Tag: Goals

What We’re Doing – Including the Appalachian Trail!
Goals · The Scenic Route

What We’re Doing – Including the Appalachian Trail!

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If you know anything about my husband, you know that he LOVES to hike. One of his life-long dreams has been to hike the Appalachian Trail. He has done plenty of sections on the trail, but certainly nothing close to the whole thing.

If you know anything about me, you know that sleeping on the ground in the cold and eating dehydrated food with the possibility of bumping into a snake on the path is NOT my idea of a fun day! But recently I stood before my husband and I told him I would DO the Appalachian Trail with him and I meant it!

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Goals · Memorizing Scripture

A Birthday Challenge

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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!

Birthday lunch with my twin sister

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!

Biblical Womanhood · Christian growth · Goals · Uncategorized

A New Year’s Perspective

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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.

  1. What hindered my spiritual growth last year?  What moved it forward?
  2. What did God teach me last year?
  3. What did I see God do in answer to my prayers last year?
  4. To whom did I give my life the most?  Does this need to change?
  5. What activities did I participate in that I need to repeat this year?  Which activities should I consider removing from my schedule?
  6. What did I read least year?
  7. Did I spend too much time on social media, television or videos (You Tube, Netflix)? Do I need to set limits for myself?
  8. What creative outlets did I enjoy? 
  9. Did I get enough exercise?  What could help motivate me to do more?
  10. 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!

denise a

Refreshment · refreshment at home

Maybe It’s Time for Change

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living room 1b

If you’re a regular reader of Refreshher, you’re noticing a big change in the way my blog looks today!  I felt it was looking tired and needed to be refreshed.  So, with a bit of a nervous stomach (would I lose everything on my blog?!), I set out to change its appearance.  I’ve been wanting to do this for some time, and I finally took the plunge.

I have to admit that I had help! Whitney, my daughter from Come Home for Comfort was here visiting and helped walk me through the process.  She made it much easier to click the tabs that would bring about the change!

This blog is committed to helping others refresh their hearts, homes and lives..  With a brand new year before us, maybe it’s time to stop and look carefully around you and see what needs to be refreshed in your life. I’m not just talking about updating a blog’s appearance, but at the things that are at the very core of your life – your surroundings, your routines, the presentation of your home, for starters.

I remember that even the simple task of reorganizing tools in a drawer in my kitchen last year made baking so much easier! Sometimes just a small change can turn even the most simple things into pleasures! How could change in these three areas specifically help you in this new year?

  • Heart – Was last year as spiritually deep as you wanted it to be?  Did you find yourself more spiritually mature because of the steps you took to walk closely to God?  Or does your heart need to be more engaged with the things of God’s Word, prayer and spiritual growth?  If so, I encourage you to find a “Whitney” to help you.  Get a godly friend/leader at church/mentor to be your accountability partner to gently and lovingly prod you to move forward and to help you make the changes you need to make to allow this year to be spiritually fruitful.
  • Home – Is there an area in your house that you don’t love?  Is there a space that isn’t being used adequately?  A mess that needs attention?  Ask a decorating savvy friend to come over and give a hand in rearranging the furniture, organizing a messy closet or redecorating a space that’s drab!  Not only will they give you some inspiration, you’ll also have fun doing it with a friend!
  • Life – Are there relationships that need work?  Is your schedule so busy that you’re missing out on the simple joys God gives every day like cooking a meal for your family, enjoying a quiet evening at home, or reading a book just for the pleasure of reading?  Do you have goals that you can’t seem to reach?  Talk to a friend that manages their time well.  See if they can help you get some balance in your world.I remember last year talking to two people about desiring to carve out time to write.  I talked to both my husband and a close friend.  They both gave some great input.  I put their counsel into practice, and was able to accomplish so much!

Ask the Lord to bring godly, wise people into your path, and then glean from their wisdom so you can bring the changes that are necessary in 2018!

I get excited now when I open up my blog home page and see the new, fresh look!  What changes are you ready to make?

Denise Signature 150 px

P.S. Thanks for your help Whitney!!  You always inspire me!

Christian Life · Goals · Uncategorized

What to Do When You Don’t Reach Your Goals

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LG collage.jpg

My LG phone has set up a Health app for me.  I didn’t really want it, but I went ahead and set a goal of 10,000 steps a day.  The frustrating thing about it is that I don’t have my phone with me every second of the day!  There may be hours that it’s sitting on the counter charging while I’m running all over the house – upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, working like a horse, while my phone is sitting there sneering at me, not logging one single step.  At the end of the month I got the message you see pictured above,

You didn’t reach your goal last month.

It may be helpful to change your goal to 9,000.

But you know, even though I know that this app isn’t correct, this message made me think.  Sadly, I’m afraid that is my heart’s inclination when something is hard. Change my goal. You see, then I can feel better about myself.  We each have two choices ~

Lower the goal and feel good about me

or

Raise the bar and feel good!

That doesn’t apply only to physical health goals, it applies in all areas of life.  But let’s think about one area in particular – our Christian life.  Do we…

  • set a goal to read through the Bible?
  • sign up to attend a 12-week Bible study?
  • commit to witness to the lost?
  • agree to help with a ministry at church?
  • volunteer teach a Sunday school class?
  • realize we need to pray more?
  • pledge to give to Faith Promise missions or to tithe faithfully

Then things happen.  Life gets busy.  We feel overwhelmed.  We get caught up with other responsibilities and we carelessly lay aside the commitments we made.  We get the mental message:

You might want to lower your goals.

After all, it would be easier.  It would make life less complicated.  We might feel better about our self.

But not really.

When we have set a spiritual goal for ourselves and then the Holy Spirit brings it to our mind, unlike my Health app, He will always be accurate.  He knows.  He sees.  Oh, not to make us miserable, but to help us, like the 10,000 steps would benefit me.  He desires to bring us to a place of obedience.

So when you realize you’ve missed the goal, all you have to do is start again.  When this new month rolls around in a few days, I’ll have another clean slate with my LG Health app!  Our gracious God forgives and wipes the slate clean when we tell Him we’ve messed up again and we need His help! 

As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

What spiritual goal have  you set aside? What responsibility have you shirked?  Perhaps this post is the Lord’s gentle way of nudging you to get you back on track.  Confess it, ask for His help to do it, and then take the next step in following through. We don’t live our Christian life based on feelings, but when you obey He gives joy, so you will indeed be feeling better when you get back on track!

Oh, and look at the message I just got on my phone…

 

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Another lesson for me is, wear something with pockets so my phone will track every single step I take!!

Do you have spiritual goals you need to give attention to?  Start back today!

Denise Signature 150 px