Writing Our 2018 Story

We have closed the last page of our life story for 2017.  I hope it was a best seller in your eyes.  A new year brings a new beginning or book.  It comes in with a blank page or clean slate.  Are you hoping the year that begins today is better than the one that just finished? IMG_0181
A new year carries endless possibilities with it. I read posts on Facebook stating that New Year’s Day was the beginning of a blank 365 page book for each one of us, and that we should write a good one. Some claimed 2017 to be the worst year on record for them. Others wrote about the things they wanted to improve upon or change starting today.

Let me challenge you. Get a brand new journal and write down an outline for your 2018 story. I know it hasn’t happened yet, but think about what you would like to happen. For me reconnecting with some old, dear friends is very important and long overdue. My Christian novel remains half written so 2018 is the perfect year to complete it.  Cookbook #2 is a little closer to being finished but needs work.  Any year past, present, and future is the time to deepen my relationship and walk with Jesus. Of course I need and want to get healthier, too. In August 2017 I began a new venture selling a Pampered Chef. It is my hope to improve on that this year. How about those goals? Pages and chapters for me to live and write.

Will you partner with me? We could try it together and encourage each other. Over our blank pages we need to speak and pray positivity.  Begin by asking God’s will to be done.  Thank Him for guiding and directing.  No more “I can’t lose weight, I am stressed and too busy, or it is never gonna happen.” Replace those with “absolutely I will lose weight, there is time, and yes, it will happen!”

Get your inspiration from your Life’s Rule Book or Holy Bible and your Heavenly Father.Design Scripture will give you the help, peace, and strength you need. Remember the verse in Matthew that says “With God all things are possible?” How about in Philippians where it tells us “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  Proverbs gives great counsel “Trust in the Lord with all your heart….”  We need to commit Bible verses to memory and claim the promises they give.

Keep me updated on your happy story. Working together we can make a positive difference in 2018. We will start with each other and see what trickles down from there.  I think it is time to turn a “no” into a “go”!  It is exciting to realize that we have the pen and blank paper for our 2018 story, not to mention the best Editor ever.  I am ready to start my new story.  Are you?

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God Has 2018 and You

Goodbye, 2017 and hello, 2018!  Here we are again. Another year is winding down to a close. Don’t worry. There is a brand new one just waiting to take 2017’s place. Whether this has been your best, worst, or just an average year, it is time to take inventory and plan for the next one. IMG_0113 Do you have expectations for 2018 or yourself? A new year is wonderful. It’s like getting a blank piece of paper to begin a new chapter in your story.  Exciting, isn’t it?!

Do you have a tradition for New Year’s Eve or Day? Many people start the year with a resolution or two.  Not a bad idea, but how many resolutions make it all year?  Grand plans and hopes turn to ashes when someone offers a piece of homemade fudge or favorite cookie. Even a 75% off sale and crash plans for saving more money. My hubby made a resolution a decade or more ago that he continues to keep……”to stop making New Year’s resolutions.” Perhaps I should try that one. My resolutions don’t seem to make it very long.

Let me offer another thing to try along with your resolution.  One tradition that I love to do is to think about my prayer list. DesignOn it is usually one item that seems greater than any of the others. If you have a prayer list you know the one I mean. It is the one you give over to Jesus to handle and take to the Father. Then later that day you start fretting over it again and try to tell Him how to work it out. (How silly!)  You pick it back up and cannot seem to give it away.  The problem is so big and seems unsolvable. Oh, but I have great news for you. God is bigger and more powerful than anything. Period.  He is also in the business of miracles.

This is all I do.  I will take a piece of paper and jot down that problem which has now become a mountain. When I pray about it now, I completely surrender it to Jesus, throw it in the fireplace and watch it burn. DesignAs it is eaten up by flames and disintegrated, I give thanks that the problem is out of my hands and into His. I have totally surrendered it.  He is doing what needs done according to His perfect will.  Before my prayer ends the paper has turned to ashes, tears stream down my cheeks, and my worry has vanished. I am at peace.

Try it with one of your problems that has grabbed onto you and won’t let go. God said not to worry. We can do that only by praying and turning things over to Him. He is good and He is faithful. God won’t let us down. Go into 2018 with one less issue hanging over your head, and with you holding on to Jesus’s hand.  Give it to Him.  Trust Him.  He has this, He has 2018, and He has you!

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