What kind of legacy are you leaving your children, and if you don't have children, what kind of example are you leaving your friends and family? Can you do better? Have you ever thought about what it takes to make a beautiful character that will be remembered for the ages?
Happy New Year! ...Or is it? Have you asked yourself if you are happy and excited about this New Year or do you fear the same old stuff will get in the way of the better life you had imagined? When you look at your own character and your own track record, what do you see? Do you see accomplishment and progress or failure and backsliding? Do you see consistency and focus or sporadic efforts and distracted attention? Bottom line: do you want to do better, do you want to be better and do you want to feel better about where you stand? Well, stay with us!
Happy New Year! Happy new beginning! Happy new opportunity to resolve to make changes in your life once and for all, only to be shot down later by the steady force of habit, life and expectations later…wait a minute...that’s not happy! The truth is, for most of us a new year and a new beginning spells disaster and defeat. How can we approach change in a way that offers different results? Well, stay with us – we have a few ideas and a textbook (the Bible!) to back them up!
Time for a Christian Questions pop quiz! Who here in our listening audience is so satisfied with their Christian life that they see no need to focus on further change or development? As you look at your life and imagine yourself before Jesus would he say to you – wow, your character is so fully developed, your prayer life is so complete and your sacrifice of your will is so overwhelmingly perfected that you can stop trying – just relax, for you are the perfect example of my disciple! No? Well, then what are we doing about it? Are you resolving to change, but more importantly, are you keeping your resolve?
In just two days we will begin yet another new year. With it comes new experiences and new opportunities to make a difference in our own lives, as well as the lives of others. Many people make “New Year’s Resolutions” and most don’t keep them. Why? Why don’t resolutions usually work? Stay with us and find out!
Did you ever stop to think how much of our lives are built around our habits? The words we use, the thoughts we think – driven by habit. Our morning routine...a habit. The time we arrive at work...habit. Our actions and reactions to our co-workers...habit. What we eat, where we eat, how much we eat...all connected to habit. How we treat our spouse, our family, our friends and acquaintances – you guessed it – all connected to habit. So, if such a large portion of our lives are based in habit, then we ought to understand what makes a habit and most importantly how to better our habits!
Two weeks ago, on New Year’s morning, we did the first part of this program and laid out the importance of getting our thoughts and attitudes right in order to be able to execute the kind of changes we want to have stick in our lives. Thoughts and attitudes – they are the internal part of the equation. The second part – the external part - are our words and actions which not only hold a direct link to thoughts and attitudes, but they are also the barometer by which we are judged by those around us. Stay with us as we look into the life-altering power of words and the world-shaking power of actions!
(Part 1 of a 2-part series) Happy New Year! Another year in the books – for some of us, we may look back and think “I’m glad that’s over!” For others we may look back and think, “I’m glad that happened!” For all of us, I hope we look forward with hope and anticipation for God’s will and blessing in this new year. As we begin 2012, let’s take some time and talk about what it takes to make the kind of changes in our lives that will actually be meaningful and hopefully permanent steps forward towards a more effective life as a child of God.
Happy New Year! It is 2011 and it is a new beginning – at least for the calendar anyway. What is your year going to look like? Do you have any changes planned? Is this the year that you will finally – well, you know, is this the year that you will finally – (now fill in the blank...) With a new year usually comes a review of what has been and a preview of what we would like to have happen. My question to you is this – along with your thinking about changes with your job, your home, your car, your weight, your habits etc., are you thinking about changes in your Godliness – are you thinking about how you can finally really make your faith be stronger and healthier? Stay with us as we talk about our thinking - how it works and how to elevate it to a higher spiritual level!
Yes, it IS that time of year once again when we tend to take stock of what has happened over the past year or years and look forward to the New Year with thoughts and intentions of change, growth and betterment. All of this sounds very good, it sounds very noble and we even get excited about it, yet as we enter the New Year, we find that we are faced with an impenetrable truth – that is, our circumstances are the same. In spite of our desire for better, we still are living in the same house, driving the same car to the same job… Sound depressing? Actually, it’s not because what this does is reveal to us those things that we can truly change and that is the best news you will hear all day! Stay with us as we look into a biblical perspective on true changes in our lives.
