Whenever we trade one calendar for another many of us think about straightening up our act, getting our act together, starting fresh for the new year. Some of us make “new year’s resolutions,” others of us clean out the garage or organize our workspace, or decide to lose weight and exercise more.
Reflection and deciding to take on change is a good thing. It helps us to continually renew, to occasionally monitor what we are doing in light of our goals and values, and to adjust course and change habits.
Let me point you into a direction as you consider new year changes you’d like to make. Think in terms of how you can more clearly differentiate who you are. Are you influenced too much by others? Do you give in on important things to keep peace? Do you “go along to get along” and compromise core values and principles?
And speaking of values, it may be a good time to sit down and carefully think through what you believe and what is important, and write something down on paper. It could be a lengthy narrative or a bullet-list. What could you do more fully live into and be guided by what is really important?
Evaluate your commitment to patriarchy. How can you show devoted love to your wife? How can you be more respect-worthy in her eyes? How can you encourage her unshakable trust in you? How can you make her feel emotionally secure?
What about the children? Spend time thinking deeply about their future, and what you can do now to send those arrows toward the right target. How can you better instill the values, belief patterns, and behaviors that will ensure a good life, pleasing to the Lord? How can you encourage their curiosity and sense of discovery, so that they will know how to learn and discover and recognize truth all their lives?
Most important, what about your relationship with God? Have a reasonable prayer life? Attend church functions that actually challenge you and help you grow in faith and character? Have spiritual mentor to talk to and learn from? Working on reading and understanding the Bible better?
I can’t tell you how important it is for us to get away, remove hindrances and distractions, and think deeply about things like this from time to time. The coming of a new year, and the change of a calendar, can be a good discipline to help us do just that. I’m going to take a day or two to do that. Maybe you can work it out to do that, too.
Reflection and deciding to take on change is a good thing. It helps us to continually renew, to occasionally monitor what we are doing in light of our goals and values, and to adjust course and change habits.
Let me point you into a direction as you consider new year changes you’d like to make. Think in terms of how you can more clearly differentiate who you are. Are you influenced too much by others? Do you give in on important things to keep peace? Do you “go along to get along” and compromise core values and principles?
And speaking of values, it may be a good time to sit down and carefully think through what you believe and what is important, and write something down on paper. It could be a lengthy narrative or a bullet-list. What could you do more fully live into and be guided by what is really important?
Evaluate your commitment to patriarchy. How can you show devoted love to your wife? How can you be more respect-worthy in her eyes? How can you encourage her unshakable trust in you? How can you make her feel emotionally secure?
What about the children? Spend time thinking deeply about their future, and what you can do now to send those arrows toward the right target. How can you better instill the values, belief patterns, and behaviors that will ensure a good life, pleasing to the Lord? How can you encourage their curiosity and sense of discovery, so that they will know how to learn and discover and recognize truth all their lives?
Most important, what about your relationship with God? Have a reasonable prayer life? Attend church functions that actually challenge you and help you grow in faith and character? Have spiritual mentor to talk to and learn from? Working on reading and understanding the Bible better?
I can’t tell you how important it is for us to get away, remove hindrances and distractions, and think deeply about things like this from time to time. The coming of a new year, and the change of a calendar, can be a good discipline to help us do just that. I’m going to take a day or two to do that. Maybe you can work it out to do that, too.
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