As I sat and prayed this morning, I talked with God and pondered the New Year ahead. It’s the first day of 2016 and I am filled with anticipation for great things to come! This is what God placed upon my heart for me in this coming year:
Be present, not preoccupied.
I spend much of my time thinking about what is coming next. When engaging in one task, I’m almost always thinking of what I need to do next, and after that, and after that. I’m often thinking about two or three different things at once. Most of what I do does not get my full attention and so things don’t get done as excellently as I plan. It is my hope that I will do all things with excellence, in honor of God. That includes my relationships, work tasks, and everything else I do. If I’m going to do those things with excellence, I have to give my full attention to whatever it is I’m doing at the time.
Be prepared, not in a panic.
I like to think I’m usually pretty well prepared, but there are times I procrastinate and then end up in a panic that could have easily been avoided. I’m working on using a planner to help me with this. I really want to think out my schedule and plan for what’s coming so I don’t ever get to a place of panic over what needs to be done or what’s coming next. I confess, my nightmares almost always include me having forgotten an appointment or event and having to pick things up on the fly. Not my strong suit!
Be in prayer.
Prayer isn’t easy for me. As I said before, I’m often thinking of what’s coming next instead of focusing on the task at hand. This is especially true for me regarding prayer. I’m asking God to help me with truly being still and knowing that He is God. I am asking for a quietness in my spirit when I seek Him, so I can hear from Him and not be distracted by the rest of my life. I spend an awful lot of time talking to God, but very little time comparatively listening in prayer. I want to hear from Him. I need to hear from Him.
Be purposeful.
I can be a really good time-waster. I can seriously sit down and watch 4 hours of Food Network without batting an eye. I can scroll on facebook for an hour and not even realize how long it’s been. I can play games on my phone and get through 10 levels in one day, easy. Those are really not the best use of my time. Is there anything wrong with watching television, scrolling through facebook, or playing games? No, but I spend an inordinate amount of time doing those things. And I need to be better about it. I want to be purposeful with my time. It’s a gift from God and I need to use it more wisely.
Pursue your passions.
There are passions that live in my heart that have been continually put aside for various reasons. Sometimes it’s fear of failure that keeps me from moving forward. Sometimes it’s work or family. Sometimes it’s just the unwillingness to put forth the effort to make things happen. My pastor once told me a story that comes to mind regarding this. He was attending a writers’ conference where the speaker asked for people who felt their passion to write came from God to raise their hands. He then told them that if they were not pursuing that passion that they were disobeying God – actually sinning against God. That is a strong statement that has hit me between the eyes. There are things that I know I’m supposed to do that I haven’t done. I have to pursue these passions in honor of God.
So, that is basically what I feel God is sharing with me about what He wants from me in the coming year. I’ll be given 24 hours in each day and I’m accountable for what I do with it! I urge you to pray and ask God what He wants from you in 2016. Let me know what He speaks to your heart by commenting here.
Blogtastic 