New Year's Resolutions

At the beginning of each year, many people make resolutions concerning how they can make their lives better in the coming year. Oftentimes, as life gets in the way, the resolutions fall by the wayside. This year, I would like to offer a different suggestion. Include God in your thoughts about how you could make your life better. Scripture is filled with instructions and encouragement. One of the main concepts is that if you put God first in your life, everything will fall into place, your life will be much better, and you will have peace. You may have some troubles, but with God leading you, He will give you the strength to persevere. May God lead you and guide you in all your endeavors during this coming year. 

One prayer you might say is, “Lord, I know You have a great plan for my life. I want to be open to receiving and participating in that plan. Help me to trust in You and not lean on my own understanding. Show me Your ways. You said that You would give me the desires of my heart. Please help me to line up those desires with Your plans for me. Thank you, Lord, for leading me and guiding me in all that I do. I pray in Jesus’ name.”

As I was preparing this post, I wondered what would make me happy and what steps or changes in behavior I would have to implement. I made a list. It is not overwhelming, but it does require commitment and living on purpose. So, I need to make the choice to live intentionally. I’m still working on the implementation of those ideas. I share this in case it would be a help to you.

Then I reflected on a time when I was trying to identify who I was. It was right after my divorce. I had played a variety of roles during the marriage, but then I wondered, “Who is Fran?” I couldn’t think of anything except that I believed that I was a loving person, so I wrote that on the top of a page. Instantly, I thought, if I am such a loving person, why is my life falling apart. I decided to see what God had to say about love, so I looked in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13. As I read God’s definition of love, I realized that I wasn’t really a loving person at all, so I crossed off what I wrote about myself and was left with a blank sheet of paper. Through the years, God has helped me grow in this capacity of love and my life has been better that I could have ever imagined since that time.

The lessons I learned are:

1.     That you really need to be honest with yourself about your motives, behaviors, and beliefs about yourself and others.

2.     That when you put God first in your life, He helps put everything in order, fills all your needs and gives you peace beyond understanding.

3.     You can trust God to take care of you.

4.     When you live intentionally, you get a lot more accomplished.

I hope that these suggestions will be a help to you as you begin this year towards living a more fulfilling life.

You Have the Power to Choose Your Destiny

Which road will you choose to follow in your life? Sometimes we feel overwhelmed with our circumstances or the cares of this world, but we don't need to be. We have been given a tremendous gift from God, our Creator. It is our minds. We are made in the image of God. As He is creative, we can be creative.

In a letter of encouragement from Paul to Timothy, who was facing trials and tribulations, (2 Timothy 1:7) Paul reminds Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. I get excited when I read those words. God has given each of us a spirit of power, love, and self-control! He has given us the Holy Spirit to live within us to empower us, to guide us, to counsel us. Think of that! The Holy Spirit of God living inside of each of us to help us every step of the way through our lives!

But how can we know, how can we receive what the Holy Spirit wants to share with us? We have to open our hearts and minds to listen. We can hear through studying Scriptures, listening to the Godly people that God puts in our lives, praying (just talking with God), making a decision to seek God first in your life and then pursuing the fulfillment of that decision, and taking time to listen. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to "be still and know that I am God".

In Philippians 2:5, Paul encourages us to have the same mindset as Christ. In my opinion, we need to learn to look at our circumstances and life through the eyes of the Lord. We can do this by reading Scripture and finding out the characteristics of the Lord, and then doing our best, with the help of the Holy Spirit to line our thoughts up with His.

Through the ages, many similar quotes to this one emerged. "Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

What beliefs and thoughts do we want to embrace so that we can have the destiny we long for?

If we focus our thoughts on the Lord, little by little, we will be transformed into the person God created us to be. If we choose to focus on the things of this world, we will not.

In a previous post, I quoted a poem by Edgar A Guest. "You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside; You are the person who makes up your mind. Whether you'll lead or will linger behind. Whether you'll try for the goal that's afar. Or just be contented to stay where you are."

I know that God's desire is to not leave you where you are. He wants to move you to a higher place: "For I know the plans I have for you, for good and not for evil, to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11.

God wants to have a relationship with you for eternity and He made a way for this to be possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the way the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

And my final scripture for this post is one that the Lord gave me at the beginning of my journey with Him. Amazingly, through the years, if people give me a spiritual-type gift, it relates to this scripture, so I guess it is the one I need to always hold onto. It is Proverbs 3:6-7 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will direct your paths." I wonder if I received this particular scripture because I am always trying to figure things out and God would rather that I trust in following His lead.

There are many scriptures to hold on to. The Bible is full of them as a means of instruction for each of us. In addition, I am sure that as each of you seek the Lord, He will give you the scripture that will help you the most in your life. As we journey through life, we have choices to make. You are the person who has to decide. Which roads will you choose?

Breath of Heaven - Reflections

Breath of Heaven is a beautiful song which is played at Christmas. One day as I was listening to it, I began to meditate and think about the words. Below, in parenthesis and italics are my reflections. I hope they encourage you to think about the words of the song and your role; how you can carry Jesus with you everywhere you go and in all you do, so that you can reflect God's love to all those you meet.

I have traveled many moonless nights

Cold and weary with a babe inside

(How often have we felt as if we were moving through life in the darkness of despair/hopelessness/fear? Feeling so tired of fighting to survive? And yet in our weakness, God has never left us nor forsaken us. [Deuteronomy 31:6,8 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you... And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed."]

And I wonder what I've done

Holy father you have come

And chosen me now to carry your son

(I have wondered myself: What have I done to merit the grace of God in my life. I could never earn this phenomenal grace. But it's not about me; it's about how much God loves me [and you - each one of us] [John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life] And all God asks of us is found in [Matthew 22:37,38 Jesus declared, love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself."] Just as God had chosen Mary to carry and give birth to Jesus, our Savior, God has chosen each one of us to carry His Son, Jesus, with us everywhere we go, so that as we reflect the love of God (Jesus), people will be drawn closer to God.)

I am waiting in a silent prayer

I am frightened by the load I bear

(How often are we in prayer, uncertain of the future, perhaps a little fearful to go forward to do what God has encouraged us to do?)

In a world as cold as stone

Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now

Be with me now

Breath of heaven (Holy Spirit)

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

(We can always call on the name of Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in all the truth and to empower us to do what God has asked of us. [John 15:7 "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you."])

Do you wonder as you watch my face

If a wiser one should have had my place

But I offer all I am

For the mercy of your plan

Help me be strong

Help me be

Help me

(How often do we feel inadequate? But God is not looking for the accomplished person, He is looking for the person who will surrender him/herself to the Lord, as Mary did [Luke 1:38 "I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May Your word to me be fulfillied..."; God is looking for the person who is available; who will seek Him, listen, and obey. [1 Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel said, "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice..."] If we give of ourselves, no matter how insignificant we may feel that is, it is not insignificant to the Lord. He will use it to fulfill His purposes. In the feeding of the five thousand, the little boy gave what he had - a few loaves and fish, and God increased it to feed the multitudes. God will do the same with us when we offer all we have, which is ourselves. And He will help us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord help me to be more willing to be willing to do your will, for in spite of any circumstances I may experience, I know you have a great plan for my life. [Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.")

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Writer/s: Amy Lee Grant, Chris Eaton

Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Capitol CMG Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Royalty Network

Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind