Take a Deep Breath ... and Start Again

Fresh… New... Resolve... Different... Novel… Radical… Unique... Different... Unknown…Clean.

No matter what word you have used to describe exactly what you hope that 2017 will be like for you, you are now at the middle of the first month of the new calendar year where that infamous rubber has met that unyielding and predictable road.

Have your goals crashed and burned much like an out of control comet?

Are your New Year’s Resolutions smelly and moldy like the holiday food that sits untouched in your refrigerator?

What do you do when you made the wrong New Year’s Resolutions? What do you do when you simply don’t have the discipline to forge ahead with your impossible dream for the New Year?

Perhaps it is time for you to resolve again … to dream again … to take a deep breath and start over again in the middle of the month!

Let me confess to you that I have been guilty in the past of making the wrong resolutions with outrageous and crazy heart attitudes. I have mistakenly thought that I could lose 22 pounds in one month … or that I could complete a 5K with only 3 weeks of training … or that I would never get frustrated with my difficult person again.

I have fictionally supposed that I could read 15 books in 7 days … or that I was able to conquer a piano concerto without first spending time practicing a boring scale or two … or that I could snap my fingers and instantly create world peace on Facebook.

I will never play another game on my phone. Ever. As long as I live.

I will never eat another piece of desert. Ever. As long as I live.

I will get up every morning at 4:30 and read my Bible for an hour and then go for a 5-mile run. Every day. As long as I live.

Ha! So much for New Year’s Resolutions!

Perhaps my challenge lies not in my desire to be a different person but is found in the tug-of- war that takes place in my ability to dream the right dream.

I must begin to dream the possible dream. I must embrace the reasonable hope. I must set the doable goal.

I desperately long to start fresh in 2017 and, honestly, there are some issues that have dogged me year after year which I strongly desire to be done with this calendar year.

I don’t want to be ruled by what I put in my mouth at any given hour of the day. And so I am determined for once in my life to set a reasonable goal. Perhaps for you, you need to set the goal of only indulging in dessert once a week. For me, it is carbs. It is always carbs. I have never met a carb that I didn’t like.

My reasonable and attainable goal is to cut back on carbs. Rather than 3 pieces of toast … one piece of toast! Rather than an entire baked potato … half a baked potato will do.

I don’t want to waste hours on my phone … or on Facebook … or by surfing the Internet. I want to use my time in creative and valuable activities. I humbly desire to commit my days, my hours and my minutes to the Lord’s leadership.

My doable goal is to spend 15-20 minutes in the morning on social media and then 15-20 minutes in the evening on the Internet. It’s doable. It will certainly take discipline but I must change my out of control habits before I lose my hours … and my days … and my weeks … and my months … and an entire year in wasting my life.

New Year’s Resolutions take discipline … and discipline is NOT a dirty word.

Discipline often hurts … it is often uncomfortable … and it always is a challenge. But it is discipline that will cultivate the best in each one of us.

I need discipline! I desperately need it … and so do you!

I am thankful for the role that a new calendar year plays in helping me to corral the out of control me in order to cultivate the new and improved me. There will be days when I don’t “feel” like being the new and improved me … but discipline makes it possible.

And, I have found, that when my resolutions are of the doable sort, that I am also able to mix in an impossible prayer request or two for each New Year!

I am praying that this year that God will use me in His Kingdom as never before.

I am praying that my ordinary life will have the extraordinary power of making hell smaller and heaven bigger.

I am praying that God will use my words to bring comfort to discouraged people … to bring hope to lonely people … and to usher in the possibility of joy to depressed people.

I am praying that God will give me uncommon strength to live with gusto and to celebrate every day as the gift that it is!

I am praying for the wisdom of Solomon … for the revelation knowledge of Paul … for the courage of Esther … and for the faith of Peter!

And I am praying for you.

I am praying that this year, in 2017, that you, my friend, will live in your sweet spot in life. I am praying that your life will impact all of eternity because of your daily choices. I am praying that you will learn the delight of discipline and the power of dreaming God’s dreams for your life.

I am praying for you, my friend, that each day will be a day of joy simply because you splash in the miracle that He loves you!

Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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