Its a New Year, you know I love me some resolutions. I always set my goals for the year. I've gotten into this routine on New Years Eve where I write down not only my goals for myself, but also what I believe God is asking of me for this coming year. I also like to give my years a theme, and I've got a good one this year.
My theme for the year is More in '24!. Do you like it? Actually I believe God gave me this theme, which I love, because I love rhymes. I couldn't have come up with it myself, so I must give credit where credit is due. Anything this catchy must be divine.
But, what does More in '24! mean?
I'm glad you asked. More in '24! is not about buying more, getting more, sleeping more or eating more. Nope, the theme this year is about making more progress. More! In '24!
OK, I'll stop.
If I can.
2024 is the year of more growth for me. In 2024, I want more of the great things accomplished in 2023 (no matter how small). Any progress in 2023 can, and will be be amplified this year! Let's have more obedience, more joy and more peace. More chains breaking away, more bondage thrown to the side, and more love. More of Jesus, less of me. More of the father-daughter relationship with the One who created me, and less of dysfunctional relationships. Let me grow closer to God in 2024 and get rid of anything that comes between Christ and myself. More in '24!
Join me! God will strengthen us to give us the life we long to have. We can choose love over self-pride and arrogance. We can choose God in the quiet space, the alone moments. We can choose God even when we cannot trust ourselves.
I want more of this in 2024.
I've been thinking a lot about what this means to put this into practice.
Dedicated Time One of the most important things I must do is protect my time with God so I can keep my focus. Our lives get busy quickly, and for those of us who are single Moms, there's not a lot of downtime. I've got to be careful to protect my time with my Savior. Our time together is so important. It helps my mind to function properly over anxiety. It keeps me humble, away from the roller coaster of emotions. It keeps me peaceful and eliminates my desperation for rest. It is my true "self care", required to keep me healthy and stable.
Obedience I want to bring my actions and my behavior in line with my beliefs. I want my life to be completely under God's authority. This means I have to make hard decisions that my flesh doesn't like. I have to choose God's ways over my ways. I have to bring my struggles to Him instead of acting out. I have to make choices that seem less fun, but are better for me in the long run. If I don't understand something, I need to think God must have a plan, instead of I need to make a plan. I need to live by God's solutions that fit into His plan instead of my solutions that fit into my ego. I must let Jesus take the wheel, and bring my problems to the One who can actually give me a real solution. He knows what's best for me, and He's not about to forsake His daughter,
This choice around obedience is the critical piece of More in '24. This is what breaks the chains and gives true freedom. This needs to be my top focus, and it becomes easier when I stay consistent with dedicated time.
Forgiveness I didn't want to put this one on the list, but the Holy Spirit was persistent. My walk with forgiveness is far from finished. Forgiveness is such a process, isn't it? I have many people in my life to forgive and if I refuse to make progress in this area, I will not have More in '24. I really don't like working on forgiveness. But, I also don't like being miserable. I have to forgive my ex-husband for things that happened during our divorce. I have to forgive my father for rejecting me (honestly this one is harder). I have to forgive my mother for hurting me, even when I know she's battling mental illness.
As you can see, I've got a list. I've had a ball of fury inside of me that is creating bondage in my life. God tells me over and over that He wants me free of this. But, this particular mountain has been a struggle for me to climb and it seems like if I'm not seething in anger over these topics, I'm crying over them. Luckily, God does not ask me to be perfect in this area. He just asks that I make progress and not sit idle in this space. So, yes, I must have more forgiveness in '24.
These are my areas of More. I'm excited to continue with progress and work towards a more Christlike life. There's so many good things ahead for us in 2024, and I can't wait to see what God brings into my life in the future.
Happy New Year, and may the Lord bless you abundantly this year.
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