What Do You See in 2017?

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What God has for you is all yours, and no one can take what he gives to you. Keep that in mind as you pen your vision for 2017. If your Focus is on God and serving him, you won’t have time or energy to compete with others as you see them gaining worldly riches.

Thou wilt keep in perfect peace the mind stayed [on thee]. ~ Isaiah 26:3

I love God’s promise of perfect peace for those who keep their minds on him. When we avert our eyes to gander at the world’s definition of success or happiness, we lose sight of our purpose and God’s plan for our lives. The world’s definition of success and happiness pales in comparison to his. You see the best of everyone’s lives on social media, but rarely do they attribute those mountaintop moments to God. You never see their valley moments on display because that might paint them as weak or less than those they are competing with.

God wants us to come to him during our storms, but he wants us to run to him when there’s plenty of sunshine as well.

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ~Psalm 34:1

We sometimes forget to thank him for the little things — those things we take for granted like sleeping through the night, waking up to see another day, mobility, and free will. What we tend to pollute our prayers with are things that aren’t living up to our expectations like our relationships, our career status, our children’s behavior, and our exes. He’s so much bigger than those issues, and he offers us his divine guidance about those things when we go to him in prayer. If we would just listen for his answers and wait without intervening, we might save ourselves unwanted emotional stress. Find a little quiet time for him, and listen for his voice. Do you recognize it among all the other voices that are vying for your attention?

Join me in the new year by changing some aspect of your life that will promote growth and a stronger relationship with God our Father. It could be as simple as carving out 15 minutes each morning as soon as you wake up to pray. Are you interested?

Here’s a really simple formula that I often times use:

  1. Thank God for waking me up this morning.
  2. Ask God to forgive me for my sins (and I list them).
  3. Pray for my husband and our relationship.
  4. Pray for friends and family who are struggling.
  5. Ask God to use me as he sees fit.
  6. Ask God to send me the resources I need to do his will.

I encourage you to do what makes him smile each day. If you want to make me smile, share this post with anyone who might benefit from it. My goal for this blog is to draw others to Christ, and by sharing my spirit-inspired messages, it insures that we are accomplishing that goal as the body of Christ. All parts of the body are important, and I am not ashamed to ask for your help. Thanks in advance. As always, thank you for your love and support by reading, following, commenting, and sharing my posts. You have blessed me immensely. May blessings abound! <3

 

Published by Michelle Harmon-Malone

Michelle Harmon-Malone helps busy moms to create margin in their lives so that they can design and build the life God intended. She is also the bestselling author of The Parenting Playbook: Beginning With the End in Mind.

15 Thoughts

  1. Wow. This is honestly the conversation I’ve been having with myself lately. I just mentioned to my children yesterday morning we need to remember to thank God for His answers we take for granted; such as waking up, praying over food, bringing daddy home safely every day. Thanks for this great post as we go into the new year!

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Saleama. We take so much for granted because God consistently provides all our needs. If we make thanksgiving an intentional focus each day, we’ll all be on the right track. Happy New Year to you and your family.

      Reply

  2. Very well said. What I’m going to do different in 2017 is reach out to develop, maintain, and seek out friendships. I moved from Seattle to North Carolina to have years ago, and I’ve been kind of antisocial. It’s time to change.

    Reply

  5. One of my goal this 2017 is to be closer to God. There were times that I lost my faith in Him last year, this year I won’t let that happen again. This post just uplifted that goal more.

    Have a great year 😊

    Reply

  6. I’ve been working on this exact thing and I have never felt more close to God. You begin to see how God provides and looks out for those who have faith. I prayed for happiness for so long. Happiness is fleeting but peace is a feeling that surpasses happy and is long lasting. It’s amazing.

    Reply

    1. I couldn’t agree more, Charles. Happiness pales in comparison to Peace. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and to comment. May blessings abound, and may you never settle for happiness when you can have peace.

      Reply

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