripture memory progress as the month passes. How about you? Are you memorizing Scripture? What method do you have to hide God’s Word in your heart? Though we have so many means to have the Bible at our fingertips, we can’t always get to it. What if you’re sick? What if your phone is separated from you? We need it in our hearts!
Refresh your love for the Scrirptures!
Why I Can Be Thankful for 2020
In early January 2020, my husband and I went away for a day and a night to plan for the year. Tucked away in a secluded place, we scheduled each month’s activities, ministries and leisure times. I even had the audacity to write them in my planner in INK! I knew that the Lord would allow what He desired to come to pass…but I am pretty sure I was expecting most of what I planned to happen the way I penned it. Of course, it looked much different than we had carefully mapped out.
Am I bummed about that? In no way.
Were there disappointments? You bet! Here are some of them…
65th anniversary partyBeach vacationt
Attending the Ladies Prayer Advance
Speaking at The Wilds for Ladies’ retreat
Easter services/events
Going to Dollywood Amusemen Park in Pigeon Forge
Thanksgiving with my parentsChristmas services/events
Like you, that’s just a sampling of cancellations, but when I look back on 2020, I learned so much that I don’t want to forget, and I experienced things I want to praise the Lord for. Here are some of those things…
- Greater times in the Word and prayer. He taught me so much about trusting Him, not worrying and relinquishing my plans to His perfect will as I spent time with Him.
- Having a real life visual of James 4:13-17 and seeing the folly of making plans and holding them too tightly.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. - A greater appreciation for gathering each Sunday at church. Once the doors opened again, my heart was overwhelmed at the blessing of being WITH my brothers and sisters in Christ. Zoom was nice, but it felt so wonderful to be together as a church family.
- Creative opportunities to serve others. Delivering loaves of bread and cinnamon rolls, making “curbside visits”, sending cards, and having Zoom cooking classes were a few ways the Lord gave me the chance to serve others.
- The Lord taught me that His plans and His ways are greater and higher than mine. He brought other times of rest than we had planned. He gave different kinds of fellowship and encouragement.
- A reminder that we are living in the last days. The last days began right after Jesus’ resurrection, and we’ve all been looking for Him to come in each of our lifetimes. Does that mean He isn’t coming? Hardly. It means we’re another year closer to standing before Him face to face. If He doesn’t come while we’re alive, we are each one year closer to the time of our own death. That means we need to be ready. The pandemic has reminded me of the evil that will prevail during the tribulation and how gullible people will be when the anti-Christ comes swooping in to “rescue” them in their desperate situations.
Psalm 85:8I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
I didn’t enjoy some of the hardships of 2020, but it would be foolish of me to be derogatory and curse the year when the Lord taught me so much. Will I dare to return back to the folly of my “old ways?” I don’t want to be the same when this whole trial is over. Do you?
Whether 2021 is full of blessing or trial, I know this…God will be faithful…and we’re one day closer to seeing Him. Are you ready?
Happy 2021!
A New Year’s Perspective
Newly fallen snow is a lovely reminder to me of January 1st.
Everything is fresh.
No footprints have been stomped out before us yet.
All is still with only fresh paths before us.
Each day we trod forward, one day at a time, and make our way through the year until we come to December 31. It’s a blessing to turn around and look over our shoulder and see the path that the Lord has cleared for us and just exactly where He’s brought us.
I’m not really one to make resolutions, but I do love to look behind me and see what needs improvement and then look before me with a prayer that the Lord will help me make necessary changes by His grace.
Here are some things I’m considering that might inspire you as you step into the snowbank of 2020.
-
What hindered my spiritual growth last year? What moved it forward?
-
What did God teach me last year?
-
What did I see God do in answer to my prayers last year?
-
To whom did I give my life the most? Does this need to change?
-
What activities did I participate in that I need to repeat this year? Which activities should I consider removing from my schedule?
-
What did I read least year?
-
Did I spend too much time on social media, television or videos (You Tube, Netflix)? Do I need to set limits for myself?
-
What creative outlets did I enjoy?
-
Did I get enough exercise? What could help motivate me to do more?
-
What area of my life brought the most joy? The most frustration?
These would be some great questions to pray about and later to ask your spouse or a close friend. Some good discussion and accountability could follow!
Enjoy the snow (the fresh New Year) before you. It has some wonderful opportunities to witness what God can and will do through you!
Refresh the way you approach the new year.
Happy New Year Friends!
Two Questions To Shape the New Year
2019, Here We Come!!
There are a ton of questions we could ask ourselves as we approach a new year. Some of the old standard questions are still excellent ones, but I’ve been pondering just two in the last couple of weeks. Ready?
- What do I wish I had done more of in 2018?
- What do I wish I had done less of in 2018?
I think those two simple questions will really encompass all those other goals, needs, and relationships we want to make better this coming year. It covers the priorities and the people we love, as well as the habits and idols we need to rid from our lives.
When I asked myself those two questions, here’s what pierced my heart ~
What do I wish I had done more of in 2018?
- Prayer
- Scripture memory
- Reading of books
- Writing of my own book
- Exercise
- Connection with family
- Discipling
What do I wish I had done less of in 2018?
- Worry – The prayer could have taken care of that!
- Screen time – Phones are needed and a blessing, but some days it feels like an appendage. This is hard because I blog and do videos for You Tube, but it’s something I really want to get a handle on this year!
Both lists have other bullets, but these are the crucial ones, ones I’m taking to the Lord in prayer as I begin a new year. One prayer I repeat over and over is,
Lord, I want my life to count for You.
I believe if I do more of what’s right and less of what’s keeping me idle, my life can count for Christ.
Oh that I may say like Paul, For me to live is Christ… Philippians 1:21
So, how would you answer those two questions? Perhaps they can guide you as you ponder how the Lord would want you to live this next year as He grants us the breath to do so. James 4:15
Refresh yourself in this new year!
RefreshHer 