1:7 This is what the Lord Almight says: give careful thought to your ways (NIV). The New Living Translation says: Consider how things are going for you! 8 Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house.
Verse 7 has become my mantra for 2010. I am a man with many ideas, but actually carry out very few of them. I attribute this to my ADHD (Attention Deficit in High Definition) and the fact that I am no better than the Jews in Haggai's day. God wants me to go and help build his temple; however, my work has not been very fruitful or productive. I started skipping the latter part of the books in the Old Testament because I was getting tired of reading how the Jews continued to stray from God. In the same way, I am sure God shakes his head at me and wonders if I will ever see similarities between my life and the Jews of the Old Testament.
God is telling me it is time to take action with what I ask from Him in prayer. I ask God to show me how to serve Him and He is reminding me that I have been a poor steward with the resources He has provided me. For example, where does the time go when I am trying to accomplish tasks throughout the week? I wonder why I am constantly hoping to make it from paycheck to paycheck and yet I have not come up with a plan yet to manage my money. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 tells me that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that I must honor God with my body. Some how I don't think making poor food choices and inconsistent exercising builds a temple worthy of the Holy Spirit. Again, like the Jews of Haggai's day, my intentions are good but I am easily distracted by my own (SQUIRREL!!!) lack of focus.
God called me to go to Caracas last April and He is calling me to go there again. After my first trip, I promised to start learning Spanish in preparation for my return in July of 2010. Have I started? My intentions are good.
My quiet time with God is telling me the time is now for James 1:22-25 "But Be Doers of the Word, and Not Just Hearers Only Deceiving Yourself".
So the purpose of this blog is more for me to better server God than anything else. Hopefully by this time next year, I will be a better dad, husband, friend to my wife as well as to my friends. I will work on the gifts He has given me such as photography and take it to the level God has in mind for me and not just cruise with the talent He has provided. I will use this blog to track changes I want to make in my life and be accountable to anyone who stumbles upon this and wants to keep me accountable.
I plan on carrying out this year's resolution of 2009, "Stay Positive" into next year to help me accomplish my goals to "Giving careful thought to my ways".
