New Year's Resolutions and a revelation......

Every year we do the same thing over and over again.  We get caught up in ourselves, our lives, our jobs, our kids, our technology, and we look up and realize that 12 months have slipped by and we wonder in awe where those days and weeks and months went.  We make our resolutions, we start off fresh and strict on ourselves, and then we slowly slack off, we get caught up in "life" again, and by December 31 we are couch potatoes sitting with our remotes, our laptops, our Facebook, our new shoes, new purses, new gadgets, full bellies, and saying to ourselves: "Gosh, where did this year go?"  Some of us might even think:  "What have I TRULY accomplished this year?"

I don't make resolutions.  Never have, probably never will.  With the exception of this year.  And it's not even a resolution for me as it is a realization AND a revelation.  This morning Mrs. Sharon said something about being "disciplined" in spending time with Christ and how really there should be no such thing as being "disciplined" in our relationship with Christ.  I think with all my heart, that if we truly knew how much God aches for us, and loves us--- even more so than a biological parent can love their biological child-- that we would DESIRE to spend every waking second on our faces and on our knees before God and living out a life 24 hours a day that reflects his Spirit living inside of us. We shouldn't have to discipline ourselves to take an extra 30 minutes our of our morning to spend precious, quiet moments with the One who created us in His image.

And I am as guilty as anyone.  My realization slowly started to take shape several months ago after I got my iPhone.  Most of us are all on Facebook, and Facebook is really a great thing.  In moderation.  I have caught up with so many friends I haven't seen in ages, caught up on news, and keep in touch with relatives who live in other states.  But Facebook has become dangerous for me.  I realized with each passing day, that my nifty little phone was just SO convenient to checking Facebook, and it soon became almost a habit to pick up my phone and check the latest status updates every 5 minutes.  In recent weeks, it has gotten so bad, that I started to annoy myself.  I knew it was really bad when my alarm went off in the mornings and first thing I would do is check FB to see if I missed anything life-changing in the wee hours of night.  Each morning that I would do that, I would feel a little whisper in my ear......"Mandy, why is this so important to you?'  Then another whisper, "Mandy, when is the last time you got out of bed and prayed and spent time in the Word?"  Sadly, the answer I had was that I didn't know what was so important to me and I couldn't remember the last time I made a full-fledged effort to get out of bed 10 minutes early and get on my face before my Creator.  Something as STUPID as FB had become my god.

I'm working on it.  This is my REAL resolution.  I don't want something like technology becoming my god.  I don't want ANYTHING of this world becoming my god.  I want my Creator to be my one God, and I want to live my life to the fullest FOR Him and I want to be a tool to show others the love of Christ. 

So, whether you have or have not made any New Year resolutions, I urge you to step back and take stock of what is really important to you.  There is no time like the present to make some serious changes and decide if there is something in your life RIGHT NOW that has become your god.  Let's hold each other accountable.  I certainly want my friends in Christ to hold me accountable.  I am going to try my best to stay away from that happy little social network and put my phone down and get on my knees more. 

Feel free to share any thoughts........