Hello, '09

Sigh. The clock just keeps on tickin' and the calendar just keeps on flippin', whether I'm ready for it or not.

I'm not a 'New Year's Resolution' maker...I never got the trick of making good ones that actually challenged me to do something specific better. My 'New Year's Resolutions' were usually lists of things I wanted to see happen in the next year, but without any real plan of accomplishing those things. I finally gave it up.

But Sarah at The Cleft of the Rock issued a challenge to her readers: sum up goals for the new year. In. Three. Words.

That intrigued me; three little words would not be something I wished for and failed at, but just something to keep in mind and heart.

So I began to think and reflect: what is God saying to me about the upcoming twelve months?

And, believe it or not, I did come up with three words:

Trust. Time. Sphere.

The first two were from our New Years Eve worship service. 'Trust' was in response to a question that I wrote in my sermon notes book: "What do I need to hear from God for the New Year?' The answer that I wrote to that query was that I need to trust Him and quit worrying and fretting. He has always provided what I've needed when I needed it; I need to actively, intentionally depend on Him...count on Him...to do that this year.

In that service, we also were given 3x5 cards and instructed to write on them what we needed to give to God for 2009, then leave that anonymous note on the altar. I struggled a bit with that one before I realized that what I need to give Him is my time. Not that I need to increase my activities, but I need to recognize Him as the Orderer of my Time. I don't need to give Him three more hours, twice a week...I need to acknowledge that He owns my minutes, and what I do with them matters. That should make a huge difference in my life if I really take that to heart and live by it.

Finally, in this morning's service, I realized that the third word was 'Sphere.' I need to be more aware not only of my sphere of influence, but my sphere of responsibility...and what is and is not in those respective spheres.

So...like Sarah, I'll ask...any one else have three words for '09?