5 Things to consider as we enter 2012

Happy New Year!!

Here are 5 things to consider as we enter 2012.

1) Having a vision for where we'll be in a year from now matters a lot.  

What could God do in our lives in the next 365 days? If we were to become more like Jesus in the next year what would that look like? Let's use our imaginations.  2 Peter 1:5-7 is a great place to look to see some areas of growth.

2) If we want some things in our lives to change they have to be changed on purpose.

We have to conciously add in new habits and delete old ones in order to see any lasting change take root.  When Jesus says, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23 this is what he is talking about.  Denying ourselves involves saying "no" to our own selfish agendas. We have to find the habits/decisions that are harming us and others and replace them with habits/decisions that bring life.

3) Real changes will happen in our lives from small decisions made every day.

Once we've found out what needs to change, we have to choose those new habits... every day.  This is the hardest part for me.  It is a real challenge for me to do a new habit everyday.  This is where I have to focus my energy.  One thing that helps me is to remember the impact of everyday decisions.

Let's pretend that we are only reading the Bible once a week for 20 minutes. That equals 17 1/3 hours of Bible reading a year.

Let's say we try to read for 15 minutes each day but we only read 6 days a week.  That equals 195 hours of Bible reading a year! 

The same affect happens with exercise, prayer, giving, serving... whatever it is you're needing work on.

This is where we see this truth come to life: "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7

4) If we're going to focus on the things that matter we have to limit distractions.

I don't know about you but I have noticed the pull of distractions.  I'm sure the rise in available technology plays a big part in this.  But whatever it is, we have to learn to limit our attention so we can focus on the things that are actually important.  The inbox, the message alerts, texts, commercials, advertising schemes and whatever else is vying for our attention must be purposefully ignored. 

Somehow we need to carve time out to "unplug".  Maybe a "tech free" day.  Maybe an hour a day with no tech, whatever.  It's not that technology is bad, it's just that we can't help from being distracted by it... well, at least I can't. :)

5) This year will go faster than we think - so we need to get on it!

The Bible says, "what is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14.  I know I feel life moving faster each year.  Sometimes I think, "wow, my life is getting away from me." Every feel like that? 

Lori and I like to take some time to reflect on the past year and take a serious look at what needs to happen in the coming year.  We have found that writing/typing this out is important - because it keeps a record, it helps us stay accountable and most importantly it forces us to clarify things.  Not just leave them in vague generalities. 

Remember, we are on the planet for a reason.  Let's live for what we are created for this year.

Ryan