The Never Ending Gifts

Still thinking about New Years resolutions? Feeling discouraged by previous running starts that faded in a few weeks, or days? What would you think of a resolution that didn’t add to your work-load, but lightened it instead? Well, here’s a simple resolution that does this and more.

I tried it out last fall, and can hardly wait to do it again. The premise is simple. In order receive God’s power and peace in my life I need to be connected to Jesus (John 15:4-5).

Initially, I connected to Jesus by asking him to forgive my sins and come in and lead my life, but I had a hard time staying connected to Jesus on a daily basis after that.

Occasionally, though, when worship services or deep prayer times drew me closer to God, incredible release, peace, and joy would fill me to the brim. In that moment I felt I could do anything with God’s help.

If that is what closeness with God does, what would my life look like if I could connect with Jesus and tap into God’s strength minute by minute, hour by hour?

Well, I tried to do this for years. In the morning I’d read my Bible and pray, then try to keep up my conversation with God throughout the day. But each time I got distracted by my tasks at hand and forgot about God. Over and over, I simply forgot.

That is, until last fall.

I decided that if my problem was getting caught up in the tasks on my list, what would happen if the only thing on my list was connecting with Jesus? How could I forget God then? I challenged myself to have only one goal on my list—connecting with Jesus—and do it for 21 days to form a habit. I called it my “21 Day Connecting with God Challenge.”

Well, I tried it, and it worked! Not only that, but with my focus on Jesus, God helped me do all my other tasks with a lighter heart and a better attitude. At the end of the day, I felt energized instead of drained.

Then I got distracted with the holidays, and a bad sinus infection.

So I’m giving myself a jump-start for New Years by doing my 21 Day Connection Challenge again. I’ll start on Monday January 6, and I’m excited to see what God does in the New Year.

If anyone would like to join me in this different approach to resolutions, come on back and read along starting Monday.