We now have a new year ahead of us. January first is also the first day of a new age for me as well, seeing as my birthday falls on the last day of December. So, each time I plan how the next year is going to look. I love the idea of resolutions, but fail miserably whenever I set any. Does that mean that none should be planned for? I don’t think so. It’s the trying that matters in the end. Giving up doesn’t work.
I wasn’t going to write a blog post. These blogs incite mixed feelings in me, and I don’t know how to always work through them. The funny thing is that every time I decide to stop writing, someone sends me an encouraging message. Well, maybe I’ll write one more, so on to today’s thought…
I rant about living in a material world quite often. Sometimes that is so contradictory to my own thoughts and behaviour…because I love stuff. Love shopping. And I spend money needlessly on things I don’t need. Sometimes it’s a filler to a void, or it is because I want to give something to someone. That led me to thinking about the differences in being self-aware and being self-absorbed. I’m thinking out loud here, but I think that being self-aware means you are more aware of your impact on the outside world, and in being self-absorbed, you are more consumed with the world’s impact on you. Being self-aware means you understand that you are part of the big picture and what you do and say can be important in the life of someone else. When one is self-absorbed, you only think of what others are doing in relation to how it influences your own life.
Both of these actions impact the way we live.
Do we give or take more?
Do we encourage others or talk about ourselves more?
Do we treat others with respect, or demand that they do what we want them to do?
If we’re on social media, do we look to see how we can support our friends, or are we waiting to see how our posts do?
If we do something good for someone else, do we need to tell others about it? Or are we content with knowing that Someone sees and loves you for it.
Do we have a conversation with someone else and listen, or do we do all the talking?
Do we go without something so we can bless someone else, or do we go without to make ourselves feel righteous?
Do we write blog posts ( yes, I do need to think this through…) because we genuinely care about helping someone else, or do we do it for accolades? And if we get accolades, what does it do to the soul?
Well, this is the New Year. (It’s also the year I turn 50!) These are my thoughts, and honestly I struggle with most of these points quite a bit. As I get older, and hopefully wiser, I don’t want to waste my time, or other people’s time, just blowing my own horn. Do I have something to say? Yes, but so do you. We are all wise in our own ways. We all have a place on this earth. We are all valuable to God. I want to spend the next 50 years doing what He wants me to do. And for the reasons He wants me to do them. I just need to know if I am writing blogs for Him, or for me….and I need to know the difference.
“Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you; take to heart my commands. They’ll help you live a long, long time, a long life lived full and well.
Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD ’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent GOD ’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that GOD corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.”
Proverbs 3:1-12 MSG http://bible.com.