I have to say I got out of bed this morning with a little pep in my step. You are probably like "Are you crazy?" but no, seriously! I know it's a Monday morning and the Monday after Christmas break, but instead of being filled with dread, I woke up filled with excitement.
I love that New Year's is in the middle of cold, dead winter. It gives me a reminder that even when it feels dark and dismal outside, and these North Carolina pines aren't as pretty without their leaves, there is hope!
Hope that I can start fresh with a renewed sense of anticipation for what is to come. Hope that spring is just around the corner and new seasons, new opportunities and new doors are in the works of being opened for me.
You might say, that's great for you Michelle, but I don't feel that way. Well, let me be so bold as to say that if you call yourself a Christian you should! If we are serving the same God and reading the same Bible we should be on the same page: "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" Ephesians 2:10.
Open up your bible to Ephesians 2:10 and read it for yourself! It is just as much a promise for you as it is for me.
What is really cool is that God has already prepared some of these good things for us in advance! So let's wipe off the sour face and banish the holiday blues and get ready to embrace what is next!
If we wallow in self pity or find ourselves wishing we could turn back time, we cannot fully enter into the next season in the right mindset.
Maybe you have a little regret for overspending at Christmas and you know that credit card bill is coming soon, or maybe you wish you had been able to spend a little bit more time with the kids.
Whatever the issue think about what 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT) says "So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever".
Be thankful you have that job that helps to pay your bills, be grateful that you have those beautiful children that you have the blessing to pour into each and every day. Stop looking back and move forward and give today...this week, everything you've got!
Still looking for a New Year's Resolution? How about waking up everyday purposeful!? Wake up ready to take on what God gives you to accomplish for today! Know that God has good things in store for you and your family. Write Ephesians 2:10 down on an index card and tape it to your mirror, put it in your purse, text it to a friend.
Be intentional about waking up after the first snooze button goes off (not the third) and making those lunches for your kids. Everything you do has purpose and meaning and don't think about going to work for that mean boss that really gets on your nerves because you aren't really working for Him... "Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people" Colossians 3:23 (ISV).
Consider this your permission slip to have a great year, not be filled with dread and wake up everyday with a pep in your step!
So come one 2016! Let's do this!
Wake up, wake up, wake up
wake up all you sleepers
Stand up, stand up
Stand up all you dreamers
Hands up, hands up
Hands up all believers
Take up your cross, carry it on
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