Before I say anything else about the new year. Lets remind ourselves of these three truths:
O N E: change takes TIME. Good change, the kind that lasts and is genuine doesn’t happen overnight. Change is a process And the process is necessary to develop strength in the change.
we don’t reap the harvest the same day we sow the crops.
T W O: remember there is GRACE. we can’t give up the moment we fail because we are going to do it the rest of our lives! If we give up we won’t get anywhere! Jesus has provided us the grace we could never offer ourselves and that’s something to be excited about.
T H R E E: start NOW, don’t wait. We don’t need to wait until January 1st to start a new goal or change our lifestyle. Don’t get to February , have a fumble and say “I messed this year up. Guess, I’ll try again in 2021.” No. Not a good idea. Just start now!
with that being said...
2020 begins tomorrow and I have been reflecting the past month on a few things I want to continue to grow in this next year.
I want to take time to reflect, to rest and let the God of the ages remind me of what I have to be thankful for.
I want thanksgiving to be my practice this year. I want thanksgiving to be my habit. I want to practice being thankful in the small things, in the mundane of everyday life. I want to dare to be thankful even in the hard things, the storms and chaos that come with this beautiful life.
I am currently in a season of life that I never thought I would be in. If you would have asked me my plans about 8 months ago it would not have been where I am now. Let me explain that this isn’t a bad thing, my current season isn’t a bad place to be, it just a season I wasn’t expecting. It wasn’t where I imagined I would be and I’m having a hard time adjusting.
Reality: My plans, which are weak and bent by emotion, don’t compare to the plans the Lord has.
Even though I’m in the midst of this hard growing season I can look for opportunity and I can be thankful for the path I’m on. I can wake up with a thankful heart overwhelmed with how the Lord has provided, sustained, and led me in the past. My circumstances don’t change the goodness and greatness of God. My circumstances change me and if I’m willing, mold and shape my heart to be servant minded by the grace Jesus has so graciously given to me.
so, I want this to be my reminder as 2019 comes to an end to cherish all the moments this last year held and as 2020 begins, an encouragement for the new year to come, that thanksgiving isn’t just one day of the year but it should be a lifestyle; a habit to be practiced. I don’t want to miss what’s around me because I refuse to seek the good. My flesh would rather moan and groan and focus on what’s wrong because for some reason the act of complaining ”feels good”. But this ”feel good” feeling is momentary. The pleasurable feeling I get when I just complained for hours or even days about what’s gone wrong in my life has left and now I’m empty with no truth to fill in the void.
When I feel all the emotions coming I just have to go to Jesus. Plain and simple. Tell him what’s going on, my irrational thoughts, my clouded emotions. He wants to hear my struggle. He wants me to tell him where I’m at even though he already knows. He wants to know you want to know Him and are wanting Him to know you.
So, I encourage you to think about these things! What has God brought you through? What has God provided for you? What can you do to spend more time with Jesus? What can you do to appreciate the everyday?
Pray over these things. Remember you have a good good father and be expectant!
you are loved and prayed for ❤