New Year’s Eve has come and gone. “The ball” was dropped, the confetti fell, and Auld Lang Syne was sung. Now we’re one week into 2017, and we can’t help but wonder what this year will hold.
We wonder about where we are.
We wonder about where we’ve been.
We wonder about where we’re going.
We realize more and more that the days are precious, and there’s never enough time to do all the things we want to do. Our brand new planners are already filled with appointments, commitments, and various activities.
And yes, January 1 was ‘just’ another flip of the calendar. The beginning of another 24-hour day. But because it catapulted us into a new year, it causes us to look at things differently and to be a bit more reflective.
Some of you are thinking about the year you just endured… one that was difficult and not at all what you expected. You’re really not even sure how you managed to put one foot in front of the other.
But some of you had a really good year. Though it wasn’t perfect, it certainly may have been full of great moments, major milestones, or personal victories.
So we are all at different points in our lives. We each have a unique life story and lots of varied experiences. We are different ages and have different ethnic backgrounds, varying vocational and family situations, and differing opinions and personalities.
But let me be bold in making this next statement.
Regardless of where we are in our lives or where we’ve been, and despite all of our varied lifestyles and preferences, I believe we have one thing in common:
We want to know our life has a purpose.
When all is said and done, we want to know we weren’t merely placed on this planet to occupy space. We want to know there is something more.
And here is what it all boils down to: God has planted a uniqueness inside each of us and a dream that our soul longs to express.Think about it.
Ponder it.
Search your heart, and you’ll feel it – – that desire for life to be more than just a flipping of the calendar page. That desire for your one life to matter. That desire to live purposefully.
There is something inside of you that maybe you just can’t quite put your finger on… you just can’t quite define it. But it’s there.
It makes your heart race a little when you think about it. It makes you realize, in the deepest part of you, there is something more. It terrifies you and excites you all at the same time.
Right there, at that place… that’s where God is waiting. And instead of continuing to ignore it and trying to chase other things that really don’t satisfy, God is awaiting your decision to finally live with purpose.
Maybe it’s time for us to stop being ruled by the tyranny of the urgent and suffocated by a stressful lifestyle.
Maybe it’s time to pause and discover the amazing gift of life God has given us.
But how? How can we thrive instead of merely survive? And is there a way to truly be excited about facing the next days and months ahead?
Do we really have permission to pursue our dreams? Can we ever really make friends with the ‘voice’ inside that keeps asking us if there’s something more?
These are the questions that haunt us. And these are the questions we are going to explore during the next few weeks here at “Of Grace & Faith”.
I’m not an expert, and I don’t have all the answers. But I know a big God whose is not afraid for us to ask big questions.
So we are going to look at how God has equipped us to live purposefully. For some of you, it will mean “going where no man has gone before”. For others, it will be a natural extension of a path you’re already on.
It won’t necessarily be easy, but it will change us in amazing ways!
We just have to be willing to tackle the hard stuff. But thankfully, God doesn’t abandon hearts that seek to pursue His purpose.
I’m not asking you to make a resolution, nor am I asking you to sit down right now and write out a list of goals. But I am challenging you to do this:
Choose to walk slow into 2017 and purposefully pause to discover the abundant life God has planned for you.
As part of this challenge, I’m excited to let you know that I will be writing a new blog series called Pausing to Live Purposefully. This is a journey we can share together, regardless of our age or our life’s story. And I believe with every fiber of my being that we can be intentional in breathing deeper, looking closer, and laughing harder.
But let me warn you – – If all you’re looking for is a self-help, step-by-step formula, you won’t find it here. Because I don’t think we need self-improvement. Instead, I believe we need to unveil what is already embedded deep inside of us. I believe we need to uncover the ‘new’ that God has already created.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.”
(I Cor. 5:17, KJV)
So as we begin our journey of walking slow into 2017, our first “purposeful pause” is going to involve discovering how Christ has made us new.
I invite you to join me! In a few days, I will post Pause #1 (i.e. Part I) of this new series. It is entitled, “Uncovering the New”, and I think it will be a great starting point on our journey!
But there’s one important order of business you need to take care of first: To make sure you don’t miss any of the “purposeful pauses” in this journey, sign up by entering your email below. This will ensure that you get notifications whenever I post new content in this series.
I’m looking forward to what God will teach us as we commit to pausing and living purposefully.
In His grace,
Sherri
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