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Spiritual Priorities for the New Year

by Marci Ferrell
Christian Living Encouragement Homemaking Time Management

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 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
~ Ephesians 5:15-16

 

I love turning the calendar and starting fresh for the new year.  Making lists and planning goals are tasks I look forward to with much joy.

A resource that crossed my path several years ago is a book by Carolyn Mahaney called Shopping for Time.  This challenged me in the area of spiritual goals for the new year.  I realized if I didn't plan and spend time in prayer of how I was going to grow spiritually not much growth would take place.  For several years now I have spent time planning areas of my spiritual life that I would like to see growth in.

The reminder Carolyn gives is when you are planning your priorities for the new year is that they come from God's Word and not cultural or personal preferences.  As Christian women our priorities will look similar even though we may use different categories.

I take time with each priority I have listed below in prayer.  I used Carolyn's list as in the book since they fit this season of my life.  My list from the previous year is something I use to review and see areas where there has been growth, decline or I need to make adjustments.  Below are examples of what my list and categories look like.

The Seven Categories are as follows:
Grow in godliness
Love my family
Serve in the church
Fellowship with Christians
Evangelize non-Christians
Attend to my work

Care for my physical health

Grow in godliness:
My daily time with the Lord is part of this category.  There are resources I enjoy using in addition to my daily bible reading to help with studying the Word and aiding in the application of it to my daily life.  This year I am using Tabletalk Magazine from Ligonier Ministries and hoping to make scripture memorization an integral part of my daily time with the Lord.
 
I love scripture memory work because it is something that continues on through the day so it is a joy to meditate on God's Word throughout the day as I look at the little notes I have posted all over to help me in memorizing His Word.
My two areas that I desire to grow more in with the help of the Lord are my time in prayer and memorizing His Word.
 I have been using several resources regarding praying the scriptures and below are some links that have helped me in integrating this into my prayer time with the Lord.
Prayers of an Excellent Wife by Andrew Case
Setting their Hope in God:  Biblical Intercession for Your Children by Andrew Case
Five Tips to Help you Pray for your Children – Visionary Womanhood
Lifting my Husband Through Prayer Card – Family Life
Lifting my Children Through Prayer Card – Family Life
 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:8
Love my Family:
This is a list of my priority family relationships and I ask myself  “How can I show love to this particular family member?”  How can I help them to grow more in their love for the Lord?”
Some examples of what may be on my list are:  Ask my husband daily how I can pray for him.  Pray with my son regularly and help him with his scheduling needs.  Send my daughter encouraging notes and home-keeping ideas.

and so train the young women to love their husbands and children
Titus 2:4

 Serve in the Church:
How am I using my gifts to serve in the local church?  Serving the brothers and sisters in our local church body should be a priority over the other activities our family participates in.  I am hoping to be more diligent in sending encouraging cards and notes to our church family this year.
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 
Galatians 6:10
 
Fellowship with Christians:
Spending time with my brothers and sisters in the faith is an important part of my spiritual growth.  We grow in our love for each other, bear each other's burdens and learn better how we can pray for one another.
On my list this year is to keep it a priority to have our church family over for dinner.  It is a time when we can spend time with each family and get to know them better and talk about what the Lord is doing in their lives.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 
1 John 4:7  
Evangelize Non-Christians:
This has been a weak area for me lately and I am convicted of my lack of prioritizing sharing the gospel with the lost.  I am home most of the time so this ministry takes place in my home or when I am out running errands.  We have nurses and aides coming in to our home to help in my mother-in-law's weekly care so we have been bold as a family to share the gospel with them and give pamphlets, DVDs and tracts that share about the Lord too.
 
Keeping tracts handy in my purse to hand out when I'm grocery shopping or just running errands has been a help.  The most important thing I can do before sharing the gospel with anyone is to remember to pray and ask for help and guidance from the Holy Spirit.
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 
Mark 16:15
 
Attend to my Work:
Carolyn has us to ask ourselves this question – “What is one way I can be more effective or efficient in the work God has called me to do?”  As a wife and mother homemaking is my primary work.  When I look at the needs in my home at the moment there could be many options that come to mind so I limit them to two items.
This year working on my office and home filing systems is a top priority and continuing to declutter areas in our home.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 
Colossians 3:23  
Physical Care of my Body:
This is not on here to be obsessed with our appearance but to have good health so we are able to attend to the needs of our family and home. On my list are exercise, drink more water, take my vitamins and plan healthy meals for my family.
 I use a Nalgene bottle to measure my water intake during the day – I am a terrible water drinker so to see what I actually consumed by the end of my day helps me to be more conscious of taking more water in the next day.  Exercise is not a strength of mine but I am pretty good at stretching daily.  My daily vitamins and supplements really help me to have more energy and stay healthy.  Healthy meal planning is just plain smart to keep your whole family healthy.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, who you have from God?  You are not your own?, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.                             1 Corinthians 6:19-20
In Closing:
Does this whole plan look overwhelming?  That is not the purpose.  You can't change in every area at one time.
“What one or two priorities do I want to focus on for the next three to six months, and what steps will I take to grow in each area.” – Shopping for Time 
 
I appreciated this part of the book – we may wonder why there are seven areas when we are to focus on one or two to change in and work on.  Usually when we make a list like this the areas of our lives that need the most change tend to rise up to the top and stand out.  I keep all seven areas on an index card in my bible with my two areas of focus highlighted.
 
“Each season offers only a few best deals, so in order to be successful shoppers of time, we must identify those best deals and buy them up.” – Shopping for Time
 
To be a good shopper of time this year my focus is on Loving my Family and Evangelizing Non-Christians.
What are your spiritual priorities for the new year?  


 

Related posts:

  1. Spiritual Priorities for the New Year: 2014
  2. Podcast Episode 10: Setting Spiritual Priorities for the New Year
  3. 10 Questions to Ask Yourself at the Start of a New Year
  4. What is Spiritual Maturity?


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Comments

  1. Judith says

    at

    I appreciate this post and took down some notes 🙂 and signed up for the three free months of ‘Tabletalk.’ You have such a wealth shared on your website and I am enjoying sifting through some of it this evening.

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Instagram post 2192246981949193900_40367759 Learning to pray doesn't offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart.⁣ ~ Paul Miller
Instagram post 2191562934210186186_40367759 😂😂😂
Instagram post 2190797549825329454_40367759 Christmas shopping can get a bit overwhelming and I wanted to help you (and myself) to make it a bit less complicated. I love to find gifts for family and friends that point to Jesus. ⁣
⁣
This will not be your typical Christmas gift guide but one I hope will help you and your gift receivers keep their eyes focused on the eternal. My hope also is to simplify your shopping time with many items being purchased from smaller businesses right online.⁣
⁣
The link to the post is in my bio @thankfulhomemaker
Instagram post 2190064452091749147_40367759 Advent is the season leading up to Christmas and it begins with the four Sundays before December 25th.⁣ ⁣
1 Peter 1:10-12 gives a picture of what it means to look back during Advent:⁣
⁣
10 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 11 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 12 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬.⁣
⁣
1 Peter1:12 stands out because it says these saints of the past were serving us. We are on the other side now of Christ’s birth – the waiting for his arrival is over but the reality is we are still waiting for His second coming. We are still waiting for redemption. Advent can be looked at as a season to look back and one to look forward—preparing for Jesus second coming.⁣
⁣
Come read more at the link in my bio @thankfulhomemaker and check out the list of resources to help you in your celebration of Advent
Instagram post 2188623928759424111_40367759 What we see as routine, the Lord sees as His hand in molding us more into Christlikeness.⁣
⁣
#homemaker #homemakers #mundane ⁣
#christian #christianity #thankfulhomemaker #homemakingministries #bedeeplyrooted #womenintheword #wellwateredwomen #womenoftheword #christianblogger #christianwomen #christians #treasurechrist #joyinchrist #inchristalone #wordbeforeworld #faithblogger #deeplyrooted #faithblogger #hopewriter #butfirstjesus #graceupongrace
Instagram post 2188305464836375324_40367759 Posted @withrepost • @dustinwbenge Jesus is not a god.
Jesus does not become God.
Jesus does not aspire to be God.
Jesus is God. .
.
.
#reformed #reformedtheology #church #preach #preaching #pastor #christianliving #christian #salvation #evangelical #scripture #bible #theology #doctrine
Instagram post 2187954522889016403_40367759 “When I come into Heaven, I shall understand perfectly what the Lord hath done for me, and then shall I be able to praise him as I ought.”~ Anne Bradstreet
Instagram post 2187308907507351988_40367759 Warm up before dinner 😀#cheeseplate
Instagram post 2187173549372920577_40367759 Psalm 100:⁣
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!⁣
Serve the Lord with gladness!⁣
Come into his presence with singing!⁣
Know that the Lord, he is God!⁣
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.⁣
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,and his courts with praise!⁣
Give thanks to him; bless his name!⁣
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.⁣
⁣
Happy Thanksgiving Friends xo
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