New Year...New Vision

This year is coming to a close! The end of each year is always a great time to evaluate your life. How has this year gone? And more importantly, what are you going to do with the gift of the new year?
Sometimes reflection can be hard; it can sting and taste bitter. Other times your memories are so sweet you don't want the year to end. No matter what your year's flavor was, it gives you a jumping off point for the new year.

Ask yourself these questions. And be brutally honest. Are you who you want to be? Are you where you want to be? Have you accomplished what you wanted to this year?

If you answered, "Yes.", two thumbs-up for you. But if the answers are, "No.", don't give up. That's what next year is for! 

To help you get off on the right foot, here are a few tips. 

Don't be Afraid to Dream.

Sometimes we let our pasts dictate our futures, and our minds' expectations limit our vision and dreams. Fear creeps in and, as a result, our dreams suffer. We're afraid to dream big. Sometimes we are even afraid to dream at all. Don't let fear steal your future! The new year is just that- NEW!

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)18 “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth;Shall you not know it?

Write the Vision.

Write down what you want to accomplish, who you want to be, and where you want to end up. This is the what, who, and where...not the how. This is what you are running towards. Keep the vision in front of you as you travel through the new year. Writing your vision down helps keep you focused and reminds you of what you are striving for.

Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV) 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision. And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

Jeremiah 29:11(NKJV)11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Make a Plan.

This doesn't need to be detailed or long. Write 1 or 2 things you can do to start reaching for your vision. Pray about it. What steps do you need to take to nurture your vision?

1 Corinthians 9:24 0 (AMP) 24 Run [your race] in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) 5 Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 [a]In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].

What are you going to reach for this year? 

Thank you Dr. William Luffman, my pastor, at Faith Outreach Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, for giving a wonderful message on Sunday. 

Pastor Williamisms: 

Life only improves when your decision-making improves!

Failure is the result of quitting, not falling!

Success is imminent if you don't quit!