Planning for the New Year

"I have labored most of this day on my message for the weekend. I am supposed to give vision and bring out what the year is to look like. It is tough because I have so much in my heart and yet I am finding it hard to make clear. There are no easy steps to make this happen. There is heart, faith and following the Lord."

The Bible says that there are many plans in a man's heart but the answer comes from the Lord. Looking at a new year can bring on a host of emotions. Sometimes the task ahead can be daunting. Other times the prospect of the unknown can be exciting. We may also find that having a clean slate to work with is a relief and there is a peace that comes with the new year. 

I think the sentiment from my thought from last year is still the same today. No matter how you feel as you approach 2017 know that it can be your best year. The reason is that when you have God giving direction and laying out the vision of what is to come it makes life an adventure. Adventure doesn't mean easy. I couldn't give you three easy steps to the best year of your life. But I can give you encouragement that you can have the best year of your life. 

How can I say that? Glad you asked. 

I have a question for you. 

What is in your heart? 

Do you really want to have a great year? You can have it. God says that if you delight yourself in Him that He will give you the desire of your heart. That shows me that if you really want it you can have it. 

Beyond that what can you believe God for? How big is He to you? What is He able to do? My Bible says God is an exceedingly abundantly above all I can ask or think God. That means my desires and my ability to ask will always come up short of what He is able to do. He will always exceed my expectation! So my faith needs to rise to new levels to have a better year. 

Finally we need to realize the simplicity of just following God as our leader. Again, this is not always easy, but it is simple. 

There have been many times that I have lamented over a member of my family, who will go unnamed (you know who you are), and their inability to make boxed macaroni and cheese. If they could just follow the directions everything would turn out right. But rather than boil the water before they add the noodles I see them dumping the box in water that is just starting to warm up. Oh I warn them that soggy macaroni noodles are on the horizon but do they listen? No. Not until they are eating mushy mac 'n cheese. 

All joking aside I know that God's plan is better than mine. If we could just catch a vision of what God has planned for us and follow His will we would have the best year of our lives. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for a look in to what He desires for your year ahead. Press in, fast, pray and find out from the scriptures and your personal time with the Holy Spirit what that is. 

My 2016 ended up being an amazing year that when I look back on I am blown away. God is faithful. We can see it behind us and we can believe for it ahead of us. 

Day 142 - Plays well with others

"We did a brainstorming meeting that actually was a true brainstorm. It was nice to get creative and think together. We got some good concepts and will come together next week to edit and plan."

I love to collaborate with creative people on projects. Don't just get me the leaders but get me the creative followers too. One time we had tables in the church sanctuary with paper and crayons to get the juices flowing for a stage idea. It ended up being a brilliant move. 

Vision may come from the leader but it may be a follower who sees it better than the leader could. Or maybe there is a clarity or facet that a leader from somewhere else may see. 

God made us all unique with gifts, talents, passions and personalities. With that comes a unique perspective. I think of the modern day parable of the three blind guys who were all holding on to something together. The first says It is a snake. The second says it is a tree trunk. The third says it is a cord hanging down. Who was right? All three. They were holding onto the same elephant in different parts. 

I see collaboration that way. We all have a different part of the same thing and if we can get together with vision from outside we can appreciate and understand but also get to the right conclusion and destination. 

We have to honor and respect others to successfully do this. The Bible talks about the church as a body that has differing parts but the same purpose. As we get together and work in unity and oneness the job gets done. Wether that job is doing church, business or home, we're better together than we are apart!

Do you work well in group settings? What are the advantages of having others to collaborate with?