Reflections Cause Better Revisions

It's the start of February. Most people have allowed all their well meant goals to slip on by with the same excuses they used the year before, or a select few have kept them. We all have good intentions when writing them . . . er, typing them on Facebook or Twitter. However, as time goes on, we realize that maybe those goals were a tad ambitious, or right now is just not a good time to try to uphold them, or all the other excuses that fit perfectly, like "I've been sick because of the weather," or "the gym just isn't open when I can go." I'll be honest here, I had to actually go back and read mine again because I forgot them, but here they are:

write more. start photography business little by little (pro bono for awhile). make my husband as happy as I can. spread the gospel to as many people as possible. get the courage to sing for our new church, Church at the Cross. read the Bible start to finish.

Now, reading back over those, seems like I've done a decent job. I'm writing more than I did before the end of 2011, I've started my photography business with many pro-bono jobs under my belt, and well . . I can't really vouch for how happy I've made Doug, so I'll just stop there. Those last four things on my large list of goals are, and should be the most important to me, but as it is, those are the four things that haven't been accomplished to the best of my ability. It's embarrassing, and to many degrees, heartbreaking. These four areas are things that I am commanded to do- submit to my husband, share the gospel, share my special gifts with the church, and to be invested in the Word. They aren't goals to take lightly by any means- however, they are vague and need to be made more specific. This is where BSF comes in to help me. Thank you Jesus, for giving me an urgency and a desire to be a part of a wonderful weekly bible study, because over the last four weeks, all of those areas have been addressed in one way or another.

Like the title of my blog states, reflections cause better revisions, and this is what I have had my eyes opened to this morning in my reading. The apostle Paul in the bible is seen as a very strong, persistent, and encouraging man throughout the New Testament. He doesn't fail Christ- in fact, he makes sure of this by declaring a mission statement, and relying on the Holy Spirit completely to get him through it all. His mission statement isn't just, "make God happy," he makes it specific. In Acts 20:24, Paul writes, "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." This is a man who not only has a goal to please God, he cashes everything in- his entire life! His method of pleasing God? The one thing that all Christians are called to do- share the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

This made me think a lot about my goals, not just this year, but for the rest of my life. I need a personal mission statement- one that fulfills the will of God, that glorifies Him. I need a specific mission statement, and steps to achieve it. Each week that I do my bible study, we are given notes that further explain the scripture that is being read, and the notes for this week had several convicting parts. One in particular stood out to me and really hurt- Doug would say, "AWESOME!!" Not because he is a masochist, but because he understands that when a person's pride is hurt, that means growth is on the horizon- and he's right! 

"How often do you do a task merely to get it done, when your attitude could be, 'not somehow, but triumphantly' through the power of the Holy Spirit?"

Such a powerful question, and one that hit my chest like a tons of bricks. It pointed out two things to me- more often than not, I work to get things done quickly and out of the way, sometimes not even thinking about the product, and I rarely look for the purpose of Christ in what I do in everyday tasks. OUCH. How do I fix it? That calls for some changes- revisions that need to become concrete in my everyday life- not just a routine, but triumphant successes that glorify God. So, here are my new goals:

Start everyday in the Word and prayer, share the gospel with people I come in contact with in words & actions, trust my husband in the decisions he makes for our household, and  in everything I do, do it all for the glory of God- KNOW THE PURPOSE!

My question to you is . . . What's your mission in life? Do you understand it's purpose and do you feel prepared to fulfill it? Feel a prick of pain? Good. Do something about it!