What will you leave behind in 2022?

It’s New Years Eve AND it’s a Saturday which means MOST of us have time to ponder this question👇🏽

“What will I leave behind in 2022 so I can live a life of unhindered purpose in 2023?”

It’s a serious question to consider BEFORE setting goals.

Goals are super important, but I don’t think that we begin with goals…

Goals are not just about achieving something.

Sometimes, most times, they require us to leave something behind.😬

Living a life of intention takes work. I like to call it, “The Sifted Life”, & here’s why:

The word, “intent” literally means, “to sift”.

If we are going to lead a life of intention & purpose, we need to sift our lives, allowing harmful, hurtful & unproductive

👉🏽things

👉🏽relationships

👉🏽& habits

fall away SO THAT we can focus on what remains => that which is helpful, important & productive!

Living an intentional life of purpose takes work, so what will you leave behind in 2022 so that you can enter 2023 unhindered by the things that rob you of productivity & purpose?

P. S. I’m leaving behind over-thinking & over-planning!💯

#goals #2023goals #goalsetting #2023 #purpose #intention #intentionalliving #intentionality #visionboard #vision #sift #thesiftedlife

Sometime Getting Back on Track Inst a Good Thing

I saw this picture of a broken down railroad track yesterday & had an immediate thought:

“Sometimes, ‘getting back on track’ Isn’t a good thing. The quality of ‘good’ is dependent upon the quality of the track & we may altogether need a new one!”

I’ve often pondered the building of the Transcontinental Railroad & how they conquered such a feat pre-so many modern day tools & tech? With its completion, transcontinental travel reduced from months to mere days & the cost fell from $1,000 to $150 per trip!

Although the benefits were substantial, the “iron horse” plowed its way through Native American lands & left ramshackle settlements filled with gambling, prostitution & violence in its wake.

This track brought benefits, but was the cost in making it worth the return?

Living in America is amazing! I’m so grateful for the entrepreneurial people that laid the foundations of our country & inspire many to walk in the same pioneering passion!

The catch, however, is that oftentimes we will lay our tracks in a way that God didn’t intend. We do all the right things to “succeed” & yet the success we chase becomes like an illusive dream-the more we try to take hold of it, the further it fades from our grasp.

Regardless of where we go or how we’ve arrived, one thing is certain: We can never escape from the hovering Spirit of God!

Psalm 139 reminds us that we can:

•Go up to heaven or down to the grave & God is there!

•Ride the wings of the morning or dwell by the farthest oceans & His hand will guide us if we’ll let Him!

•Ask the darkness to hide us, but the Light of His Presence expels all of it!

The end is my favorite to pray because here’s what I know to be true:

I can have the best-laid intentions when I lay the tracks of my life, but what happens if I laid them in the wrong direction? 

“Getting back on track” would continue to take me further from the future God intended! Not only that, I just might plow people down in the process & leave ramshackle settlements in my wake 😳

Oh Father, search us & know our hearts! Test us & bring anything that causes anxiety to the surface. Point out anything in us that offends You & lead us on the tracks of everlasting life!

#OneYearBible #goals

December 20th One Year Bible Readings

💡HAGGAI 1:1-2:23

💡REVELATION 11:1-19

💡PSALM 139:1-24

💡PROVERBS 30:15-16

Progression over Perfection

Last night my son who loves goals asked me if I’d set any New Year’s resolutions. I chuckled inside because I haven’t bought many Christmas gifts yet so I certainly haven’t lifted my eyes out of the weeds of today to think about goals for 2022 😂

I simply replied that I don’t have any aside from wanting to publish my devotional.

He smiled & said, “That’s amazing!” 🤗 & then shared how he decided to ask the Lord for a word or phrase to brand his coming year.

Through a series of cool coincidences, the phrase, “Progression over Perfection” continued to surface before him.

He’s an all-or-nothing kinda guy. If he can’t do something to full completion quickly & perfectly, he’ll choose to move-on-dot-com😂 Choosing to be content with slow steps of progression instead of immediate perfection is HUGE for him!

This morning as I read Proverbs 30:7, I was reminded of our conversation. I felt a giddy anticipation as I wondered what the writer was going to request. He begins with this:

“O God, I beg 2 favors from you; let me have them before I die.”

I stopped reading at the period & pondered this question:

If I only had 2 favors to ask of God that would come to fruition before I die, what would they be?

What would  yours be?

It’s a hard question to ponder, right?

The goal-setter in me was less than enthusiastic about the writer’s answer. He basically asked for help NOT to do something (lie). Then he asked for neither riches nor poverty for an abundance of each might tempt Him to forget about God in his wealth or dishonor God in his scarcity.

Wowza. His requests weren’t so much about goals, but more so about his growth in his relationship with God.

Progression over perfection.

Growth over goals.

Those 2 phrases have me wondering what the coming year may hold if either of those were my guiding mindset? What risks might I take & what things would I release if my aim was simply to grow closer to my God?

He owns cattle on 1,000 hills so we need not strive to earn anything. It’s all ours because we are His! He’s a good Shepherd Who will always lead us to life-giving water! When we make way for Him, we unknowingly make way for The Way to guide us to all that we need!

#OneYearBible #goals

December 17th One Year Bible Readings

💡NAHUM 1:1-3:19

💡REVELATION 8:1-13

💡PSALM 136:1-26

💡PROVERBS 30:7-9