Start It Off Right

Happy New Year!! 2012 is gonna be amazing! We’re gonna see the Lord do some awesome things—and we get to be a part of it!

I’m a big believer in starting things off right; setting things in motion correctly from the start; setting a precedent. The first things you do are the things that resound and set the stage for the rest of the show. That’s why getting the most important things first is so critical.

So to start off your 2012, I encourage you to make the most of this first week. Write down the things that are of most value in your life. Then, write down all the things that you want to do/grow in/develop/mature in/work towards/see happen this year. If you’re feeling frisky, go ahead and rank them :)

Now that you have a list, it’s time to do something with it! During this first week of the year, do something to work towards each one of your goals. I’ll use myself as an example…my big priorities are my relationship with God, my family and friends, leading worship/stuff at church, music, and business. Some of the things I want to accomplish this year flow from that list of priorities:

mature in my faith
see more unity in the Body of Christ
start leading worship in more places
write more music
strengthen the relationships in my life that matter to me
get better musically

So in starting the year off right, it makes sense for me to do things this first week to work towards each of these goals. It looks something like this:

mature in my faith --> make time to pray and fast and hear what the Lord is saying to me

see more unity in the Body of Christ --> pray for unity, interact across boundaries, set up joint events, LOVE

start leading worship in more places --> contact people now for things going on all year long

write more music --> set aside time each week to write...even if inspiration isn’t necessarily hitting me

strengthen the relationships in my life that matter to me --> spend time, set up lunches, make calls

get better musically --> practice pushing myself vocally every week, find voice instructor

Set things in motion now that are going to affect the rest of your year. If you sow good things, then the harvest shall be good! Pray and see where the Lord leads you and press into the things He lays on your heart. He knows you better than you do because He made you. Maybe you should ask Him what He thinks about you ;)

And if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior yet, give your life to Him. There is nothing better. Jesus is the only Son of God; He died for your sins. You've not done anything so bad that He won't forgive you. If you believe on His death on a cross for your sins, His burial, and His resurrection from the grave; confess your sins and turn from them; and acknowledge Him as lord of your life, then you can have everlasting life in Heaven with the only true God. Start 2012 with the biggest and best decision you’ll ever make.

God bless you all and may many blessings flow your way this year through Our Lord Jesus Christ! Peace, love, and blessings through the magnificent Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen!

adam

Love and Relationships

Just had a very simple revelation:

Two things that the Christian community in the US has been stressing the last few years is that 1) God is love; and, 2) “It’s about a relationship, not religion.” If these two things are true, and we are seeking to imitate God to the best of our ability, then shouldn’t we be all about 1) love; and, 2) relationships?? Makes sense to me. A pretty simple revelation, but could profoundly affect somebody like me…

I’m one of those people that is prone to being driven by tasks and accomplishing things. People like me can sometimes view personal relationships as just another task to be completed during the day. For example, spending 15 minutes on a phone call to a friend, or carving out time to spend with your spouse can become something that is just another item to be marked off a list at the end of the day. This is not healthy!

Being first and foremost about love and relationships brings an entirely different outlook to life. If you are first about love, then you can see past people’s mistakes. If you are first about love, then you find it easier to see the greatness in people. If relationships are of foremost importance to you, then you don’t treat people like an object; you place people above tasks and don’t mind putting time into them.

One of the great points Stephen Covey makes in “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is that you should be effective with people and efficient with things. That means that you shouldn't merely schedule blocks of time to “deal” with people and relationships in your life as you would things, or tasks, that you need to get done. You must be patient and put the necessary time into the people and relationships that matter to you. You can’t treat people and tasks the same.

So I’ve got it in my mind today to be more like my Daddy: be all about love, and be all about relationships.