Instead of making
New Year’s resolutions this year,
I’m going to take 30 Day Challenges instead.

Girlfriend, I’ll be honest,
I run out of rockets fast.

Setting goals for an entire year overwhelms me.
But I can
manage,
tolerate or
endure
almost anything …
if I know it’s only for 30 days.

Can’t you?

Some goals are just too big.

How successful do you think you’d be if you tried to:

Lose all the weight you’ve gained since you were 13?
Not very!
Could you stop eating chocolate for 30 days?
Sure!

Think you will read the entire Bible in a year?
Probably not!
Could you read a chapter every day for 30 days?
No doubt!

Want to get out of debt this year?
That would be great, but ambitious.
Could you put an extra 10% of your paycheck toward debt for 30 days?
Oh yeah!

Going to be more productive this year?
Giving up all your vices like Netflix or Facebook or Candy Crush?
Tough to go cold turkey on your favorite time wasters!
Think you could cut back to 20 minutes a day for 30 days?
No problem!

Always dreamed of having six-pack abs?
Dreams are not reality.
I’m not going to live at the gym, but
I could work out 15 minutes a day for 30 days!

Can you promise you’ll never say another unkind word?
Easier said than done!
Try fasting from negativity for 30 days!
More realistic!

Is this the year you write your life story?
Great idea!
Start with 500 words a day for 30 days.

Whatever the big desire is for 2017,
try tackling it –
or even a piece of it
for 30 days!

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at your results
which will perpetuate your momentum.

Truly,
most of us know what we
need to do or not to do.
We just lack the drive or
motivation or
stamina to do it
for the long haul.

Commit to 30 days!

My 30 day challenge for January is to fast between meals.

I know, sounds like a joke,
but it’s not.

All my mid-morning snacks and my mid-afternoon nibbles,
(think chips and cheese, bowls of ice cream and fistfuls of cookies – not carrots and celery)
my drawers full of dark chocolate and my habit of sipping on icy cold Pepsi,
not only add calories I don’t need, but
serve as a distraction to the work I’m supposed to be doing.

I know better,
but I don’t do better.

It’s good to remember here,
God doesn’t call us to perfection at the moment we find Jesus.

Instead, he leads us step by step to a life that works better.
Day by day, and season by season,
God draws us into a life of wisdom.

Once a good pattern or habit is established,
he leads us to work on another and another
until we more closely resemble him.

Join me for a 30 day challenge!

1.

Pray for God’s will and strength to sustain and enable you.

2.

Choose a realistic 30 day goal.
Something to jumpstart you to a bigger goal
or break a pattern that is unhealthy or unattractive.

3.

Write it down and tell someone.
If you can find a partner to
commiserate and celebrate
with all the better.

4.

Track your progress.
When you see improvement,
it will give you the incentive to continue.

5.

Reset and repeat as necessary.

My 30 day January goal is to fast between meals.

What is the 30 day challenge you’ll take this month?

Scripture Refresher: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Col. 3:23-24