Each January that rolls around brings filled treadmills and new calendars. It brings motivation to change but soon, as the February calendar gets seen, most of these are right out the window. How can we be women who intentional desire change and make that change happen?
Intentional change must take moment by moment living – every minute thinking of those changes and making conscious choices to make those happen.
I am on a flight right now to spend a Word-filled weekend with my mentor in St. Simons Island, GA. She has made a habit over the last 35+ years (or so) to pray for her family and read her Bible early in the morning. Even when her husband had to get up early to go to work, how easy would it have been for her to go back to bed – or just stay in bed? Years of faithfulness wouldn’t have happened if she had pushed the snooze button.
So, as I was thinking of ways to implement this in my life I came up with a hugely long list. Maybe you can relate to some of them:
1. If I want to wake up early, when the alarm goes off…get up. Don’t press snooze. I attended a conference about 10 years ago where Elisabeth Elliot was speaking. One of the attendees asked her how she had a QT every morning and did everything, how’d she get up? Her answer: put your feet on the floor and get up! Simple enough.
2. Do you want to read the Bible more? Make a minute by minute decision to read the Bible before you read google feeds, or look at pictures on Instagram, or check people’s statuses on facebook. They can wait. The Bible is life-giving.
3. Do you want to lose weight? Make the minute by minute decision to not eat so much, make healthy choices, get up and move. That simple.
4. Do you want to learn how to take better photographs with your “big” camera on manual? Do it. Don’t keep it in the bag and when you take it out – set it on manual and make mistakes and take beautiful shots of every day life.
5. Do you want to be a better friend…think through ways that you can be a friend to someone and follow through on it.
6. Do you want to pray more?…pray without ceasing. Pray as you change a diaper, as you are trying to figure out what to do with a fussy infant as he is fighting nap time.
7. Do you want to encourage your husband more?…find ways that he needs encouragement and do it. Don’t put it off.
8. Do you want to exercise more?…then get off the comfy red couch and take the stroller and go walk around your new neighborhood for 20 minutes.
All of life (daily grind) is about choices. Life is made of a bazillion moments and choices. Make right ones.