It seems like so many people have a word for the year. One word to summarize what they want to focus on as they go through the next twelve months.
I’ve done that in the past, but I haven’t for the last several years. Lately, though, I’ve been sensing that the Lord wants me to practice having confidence this year.
That’s scary! It’s much easier to move through life in uncertainty, letting other people and life’s situations determine what I do and how I feel. Choosing confidence will more than likely put me in some situations that are out of my comfort zone. Choosing confidence might mean I have to disappoint someone if I confidently turn down their request. Choosing confidence feels like I’ll have to throw away all my excuses for why I haven’t accomplished certain goals.
I’m tempted to list those goals here, but I’m not going to do that. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you can probably think of a few things I’ve mentioned over the years. (Years!) No, I’m going to make my own list and prayerfully think about next steps for each of those goals.
Maybe you have something you’ve been avoiding because you lack the confidence to tackle it. I encourage you (and me) to move ahead with courage.
The Lord is with us, and he’ll help us accomplish whatever he’s called us to do. We can be confident as we go through each day, knowing he’ll never leave us alone. Jesus also sent us the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us. Drawing on the Spirit’s power can fill us with humble confidence.
Like it or not, my word for the year is confidence.* Do you pick a word for the year? Let me know in the comments.
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)
Do you have a word for the year? How can focusing on God help you move through the year ahead with intention, whatever your word may be?
*To help me grow in this area, I’ve been reading the excellent book Stand in Confidence: From Sinking in Insecurity to Rising in Your God-Given Identity by Amanda Pittman. I’ll let you know what I’ve learned in a future blog post.
I tend to be quite idealistic, so thinking about the start of a new year can stress me out.
Instead of being excited about all of the possibilities and potential, I often get overwhelmed by my unrealistic expectations.
This is the year I’m going to . . .
*Get in shape
*Write my book
*Organize all of the pictures on my phone and computer
*Do my devotions every single day
*Send my Christmas cards before Christmas
Before long, my list grows to an impossible length and I wake up on January 1 with a sense of dread because I know I’m probably going to fail at most of my intentions.
I have one day left of 2022. One more day to think this through and get to a more realistic mindset for 2023.
What if I try to let go of my idealism? Instead of an impossible list, maybe I can go into the new year prayerfully. I can ask God to show me a few things to prioritize in 2023, but I don’t have to do “all the things” and I don’t have to do anything “every day.”
Life has an ebb and flow. The more we can acknowledge that, the happier we’ll be. Rather than beating ourselves up for missing a day of devotions or a workout at the gym, we can show ourselves grace and keep living each day doing the best we can.
God loves us unconditionally. He doesn’t care if the Christmas cards go out on time or if you’re constantly pushing up against the storage limits on your computer.
He’ll guide us each day and show us what he wants us to do. Love him and love others—those are the most important commands. The rest of life will fall into place in his timing (I know it takes some work on our part, but that feels like a topic for a future blog post).
Looking forward to a realistic new year just might help us begin 2023 with excitement and joy.
Happy New Year, everyone!
“In you, Lord my God, I put my trust….Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:1, 4–5 NIV)
Do you tend to get idealistic about starting a new year? How can focusing on God help you be more realistic?
As I write today, I can hear the wind roaring through our neighborhood, blowing around the snow and making the temperature feel like negative forty degrees. I can stay safe and warm inside, but it’s still scary to think about the possibility of the power going out. I also feel some worry for people who have to work outside and those who are traveling.
To be honest, I’ve been a bit of a fraidy-cat lately.
Gary and I went on vacation recently. We enjoyed some warmer temps, but we did have to drive in some snow one day as we left Colorado and headed for Arizona. I was tense as we went through a couple of mountain passes, imagining what might happen if we slid off the road. In another spot, a sign warned of heavy fog ahead. I got pretty anxious, but it was all for nothing. The fog had cleared by the time we got to that spot and we were fine.
We did a few days of hiking in Arizona. It was fun, but I had a few moments of disproportionate fear at a few points on the trail. Some of them were going up—when we had to scramble over some boulders on the way to the summit. Some of them were going down—when I worried that my poles weren’t going to hold me as I picked my way over some rocks.
I was ashamed that I actually cried real tears several times as I got held back by my unreasonable fears.
One of the crying spots. 🙂
Every time, my husband was helpful and encouraging, showing me where to place my hands or my poles so I could keep going.
Looking back later, it seemed silly that I had cried over something that didn’t look as scary in hindsight.
Don’t we do that in life sometimes? I know I do.
I get paralyzed by fear and I can’t move forward because I think about what could happen.
The truth is, God is with us every single moment. He’ll show us how to move forward and he’ll be there with us if something bad does happen. We can live much happier, peaceful lives if we practice trusting him and move forward with confidence.
As we go through the final days of 2022 and look forward to a new year, I hope we can see how God was with us this year. Think about the things you were afraid of. Most of them never happened, did they? We wasted time and energy fretting over things when we could have been enjoying life instead.
As we get ready for 2023, let’s focus on fighting through fear. Let’s look at life realistically and be prudent about the choices we make, but let’s also trust that God will be with us as we tackle new challenges and accomplish our goals.
For me, that includes writing a book. (I can feel the fear rising up, especially as I think about how long I’ve been saying that, but I truly believe this is the year!)
I’d love to hear about something you’re going to do next year. Let’s pray for each other as we fight through the fear and move forward.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)
Do your fears often hold you back? How can focusing on God help you move forward in faith instead?
I’ve been dealing with scattered thoughts again lately.
My mind spins as I try to decide what I should do each day.
It flits from one task to another, from one obligation or possibility to the next, never settling on one thing. And so, very little seems to get done.
The Holy Spirit has reminded me in several ways recently that there is really only one place my thoughts need to be going. To Jesus.
If I keep my mind set on him, then all the rest will fall into place (or it may fall away, but that’s okay, too).
We watched a video in youth group this week that really drilled that idea home. It’s called “Falling Plates.” (You can watch it at the end of this post.) It reminded me (once again) that Jesus wants us to follow him and not chase after all of the other things that might tempt us if we just think of ourselves and our flesh.
It’s time to get back to my commitment to catch my thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5). I’m not going to beat myself up for letting my thoughts get out of control, but I’m going to spend more time talking to God about it. I know he’ll help me focus on his truths and the things that are true, lovely, pure, and all the rest (Philippians 4:8).
I hope you’ll consider where your thoughts are going lately, too. Try focusing on Jesus and see if you gain more clarity in life as you go through each day.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33 NIV)
What do you think about most often? How can focusing on God help you gain more clarity and purpose as you live each day?
At times we don’t want to admit something is wrong with us.
I had that happen recently when we went down to Tennessee to visit my parents and attend a conference. I was bothered by some tooth pain every once in a while, but the feeling passed and I just tried not to worry about it.
We got to the conference on Monday and enjoyed the speaker and meeting other pastors (and some of their spouses) that evening. Again, a little pain…and I wasn’t feeling like myself.
On Tuesday morning, I had swelling that was noticeable and I really didn’t feel well. I popped a few ibuprofen and sat through the teaching sessions. In the afternoon, we decided I’d better text a friend back in Volga who worked for a dentist (we didn’t have a new dentist yet since we just moved here around January 1).
She graciously texted back and forth and showed the dentist pictures of my swollen jaw.
With that evidence, they were able to prescribe antibiotics out of state and we picked them up later that day. They also directed me to take 800 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours for pain.
I could really feel it when the pills wore off, and my swelling got worse before it got better.
I wondered if I could make it until the next Monday when I could get in to see this new dentist, but I moved forward each day hoping for the best.
I hoped maybe the antibiotics would take care of it and I wouldn’t need a root canal when I got home, but I tried to prepare myself for that possibility. I had gotten a filling in that tooth before we moved away from Platte and the dentist there had warned me about the possibility of needing a root canal at some point in the future.
It seems that time had come.
Sure enough, after an exam and x-rays on Monday, the dentist referred me to another place in Watertown to have a root canal. I had mixed feelings about how soon they could get me in, but I agreed to show up on Wednesday for the procedure.
I really psyched myself out before I got there. I felt anxious and a bit teary on the way. Once I got there, I tried to act calm, but my insides were doing all sorts of strange things. After they gave me the novocaine, I felt my heart pounding for several minutes while I tried to breathe deeply and calm down (thankfully, it stopped its jumping pretty quickly).
I took my earbuds along and listened to a podcast while they were working on me. With my eyes closed, I could almost pretend I wasn’t there.
I heard the drill and felt a little pressure, but I felt absolutely no pain. It was over in less than an hour and I was on my way home again (trying not to drool because of my numb face).
The experience got me thinking about how important it is to get to the root of things in other areas of our lives.
Sometimes we feel pain in a relationship or we don’t feel good about something going on in our lives, but we try to ignore it. We hope the situation will get better without doing anything, or we numb the pain however we can.
We may struggle with a certain sin that we just can’t seem to let go. It festers and poisons us, but we pretend it isn’t there.
If I hadn’t started taking antibiotics for my tooth abscess, the infection could have spread to other parts of my body and caused some serious complications.
When we don’t address the sin and/or emotional pain in our lives, the negative effects of that can spread to other areas of our lives and cause serious complications in our relationships, our emotional health, and our spiritual health.
We need to let Jesus get to the root.
He may help us get rid of the problem completely, or he may show us who we need to go to so we can get the help we need.
Still a little swollen, but feeling better!
My tooth was dead when I got to the endodontic office on Wednesday. It needed to be hollowed out and filled with something better so the tooth could stay in my mouth.
The Holy Spirit can help us get to the root of the problems in our lives. He’ll extract all the dead and poisonous thoughts and actions, and he’ll help us replace them with life-giving beliefs and convictions.
Now that’s something to smile about!
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 NIV)
Have you ever tried to ignore a sin or problem in your life? How can focusing on God help you get to the root of things?
The speaker in our Sunday school video a couple of weeks ago was expounding on the verse in Hebrews 5 that says, “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!”
Derwin Gray surprised me when he stated that Jesus himself was the solid food we need in order to become mature Christians.
I had always thought that the basics of the faith were the “milk” we started with as new Christians, and that the “solid food” was all of the doctrine we could learn about after we became Christians.
What a revelation to realize that we just need Jesus to become mature and grow as Christians.
This past week Gary and I spent time at a conference at The Cove in North Carolina. One of the main points I took away from the teaching sessions by Jim Cymbala was that Jesus just wants us to be with him.
I forget that so often. I get hung up on if I’m doing enough for God. I worry that I’m not studying the Bible enough. I think about so many things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of life.
The meaning of life? The vitally important activity for a Christian?
Being with Jesus.
When we spend time with him, the rest of life will make more sense. He’ll give us the wisdom and guidance we need. We’ll know how to spend our time and our money. We’ll feel more peace. We’ll show more love.
Jesus is the solid food, the bread of life, that will sustain us every day of our lives.*
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'” (John 6:35 NIV)
Have you been satisfied with just “milk” in your spiritual life? How can focusing on God help you spend time with Jesus—the bread of life?
*If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, you can read more about becoming a Christian at my other website, The Robyn’s Nest, on the About Me page.
It used to be much worse in my younger years, but I still have a tendency to punish myself when I make a mistake.
I’ve been talking to a counselor for a few months, and that’s one of the first assignments she gave me. “Focus on putting down the bat,” she urged.
So I’ve been pondering that for quite a while now. The first step was noticing when I felt the temptation to take a swing at myself after some failure. Just being aware of the bat made it a little easier to “put it down” and treat myself with more compassion.
I’m still working on it, but I feel like I’ve been improving. I sure give myself plenty of opportunities to practice!
One day I texted a bunch of middle school students to remind them about our meeting that night. I got a text back from a mom instead of a student, so I responded and said it was nice to meet her and we were looking forward to getting to know her son this year. At the meeting, I saw that student and realized that he goes to our church and I already knew his mom. I saw her every Sunday at church and we had visited the family in their home just a couple of months ago! I texted Sarah after the meeting: “I am so embarrassed!” I explained my incredible lapse of memory and asked her to forgive me. She responded graciously: “I figured you’d put it together at some point!” Amazingly, I laughed at myself and didn’t pick up the bat.
The other night I went to a youth event with our high school group and talked to a couple from church afterward. We chatted a bit, and then I asked about their connection to “Fields of Faith” at SDSU. “Collin!” the woman answered. “Oh, of course! You’re here to support him,” I said. (Collin is one of our youth group sponsors and he’s on staff with FCA, the group putting on the event.) In my head, I started to kick myself. Dang! I did it again! I forgot a connection that should have been obvious! But I only did it for a few seconds. I put down the bat and consciously forgave my error (hopefully they did, too!).
As I think about that “bat,” I’m sometimes surprised at how quickly I reach for it. One morning I took a deep water aerobics class at SDSU. At noon, I got a notification that the deep water well would be closed until further notice. The rest of the pool would remain open. I tried to figure out what I could have done wrong that morning that would make them close that part of the pool. I immediately realized how silly that was. I did nothing wrong. I was still perplexed about why it would have to close, but it was easy to leave the bat alone.
Every day brings plenty of chances to decide whether I’m going to pick up the bat or put it down.
I would never think of using a bat to beat someone else up, so why am I so quick to use it on myself? (Guess that’s part of the reason I’m seeing a counselor for a while.)
In counseling, we’re starting to work on how I can love myself more. I know that’s important, and I’m willing to do that work, but I want to make sure it’s for the right reason.
I don’t want to love myself in a selfish, “look at me!” way. I want to love myself because God loves me so much. When I rest in that love and really accept it, it frees me up to truly love others in a sincere, healthy way.
Not so they’ll love me back.
Not so they’re impressed by me.
Not so I don’t feel guilty.
No, I want to love well so people can see God’s love shining through me. So they feel accepted, safe, and protected.
If I’m going to love others (starting with myself) in that way, then I’m going to have to get rid of this bat once and for all and never pick it up again.
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30–31 NIV)
Do you beat yourself up for your mistakes and failures? How can focusing on God help you put down the bat and really love yourself and others?
It’s back to school time. I’ve been enjoying all of the pictures my friends on Facebook have been posting as their kids pose with signs telling what grade they’re in.
Some of the photos blow my mind! We’ve served in four churches now, and I must have frozen everyone at a certain age in my head. I can hardly believe how tall kids have gotten in the years since we saw them every week.
They were just cute little boys and girls back then, and now many of them have matured and gotten taller than their parents.
Kristol Ulrich and her son Dalton—then and now!
I grin as I shake my head and say, “Wow! Look how much they’ve grown!”
Of course, it makes sense when I think about it. Years have passed and kids grow. That’s the way life works.
It got me thinking about spiritual growth.
It would be sad if we let the years go by and stayed stuck at a certain level of maturity in our spiritual lives.
It’s natural that we’ll grow as we study the Bible, talk to God, and spend time with other believers. If we aren’t growing, we may be neglecting one or more of those activities.
Take a look at your life. Hopefully, you can see growth from where you were one month, one year, or one decade ago. Give God the credit for that growth—even if it isn’t as huge as you’d like. As you move forward you can be deliberate about your relationship with him so you can continue growing.
When someone sees us years from now, let’s hope they’ll joyfully exclaim, “Wow! Look how much they’ve grown!”
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6–7 NIV)
Can you see how you’ve grown in your spiritual life? How can focusing on God help you keep growing?
Last week Gary and I got the shocking news that dear friends of ours were killed in a car/train accident. We held each other and cried for our loss, and then we cried some more when we thought about their family. Three children and their spouses. Nine precious grandchildren. How could they go on without Joel and Rosemary?
Joel and Rosemary Sult – Allison, Iowa
But they will go on. We all will. We can rejoice that our friends knew and loved the Lord and they’re now in heaven. We’ll cry, but we can also laugh when we remember their sense of humor, smile when we remember their kindness, and chuckle when we think of Joel singing barbershop tags with the angels.
It’s sobering when something like this happens. It reminds the rest of us that we don’t really know how much time we have left. Our lives could be over in the blink of an eye, or we could live well past one hundred. Only God knows when we’ll join him someday.
For now, we need to live for him, making the most of every day.
God has plans for us. He has a purpose for each of our lives. The Holy Spirit will show us those plans and purposes if we talk to him and choose to listen. He’ll also give us the wisdom and strength to do the things God has for us in the years we have left.
Our friends lived a full and rich life. They accomplished so much in the time they had here on this earth. We still can’t believe they’re gone, but we’re so glad we had the chance to know them and love them.
May all of us make the most of each day we have left.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 NIV)
Are you tempted to live as if you had all the time in the world? How can focusing on God help you prioritize the plans he has for you in the time you have left?
When I hear that I’m running out of storage, I get a little anxious.
I got an email that my Dropbox account was almost out of room, so I went in and downloaded the pictures I had stored there. I hardly ever use Dropbox anymore, so it’s not a big deal. I can probably delete the account as long as I have the pictures on my computer.
Well, after that I remembered that a message keeps popping up on my computer that says: “Almost out of storage. If you run out, you can’t save to Drive, send and receive email on Gmail, or back up to Google Photos.”
This stresses me out. When I check Google Drive, I can see that I’ve used 83% of my storage.
Then I check my laptop and see that I only have 45 GB free of 475 GB. My computer isn’t that old. How could I have filled it up with so many files?
It’s because I keep too much.
Even though I never even look at the majority of the files on my computer and at Google Drive, I feel like I have to keep them…just in case. I may need that someday is my primary thought.
Truth is, I probably won’t need most of those files. I don’t even go back to the ones I would use (like pages of song lyrics or guitar chords). It’s easier to just type something in the search bar and make a new document instead of searching for it on my computer.
Wondering about when I’m going to run out of storage and what’s going to happen then adds a subtle layer of stress to my life, even if I’m not constantly thinking about it. It’s buzzing away in the recesses of my brain, getting louder every time a notification pops up.
Deleting files (and getting rid of physical things I don’t need or use) brings some relief to my anxious heart. When I focus on the people in my life and the Lord I love (instead of all of the things around me), I can enjoy life more and I feel more free.
I think it’s time to spend a little time each day deleting files. No more pushing up against the storage limits. I only have so much space on my computer and I only have so much space in my heart and mind. I want to make sure I’m saving plenty of room so I can love God—and the people he’s given me—well.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1–3 NIV)
Are you running out of storage space in your heart and mind? How can focusing on God help you let go of some things so you have the capacity to love God and others well?
