525,600

At the beginning of the semester I heard a sermon at Journey Church that I loved and has continued to inspire me. It has provoked me to ponder many questions daily. As I was rereading my notes today I decided I had to share some of my notes, my thoughts and questions that have been weighing heavy on my heart.

What are some ways you respond when someone asks you how you are doing? Blessed, wonderful, okay, fine, tired, stressed… Many times, I think we misuse our time.

In 2011 we have 525,600 minutes to spend however we please.

There are many things that are going to fight for our time. Family, social, work, school, church, getting ready, blogging, facebook, twitter, sports, sleep, etc. Jesus is one of them. He wants our time.

How much time are we wasting?

Jesus had the most important job in history (redeeming humanity), yet as your read the Bible, He never seems to be in a hurry. He never passed the sick and hurting, never rushed through dinner, never ignored those who loved him.

 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 4:14

What is important to you?
What is a priority in your life?
What if you did something everyday that mattered?
What is heavy on your heart? (Is this from my heart of the Lords?)  

What does it look like, to not fit God in, but to build my schedule around God?  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17

We have experienced 84,960 minutes of the year 2011 (counting from January 1-March 2).  I challenge you to make the most of the 440,640 minutes you have left. The count down is on!



I pray the Lord will make Himself the center and complete focus of my life. I can not do it without His help. I pray that the Lord does something so big in our lives that we realize it could only have happened because of Him.

Success

We all have goals. Some of us just think about them, some of us write them down and thoroughly plan them out, while some of us visually imagine them.

Recently I have been thinking about the goals I wrote down in January.  I realized I started my planning, but never got any further then that. So today I began taking the steps to achieve these goals. (My dad gave me a “Dream List” packet to help me be successful in my goal planning. I will scan it and upload it soon- it is so helpful)

The Bible has over 7,000 promises from God to you. He promises success, confidence, health, prosperity, strength, wisdom and so much more.  But these promises won’t just happen because we want or expect them to. They will come true if we trust the Lord.

To begin, we must recognize our current position. Where am I spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially, occupationally, physically, etc? Once that list is made, it is time to identify what it is that I want to be different. Not only what do I want to be different, but exactly what I want. It is impossible to reach a vague goal. Also, it is important to ask yourself, ‘Why do I want this?’

Rick Warren made a statement I love. He stated “When you set a goal, don’t focus on  the problems, focus on the promises. Find a promise in God’s Word that will take you to your goal.”

Once this is accomplished, we must depend on the Lord and pray fervently. 

"Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham." Genesis 24:12

"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God and there we will receive mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it" Hebrews 4:16

Barriers come with life. There will be road blocks and obstacles. We must identify any problem we may have to tackle for each of our goals. You can’t remove an obstacle until you identify what it is first.

After recognizing your barriers, you must figure out what steps you must take to achieve your goal. Keep in mind how long it will take. I like to make a timeline. I figure out how long it will take to reach my desired results and put miniature goals in between to keep me on schedule.

A Harvard study in 2010 showed that only 5 percent of Americans have written goals and many of them are among the highest earning people in the nation. (The following link is another Harvard study on goal setting)

Don’t lost courage, you wont achieve your goals over night.

"These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will sure come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3

Also, you can’t do it alone. I struggle with this. I tend to be a very independent person, which is a blessing and a weakness at the same time. Tell others or have others help you achieve your goals.


"One person standing alone is easily attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three people are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

One of the last things to keep in mind is what is it going to cost you to achieve your goal. What are you willing to give?

You can either drift through life or you can be directed through life by taking the time to think through where God wants you to be. Is your future worth the effort? Absolutely ☺