By GFI board member, Randy Stahmer
Happy New Year….again! It is just another year; another month, right? It is 2024 and it is January. January is a month that most of us dread. What is “happy” about January? January is long. It can be cold. It can be dark. There could be an El Niño winter with above average temperatures and precipitation (in the form of snow). Some of us might enjoy the time and brief season of restoration. It is a season to hibernate and to rest before the coming business and excitement of spring. It is a time to set goals, to plan, to resolve to incorporate changes and perhaps fresh, new behaviors into our lives. In other words, it’s time to set a New Year’s Resolution.
So, now what? Status quo? More of the same ole, same ole? I know. Make that resolution to lose a few pounds, get into the gym; maybe quit smoking or chewing tobacco. By the way, I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t go with girls that do! How about this one? Go back to church? Who needs to go to church? God is omnipresent, isn’t He? “I can commune with God right here from my Lazy Boy!” While I jest a bit, there is truly something to be said for how we approach (mentally, physically and spiritually) the advent of this New Year. Do we set goals? Do we plan? Do we invite God into the process? We can wait or we can start somewhere and resolve to take the next step of action.
A friend of mine recently posted an article from famous Professional Football Coach, Tony Dungy’s book, “The One Year Uncommon Life”. In this article, Coach Dungy establishes his process for goal setting and his process does acknowledge God. Goal Setting and Planning are secular processes of identifying and prioritizing specific objectives and creating a roadmap to achieve them. Goal setting provides direction and motivation while planning breaks down the steps necessary to achieve the established goals. According to George T. Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham (Bard College); goals must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound). Agreed, but where does God fit in? He created you, didn’t He? He has a plan for you, doesn’t He? His Word tells us that He does!
I have to confess that I fancy myself as a planner. I like planning and I do like the idea of planning on New Year’s Day. As I plan; I will typically go through files and get rid of unnecessary clutter. I like the idea of starting over and starting fresh. Having said all of that, I clearly am not a Boy Scout and I do not really enjoy all of the execution steps that come out of the planning exercise. Most of us don’t really like planning, do we? We much prefer to face things as they come. We don’t want to waste time worrying. We simply want to roll with the flow. That is “status quo”. Two famous adages come to mind. The first, “nothing ventured; nothing gained”. The second, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results”. If we can agree these adages make some sense, then how do we begin? As we begin the New Year, let us first begin by acknowledging God. Let us trust Him to grow our faith and through faith begin to see the grace and providence of the All Powerful God (Elohim) in our daily life.
In this New Year, be encouraged and resolved to prayerfully take ‘calculated and measured’ risk and in that process trusting God to show you the path that He desires for you to be on. As stated in Coach Dungy’s book, “when you do your part to prepare, you can trust God for the results”. Further, the Holy Scriptures tell us, “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6. What are you waiting for?