I spent many New Year's Day contemplating the actions of my next 364 days alive. Some of those resolutions were met. Others were forgotten, but I never gave up the opportunity to level up during this season. And neither should you. There is this new tradition of bashing the ambitious; shaming the hopeful. Sprinkled in between resolutions and declarations are the collection of those who don't believe change is coming.
To the cynic trolls on the internet: never drown someone's hope. Whether those of us who awaken bright and bushy tail on 1/1 accomplish our newness or not, the sheer attempt is courageous. The fact is, our attempts to do more, be better, live fuller line up with the most hopeful principle of the Christian walk. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Through Christ I am new, not just on the first day of the year; EVERYDAY. To the hopeful ones: keep writing dreams for the newer you. Take every opportunity you get to put down the former you and pick up a better version. I challenge myself this way multiple times a year. I reassess myself, cast down my shortcomings and embrace my nuances over and over. The result of this rigorous process, my never ending ambition to be a better Siren, is that I close every year knowing that the me that needed to be changed was strong enough to admit it. What I find the most intriguing about the desire to stay the same and shame those who don't want to is that it isn't realistic. No one wants to be the same forever. All of us as kids had some thought of who we wanted to be "when we got older." There is no age that those ambitions stop for people like me. We stare at age 60 and still declare what our future will hold. The drive to keep growing never subsides. And if you are wondering why, I can only give my own reasoning. There is a scripture in John that convicted me when I first got saved. I honestly liked the life I was living even though I knew it was wrong. This verse made becoming someone new much more real. “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” John 12:25 NLT helped me realize that all the portions of my personality and day to day routine were too important to me. I started getting attached to portions of a Siren God never intended me to be. In those corners of attachment all kindsof demons lurked; depression, addiction, failure. In the light of the opportunity for me to be new, all those attachments were forced to be lifted, all that was hidden beneath them had to be dealt with. Although I have way different things to deal with nowadays, lifting the veil on the attachments I have of my former self is always just as relieving as before. This year I will work to #harnessthegenius! God has given me a great gift for creative writing that I have yet to really push out. I intend to harness my marketing genius to make this blog and a few other projects go to the next level. I will also harness the baby genius that God is blessing me with in April. And I plan to do it all while supporting the dreamers; those who hope 2017 brings change in their life. This is page one. How are you starting the story?
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God gives us our experiences to grant us the understanding we need to live the life he ordained for us. Our success comes with our ability to observe the laws, lessons and understandings that God shows us. So often, we follow others in an effort to be accepted or liked. Living life foolishly following any and every one could cause us to operate out of God's will for our lives. I would not dare suggest that following leaderships or our elders is out of order. God places people in our lives to direct us according to his word for our lives. However, everyone is not meant to lead you. And every person's understanding is not your lesson to be observed.
God spoke to the children of Isreal through Moses in Deuteronomy 4:5-9, concerning the laws he had given them. He directed them to be careful to observe the statutes he commanded.
If we fail to hold fast to our individual understandings by living under the influence of others, we may miss the move of God's calling for us. Not only does Moses command the people to keep the statutes, but he goes on to say to tell them to diligently keep themselves. When you keep God's law in mind and you observe the understandings he reveals, you will undoubtedly walk in his plan for your life. You will possess whatever promised land he destined for you. When we ignore God's laws and the lessons he has taught us, we say to him that we no longer trust him. We fall out of the line of duty. It is our job to hold on to our understanding of what God's wants for us. Getting the understanding is not optional. Knowing what God has for your hands to do is a requirement. Every Christian has the duty to submit to God, have faith in Jesus' resurrection and to spread the gospel. But, for most of us, that is just the tip of the iceberg for what God requires from us. If you don't know what it is that God requires of your hands, start with the lessons that he has taught you. Your purpose lies in the understanding God has given to you and only you. |
WHATEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY...Get inspiration for your daily life from SFB as she gives her testimony and speaks about her faith. Are You Ready for More?Have you come to a place in life where you recognized that you need more? Christ has already paid the price for you to have a life with greater purpose.
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