Choose this day whom you will serve…

January 1st really is just a day, like any other day. But there’s something beautiful about a fresh start. Whether it’s the start of a new year, a new month, a new job, a day… or even a moment. The opportunity to start fresh is so appealing. But when we’re looking at our lives… how do we determine where to start? We start with what we value.

I want to tell you guys the story of Robert Smalls. And underdog that highlights that our God is God of all, even God of the underdog.

Robert Smalls was born to a house slave in Beaufort, North Carolina in 1839. At the beginning of the US civil war, he was assigned to work on a confederate supply ship. Robert paid careful attention to how the ship was operated and when he had it figured out, he and the rest of the slave crew took over the ship in the middle of the night and

There’s a battle waging for our minds and for the minds of the coming generation.  It’s a battle of truth vs. lies.  But the good news is that there is a way to choose and believe truth.

“Why don’t the stickers stay on her?”

The maker spoke softly.  “Because she has decided that what I think of her is more important than what they think.  The stickers only stick if you let them. – You Are Special, Max Lucado

Galatians 5 talks about the fruits of the spirit.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control.  Today, we’re talking about how to have self control.

We live in a time where we have SO much available to us.  There are endless things to occupy our time and our attention.  Also, endless things to distract us from the things in life that are better.  The things that are CALLED to.

First, we’ll define ‘what is self control.’  We’ll talk about the importance of self control, and how to have self control and grow in it.

You want to know how to escape the rat race.  This means you already know what the rat race is.  But let’s just make it really clear.  The ‘rat race’ is a race that no matter how fast or hard you run… you don’t get anywhere.  EXHAUSTING.

Here’s what I’ve learned: Apparently the life of rats can echo the life of people… but the rats are smarter.

In 3 days, I’m hopping on a plane and flying for 6.5 hours to the beautiful island of Maui.  That’s all pretty exciting.  But you know what I’m most excited for?  6.5 hours on an airplane to PLAN.  Yea, I’m fully aware that I’m a nerd.  I’ve been researching the best planners for busy moms, and I finally decided.  So, I went and bought a brand new planner, a fresh notebook, and a whole bunch of nice pens… and I can’t wait for the uninterrupted time to make some plans & set some goals.

This is a guest post from Shanda Fulbright.  Shanda was generous with her time and went live in my Facebook group to discuss this topic- Chasing Perfect.

We were on our way to church and my son wasn’t happy. He looked down at his resin
sculpture, a dog he created with a mold he made, and sighed in disgust.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. He worked on this piece all day. He was so proud when it first
came out of the mold. He sanded it, cleaned and polished it. He even touched up the edges
and smoothed out the imperfections.

I love social media.  But I also hate social media.  Relationship status = COMPLICATED.  When done right, social media is a huge blessing.  It’s a way to connect with friends and family who are far away.  For me, it has also led me to some of my best friendships!  And clearly, as a blogger, I do rely on social media as part of my job.  But when social media is done wrong, it adds all sort of clutter, stress, and unhealthy habits to life.  Sometimes, knowing how to limit social media use is exactly what we all need in our lives.