New Years Resolutions - Bring God Into Your Life

If you are a believer, you understand the desire to bring God into your daily life.  While you may be accustomed to attending a church on Sundays, spending time with God during the week is more challenging, especially if you don't attend additional services.  Praying can be difficult if you aren't in the habit of doing it, and if you are waiting to "feel" God, you might be waiting for a while.  You can discover God in your daily life, but only if you look for Him.

Believe me when I say I'm not preaching.  This is one of my goals for 2017.  Mother Teresa went through long periods of her life where her walk with Jesus was "dry."  She didn't sense His presence, but she persisted in her prayer life.  It's a matter of habit, so I want to follow my own suggestions to get into the habit of bringing God into my daily life.

I think the most obvious is prayer.  As a Catholic, I have lots of formal types of prayer available to me - the Rosary, novenas, chaplets and many formal prayers.  That does make it a little easier.  But I think the essential part is setting a time every day exclusively for prayer.  There are many places you can get suggestions for how to pray, but generally, you should start with quiet.  Clear your mind.  Then start with praise and honor to God.  It's a little like saying hello.  Next, thank God for your blessings.  It can be mundane or the big things - family, health, life itself.  Only after you have praised and thanked God should you ask for anything.  Don't just ask for yourself - ask for others.

My next strategy will be reading the Bible.  I'm going to try to use a program to do it in a year.  There are multiple websites with suggestions for how to do this and you can find apps to read the Bible to you.  If you want to go deeper, there are countless Bible studies you can do yourself or find a group.  Finally, read some spiritual books.  There are too many to count and they come in all shapes, sizes and beliefs.  Find some that inspire you.

Finally, the best way to bring God into your daily life is just to open the door to Him.  Talk to Him while you're doing your daily activities.  Did you get a green light or a break in traffic?  Thank Him.  Did you lose your keys?  Ask for help.  Pray before meals.  Pray when you wake up and before you go to sleep.  These don't have to be long or complex.  If you're talking to someone all day, you will tend to think about them throughout the day.  God's not just hanging out in the church building.

Please pray for me and I will pray for you.

cindy

2015

Here it is, a new year.  Watch the ball drop.  Kiss your honey, blow some horns and sing "Auld Lang Syne."

Remember to write the correct year on your checks.  Start gathering the tax information.  Watch the endless commercials for weight loss plans and gyms.  Make a resolution.

No thank you.  I'm fine.  I've been thinking about it for days.  I can't think of a single thing I want to define my 2015.  Last year I said "peace."  If that's still my resolution, do I need to say it again?

I guess we need a stopping point every now and then.  I like the idea of looking back to remember important things that happened, people we lost and lessons we learned.  January 1 is a good day for that.  I'm just not a resolution kind of girl.  I have things I resolve to do daily, weekly and monthly, but I can't in good faith try to think of one thing I resolve to do for an entire year.

So Happy New Year!  I'm thinking back through 2014 and looking forward to life in 2015.  I'm having a big birthday this year.  My son will start high school {gasp!} and a dear friend is having a miracle baby.  I will spend much of the year working toward getting our youth choir to Rome for New Years 2016.  I'm looking forward to all of it.

2015 is bound to be a year full of joy and sorrow, hopefully more of the former and less of the latter.  I'm still praying for peace, both for myself and the world.  I'm also praying for wisdom so I can discern more of God's plans for me.

Happy New Year.

Cindy