1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity? 

In addition to these ten questions, here are a few more to help you think about your life and resolve to seek the fullness of what God has for you.

11. What’s the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what’s one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What’s the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who do you most want to encourage this year?

16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

17. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?

18. What’s one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?

19. What’s one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year? 

22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?

24. What’s the most important trip you want to take this year?

25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

27. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?

28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?

29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

30. What’s the most important new item you want to buy this year?

31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

If you’ve found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace—in a day planner, PDA, calendar, bulletin board, etc.—where you can review them more frequently than once a year.

Join me in making plans and goals, and intentionally living this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage” (Proverbs 21:5). At the same time, let’s also remember our dependence on our King who said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

(Adapted from an article by Don Whitney at www.biblicalspirituality.org

This is MY daily battle, but my problem today deals with the battle I face with my family.  My parents are in their mid-60′s and grew up during segregation.  My grandmother wouldn’t come to my wedding because she thought I was marrying a black man, specifically she said the “N” word.  My parents used and still use on occasion the “N” word. (Not usually when I’m around!! )  My parents don’t see that they have a problem.  They think the problem lies with “them” (whoever that is)!  So my dad and I  had a talk yesterday (Christmas Day) and he made some very racial comments that I didn’t think were appropriate.    I told him that God doesn’t see skin color!  I talked to him about it and said we all have prejudices we have to work on.  My dad doesn’t think he’s prejudiced, and he got so upset that I would even think that he was prejudiced.  Here’s the situation:

My sweet precious 8 year old wanted a brown skinned baby doll for Christmas, so we got her one.  Are you with me here?  My lighter skinned Hispanic-American daughter wanted an African American baby doll for Christmas.  See, in our family, we prefer to use the term “brown skinned” instead of calling someone black.   I know there are some parts of Africa where the people have skin color that is almost totally black, but for the most part here in the US they are brown.  Why I even had to tell my parents before hand, I don’t know, but I’m glad I did!!   They flipped out with me, but remained calm with my daughter.    My dad said to me while we were cleaning the table after lunch, “Why’d you get Ileana a black baby?”  I told him she wanted one.  Then he said, “I sure hope the blacks are nicer to her than they’ve been to your mom and me.”  WHAT?!!    We talked about prejudice and racism and the conversation got really heated.    I just had to let the conversation drop by saying that we feel called to help bridge the gap between the races here in Memphis.  We want to be a part of helping to end racism and prejudices based on skin color.   And my sweet  daughter has already grasped that at 8 years old!!!  

My mom was talking to her about her ‘black’ baby doll, and she just politely said, “Mimi, she’s not black.  She has brown skin!”  Can you believe it?  Amazing.  God is doing some wonderful things in her life.  She has a heart and a passion for brown skinned people.   Her dream right now for when she grows up is to have a home with lots of land and to help take care of 5 little brown skinned children.  She doesn’t know if it’ll be an orphanage or just a place to help the kids until their parents can take them back (foster care), but that’s what she wants to do.   She wanted a brown skinned baby doll to play with as she plans her “dream”.  Thank you, God, for giving our daughter a heart for people no matter their skin color.  

My middle daughter wanted a Hispanic baby doll so she could teach it Spanish, and my youngest wanted a blond hair blue eyed doll.  She said she wanted to see “blue” eyes like mommy’s!! SWEET!    I’ve been blessed with 3 beautiful little girls each with special gifts and talents given to them by God!

I share all of this with you because I want to ask for your prayers.  We are considering adoption as a way to add to our family.  We are beginning to feel like that might look different for our family as we are considering an African American child.  Well, let’s just say my husband has decided that’s what He feels God has for our family and we’re just waiting on God to give me the peace!!!  After our struggles this weekend, I’m so unsettled, but feel even more strongly that this is probably the path God has us on.   To bring racial reconciliation to my family!  Start close to home and work outwards.  WOW!  Pray for us!  

Continue to change me and mold me and give me your heart for people that doesn’t see skin color either.  Bring friends into our lives that are “different” from us.  Help us reach out and make friendships with people who look different than we do.  Specifically, I pray for a friend for our 8 year old!  She so wants to have a friend with brown skin.  Thank you.

Heaven is going to full of people from different cultures with different skin colors.  Let’s try to live it out here on earth!!!  I close with a verse from Revelation 7:9  ”After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”

I really like their long hair, but I’ve realized that there are  more important things in life that we want them to learn, and this is one of them.:   Giving to others!!   (Their hair will grow back!! )

I believe my 3 year old honestly, just wanted to get her hair cut and went along with the older two.  But when I showed her pictures of little boys and girls from the website without hair and then with hair and explained that they would use her hair to help them…..she got so excited and wanted to go and cut more of her hair.  Here are a couple of pictures:

Today after she woke up  she said, “Oh man, my hair is growing again.  Mommy, can I go cut it for that girl again?”  She really has a personality all her own.   

We have such precious children, and I’m so blessed to be their mother. I learn so much from them each day.   They are learning at such a young age, that it’s better to give than to receive!!

Let me share an example with you that is very appropriate for this time of year.   We do not do the traditional Santa as some families do; however, our children know it is a “game” some families play, and they know that mommy and daddy really bring the gifts.   Well, when we bought our new house, someone in our family noticed that it has a nice chimney and  made the comment that Santa can now come down our chimney.    Our daughter  was 3 and remembered a story about a man coming down the chimney to bring gifts.   He is a stranger, and she didn’t want a stranger coming into her home.   So she screamed and cried every time she had to pass through the living room.   Well, the way our house is laid out you can’t get anywhere without passing through the living room or seeing the living room from the balcony upstairs.   Needless to say, she was not a happy child in our new home….so, for 6 months we had a cardboard box sitting in front of our fireplace/chimney so she didn’t have to see it and this “mighty” cardboard box would keep anyone out who might want to  come down it.     This is just one of many “fear” issues we’ve dealt with and had to pray through and about with our daughter.   So you can imagine how my heart was so anxious as we were preparing her for her upcoming surgery.

Daily, my prayer was that she would be filled with peace. I really didn’t know what else to pray.  God answers the simple direct prayers, and I thank him for giving my sweet little girl peace before, during, and after her surgery.   She got a precious pony stuffed animal/blanket afterwards and guess what she decided to name it?  She named it Peace because she wanted to remember that God gave her peace during her surgery.  Oh, the faith of little children!   Thank you, God, for such a sweet precious reminder of what childlike faith looks like.  Please fill me with your peace as I continue to teach, train, and parent the 3 little girls you’ve given to us!!  Thank you for reminding me through a pony about your peace.

Will you love me forever, mommy?

I just want to hug you.

Wanna see the stars mommy?  (when she kept her pull-ups dry…they have stars on them if they’re dry)

Can I have a hug?  I need love.

I like the way you smell, mommy.

I da mommy now and I give you love.

You’re the best mommy. 

I’m ready to go to the beach mommy.  (it’s 30 degrees outside, she has her “bag” packed and some sort of a swimsuit on)

Mommy, will you go get me another one at Disney World?  (one of her princess lip gloss containers got run over by the van….so she wanted me to go to Disney World and get her another one!)

I sorry I throw a fit mommy.  

I wub you mommy.

Well, it seems someone we know has decided to start a fun little “game” and has asked others to participate.   (John and Rick) Here is the game. Find an old picture of you and your family and put it up on your blog. Put your blog address in the comments below.

So, I’ve scanned a picture of my family from 1975. I’m the little blond on the right, not looking so very happy.  My mom told me that my sister had been crying the entire time and I was a bit frustrated.   Another side to this story, my mom had just had her hair cut.  My new little sister was very colicky and was sick a lot.  My mom had LONG hair (all the way down to her waist) and I used to love to brush it.  She had to get it cut so she could take care of my sister because it kept getting in the way.  I wasn’t too happy about that, nor the fact that my sister was crying so much.   Also, check out my dad…red, white, and blue polyester suit, mustache AND sideburns!!! WOW!  A true 70′s picture!

Today I sit smiling….It’s an amazing feeling to love and to be loved.  Thank you, God for loving me, allowing me to be loved and showing me how to love others.