All of the articles I have posted today I wrote on another blog, but I am moving to here, too. When I wrote this article, it was closer to the beginning of the year 2020. It was the beginning of January. While I did not have 2020 vision seeing through the future to be able to predict all that has happened in the world today, I would not change everything I said in these articles. God is good. He loves me. He is taking care of me.
Do you have perfect vision, 2020, spiritually? I know that no one will be perfect until heaven except for God himself, but don't you want to get closer to that goal of perfection? Adventures in Odyssey showed a calendar for the coming year- 2020. This year is special to me because of a major milestone in my life. But is that all I want to remember in the coming years? Is that the only change I want to experience? I want a vision- a goal that I can focus on- to prepare me in the following year to come.
I want my goal to have three parts: something that has to do with God's Word, something that has to do with my character, and/or something that has to do with my relationships. For example, I could say something like, "My vision is to read my Bible, keep a positive attitude even when life seems hard, and to pray more often." While I believe all three of those are good goals to include in a 'vision' but I think it should be more specific: "My vision is to read one chapter of the Bible daily, keep a positive attitude even when life gets hard, and to pray about twice a day."
Once the vision is created, I have more to say. I think that the vision can and maybe even should be tweaked throughout the year. Let's say you find you are reading a chapter of the Bible every morning, but you find your evenings are stressful and you can't sleep. Maybe you could change it to reading "a chapter at night and in the morning". This will also help you grow. One thing I DON'T want to see happen is for the goals to drop. You can't change your goal from a chapter a day to a chapter weekly. That is hurting you more than helping you. Plus, if that is the case it makes the vision more important.
When I hear the word "vision" I think one of two things normally: Did you see a ghost in your sleep? OR Do you need your eyes checked? Both are focused on seeing. I want to encourage you to grow in your walk with your Savior and to see the world more like He would. I believe it is easier to see the world the way God would if we spend time talking to Him and hearing what He has to say. Both reading your bible and praying are important to that.
We are told in Matthew 28 to "Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit." While this verse can mean just to encourage believers already, I believe (from this and other passages) that we are to tell others the Good News of the Gospel. God has changed my life, so why shouldn't I tell others? I struggle with it, though, because it is a fear of mine. I don't know how people will respond. Will I be shunned? Will I lose friends? In the long run, it doesn't matter! I believe that sharing the gospel could and should be added to the unique vision each person can come up with.
While I know many people make New Year's Resolutions and never finish them, I want to strive to remember my goal. I don't want to live for the world- I want to live for God! I think that this can help you dive deep into what you seem to struggle with and how you can work on improving it throughout the year. Remember, though, you can't do any of this alone. You need God's help with everything you do in life, including both creating and working on this new goal- this vision. So, I would recommend you pray and ask for God's guidance as you write this new vision for yourself.
My vision is: "I want to tell others about what God has done in my life, I want to learn something new in each day of reading God's Word, and I want to get along with the people God has placed in my life."
-Mary Beau
Do you have perfect vision, 2020, spiritually? I know that no one will be perfect until heaven except for God himself, but don't you want to get closer to that goal of perfection? Adventures in Odyssey showed a calendar for the coming year- 2020. This year is special to me because of a major milestone in my life. But is that all I want to remember in the coming years? Is that the only change I want to experience? I want a vision- a goal that I can focus on- to prepare me in the following year to come.
I want my goal to have three parts: something that has to do with God's Word, something that has to do with my character, and/or something that has to do with my relationships. For example, I could say something like, "My vision is to read my Bible, keep a positive attitude even when life seems hard, and to pray more often." While I believe all three of those are good goals to include in a 'vision' but I think it should be more specific: "My vision is to read one chapter of the Bible daily, keep a positive attitude even when life gets hard, and to pray about twice a day."
Once the vision is created, I have more to say. I think that the vision can and maybe even should be tweaked throughout the year. Let's say you find you are reading a chapter of the Bible every morning, but you find your evenings are stressful and you can't sleep. Maybe you could change it to reading "a chapter at night and in the morning". This will also help you grow. One thing I DON'T want to see happen is for the goals to drop. You can't change your goal from a chapter a day to a chapter weekly. That is hurting you more than helping you. Plus, if that is the case it makes the vision more important.
When I hear the word "vision" I think one of two things normally: Did you see a ghost in your sleep? OR Do you need your eyes checked? Both are focused on seeing. I want to encourage you to grow in your walk with your Savior and to see the world more like He would. I believe it is easier to see the world the way God would if we spend time talking to Him and hearing what He has to say. Both reading your bible and praying are important to that.
We are told in Matthew 28 to "Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit." While this verse can mean just to encourage believers already, I believe (from this and other passages) that we are to tell others the Good News of the Gospel. God has changed my life, so why shouldn't I tell others? I struggle with it, though, because it is a fear of mine. I don't know how people will respond. Will I be shunned? Will I lose friends? In the long run, it doesn't matter! I believe that sharing the gospel could and should be added to the unique vision each person can come up with.
While I know many people make New Year's Resolutions and never finish them, I want to strive to remember my goal. I don't want to live for the world- I want to live for God! I think that this can help you dive deep into what you seem to struggle with and how you can work on improving it throughout the year. Remember, though, you can't do any of this alone. You need God's help with everything you do in life, including both creating and working on this new goal- this vision. So, I would recommend you pray and ask for God's guidance as you write this new vision for yourself.
My vision is: "I want to tell others about what God has done in my life, I want to learn something new in each day of reading God's Word, and I want to get along with the people God has placed in my life."
-Mary Beau
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