It's Time

The New Year is upon us, and I honestly cannot wait to see what 2011 has in store for me. 2010 was a year of growth and challenges, and I am confident that I came out a different person on the tail end. I am thankful for all of the new friends I have who encourage and support me, and for my “old” friends and family who were consistently by my side. I loved making new memories with all of them and experiencing new international adventures that my new job took me on around the world.

So as the world makes resolutions for this new year (which I choose not to do, by the way), I began to reflect on what went through my mind in 2010, during my time of growth and challenges, and what I remember my friends and family going through as well. There were a lot of prayer requests that came through for various reasons, and a lot sent out from my end as well.

Not to put a damper on anyone’s resolutions or goals for 2011, but it’s time. It’s time to think about the big things in life. I know that the big things are different for each person: some may be accomplishing a life long dream of travel or a big trip, some may be getting into shape for good, and others may be working on relationships with other people and with Jesus. Whatever these things may be, I encourage you to take them seriously. There is no time like now, when we have a new year and a fresh perspective and it’s easy for us to mentally start all over again.

As I reviewed the many prayer requests received and sent in 2010, the following things came to mind. Please consider them as you plan for this year, and for this lifetime, that are ahead of us:

If you were to die tomorrow, are you confident that you would go to heaven?
John 3:16; Romans 3:22-24

Are you happy with the state of your relationship with your family?
Philippians 2:3-4; Hebrews 3:13; Deuteronomy 5:16

Are there people whom you need to forgive? Or those whom you need to reconcile with?
Luke 6:37; Matthew 6:14; Colossians 3:12-14; Ephesians 4:32; 1 John 4:19

Are you being financially responsible? Are you giving away your money to the poor and underprivileged?
Luke 14:13-14; Matthew 25:42-46; Malachi 3:10; Leviticus 27:30; 1 Timothy 6:7-10; James 4:17

Are you making wise choices? Are you getting caught up in the mainstream of life?
Matthew 6:33-34; Romans 1:20-21; Colossians 2:6-7; John 4:23-24; Titus 2:12-14; 2 Chronicles 7:14

Is your life stale? Have you become complacent and live by a routine?
Romans 12:2; Romans 16:17-18; John 12:25; John 8:23

How is your health? Are you taking care of your body?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Corinthians 3:16

Are you living your life for you? Are you comparing your life to the lives of others?
Galatians 6:4-5; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Psalm 37:7; Psalm 49:16

Do you notice that you are actually living your “grown-up” life? Are you still finding yourself saying “when this happens….” or “when I can do this….”?
Luke 9:62; Matthew 14:25-33

Do you spend enough time with those closest to you? Are you loving them enough?
John 15:12-13; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; Romans 12:10

(You’ll notice that I jotted down some scripture references. I like having little reminders from the Bible for various aspects of my life, and things to refer to when I’m going through something in life. If you haven’t used this website yet, I suggest http://www.biblegateway.com for online Bible references and scripture look up. Just click and go!)

I’ll be honest, I was a little apprehensive to write this blog, but I felt convicted to do it in the end. I don’t want any of you thinking that I am lecturing you or trying to make you feel a certain way. I have no intention of doing that, and certainly have no right to do that. These are simply things that are near and dear to my heart; things that I have learned about over the past year specifically, and am working through with Jesus in my own life.

So dear friends, it’s time. There is no day like today. I know we are all in different stages of our lives and dealing with different issues. Heck, some of us may not even think that we have any issues! And I know that the topics above may not apply to each of us, but they were on my heart and on my mind, and because I passionately and purposefully LOVE my friends, my family, my encouragers, and our Creator, I wanted to throw them out there for consideration.

I wish you all a prosperous New Year – one filled with hope, joy and promise.