Goals. Resolutions. The two most talked about words for the first few days of 2018. I've never been particularly fond of these two words. I'm not sure why because I'm a very driven person. However, I feel that when it comes to resolutions and goals they are words that ultimately set us up for failure.
And I hate failing.
Then I talked to a friend and her family doesn't set goals or resolutions. They decide to focus on a word(s) for that year. For example, 2018 will be the year to "show kindness" or 2018 will be the year "I take more photos of my kids" or 2018 will be the year I "prioritize my faith."
I loved this idea because it seems less rigid. Less strict. Less have-tos. Maybe this all stems down to the fact that I don't like to be told what to do or I have to do something. You can ask my parents. It never really was my thing. Or my husband as I'm sure he's figured that out over our last 8 years together.
I was thinking about this all during my morning time with Jesus as I finally start a well overdue book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In this book, he struck a few chords as to how I've been feeling with my walk with Jesus.
"There is an epidemic of spiritual amnesia going around, and non of us is immune. No matter how many fascinating details we learn about God's creation, no matter how many pictures we see of His galaxies, and no matter how many sunsets we watch, we still forget.
Most of us know that we are suppose to love and fear God; that we are suppose to read our Bibles and pray so that we can get to know Him better; that we are suppose to worship Him with our lives. But actually living it out is challenging.
It confuses us when loving God is hard. Shouldn't it be easy to love a God so wonderful? When we love God because we feel we should love Him, instead of genuinely loving out of our true selves, we have forgotten who God really is. Our amnesia is flaring up again.
It may sound "un-Christian" to say that on some mornings I don't feel like loving God, or I just forget to. But I do. In our world, where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of Him."
When I look back on the last two years, this sums up my heart pretty stickin' great. I've got the whole devotion morning things down. In fact, people think I'm crazy to wake up and take 1+ hour to sit, drink coffee, and read. I also have focused on my knowledge about God. Taken Bible Studies and dove in deep. I still have a llllooooonnnnggg way to go but I feel like my biblical foundation is pretty strong. BUT I've had these same thoughts running rampant in my head. My relationship with Jesus has definitely grown however, but many days I don't feel In Love with Jesus. Or he's too easily forgotten. Some days I even wonder if I have a personal relationship with him or if it's just become about the facts and knowledge.
Maybe that's why I love Six Notes so much. Our mission is to remind people of God's word so they can walk closer to Jesus in the every day. To be honest, it's hard running a small business that encourages others on the exact same thing you need most. Sounds odd but think about it, so often when I'm reading a book or listening to a sermon, I first think about how I could write about that, or requote what they just said all to inspire you to walk with Jesus more deeply rather than take that quote in myself, stir it around in my heart and be impacted by it in a great way. It's like listening to a sermon and you hear, "It's time to step up in our marriages." and you instantly want to glance and nudge your husband but in reality you should be looking at your own heart.
Anyway, this is a lot of heart from me. It's actually been a therapeutic ramble. But I hope if you feel a little like me that these New Years Resolutions and Goals are hogwash, that maybe you can make 2018 a year to focus on a word or phrase. Because really it is a great time to start choosing to live full lives.
As for me and my 2018 word, I teased it will be a year of finding the perfect lipstick. I've never worn or found a lipstick I enjoyed. (feel free to email me if you have one) But when I truly reflect on it, 2018 will be a year to #bereminded. In fact, I'm adding that hashtag to all my stuff. Be reminded of God's goodness. Be reminded of his power and glory. Be reminded of his deep love for me. Be reminded of his creation and how intricately He created down to the last freckle on my body. Be reminded to fall deeply in love with Jesus.
Happy 2018 my friends. I pray you fall in love with jesus deeper than you ever have.