Where Are You Going?

 

I am a person who loves making new year's resolutions.  I love the idea of a fresh start, a brand new year to start over and dream big and be made new.  Usually I have my goals and plans made and laid out by New Year's Day so I can immediately dive in. But this year we are in the second week of January and I am still struggling to lay down some goals and make plans towards pursuing them.  It isn't for lack of things I want/need to change or lack of inspiration.  I think instead what has been happening for me is too many things that I want to pursue.  Now that we have the blogosphere I have seen tons of ideas of challenges that I want to join in on.  The problem with this is my head is swimming with information and changes that I long to see in my life but I'm so divided between different paths that I have no direction to pursue.  I fear that I will have all the best intentions and yet no substantial disciplines in order to see change.  So I am searching for some quiet time alone where I can search my heart and listen for what I need to focus on this next year.

Here are some questions from Sally Clarkson's blog, www.itakejoy.com, that I plan to walk through as I evaluate what direction I need to pursue this year.

*Evaluate what are the good habits and what are the bad habits that you practice and how they influence your soul, and your heart and consequently, your worship of God, as we are commanded to worship Him in our minds.

*Make a plan of how you will grow in wisdom, beauty and truth this year.  What will you read? When will you have a quiet time?  What do you need to stop doing?

*Make a plan for all the ways you will pour beauty, goodness, wisdom and truth into your children this year.  What books and stories will you read to them? When will you have devotionals with them?  How do you need to change to reflect love and graciousness to them so that they will form their relationship habits on gentleness and generous love?

*What do you need to focus more on investing instead of just passing time with emptiness? (internet, television, computer, etc)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask it of God who gives to all men

liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

I hope if you too are still searching for some direction this year that these questions will help you to think through what changes you would like to make in 2012.