Encouragement for the New Year
By Laci Howard
Happy New Year!
To some people those three words can be encouraging and for some those three words can be very overwhelming. In this blog I hope that you will be able to find encouragement as you start the New Year and that this would be a fulfilling and refreshing year for you.
I recently heard a message that was very simple but very significant for how to best start your New Year. In this message we looked into Genesis 1:1, the first few words of the bible which says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”. The four significant words are “In the beginning God”. Those words seem so simple but if you use those four words in every situation as you start this year you will be on a path to have a much better year. As you start back school or work you may start to feel overwhelmed with getting back into a routine, seeing the people who weren’t the best influence on you last semester, and reading through what feels like hundreds of syllabus’. In these moments remind yourself to put God in the beginning of it all because he is who created you and everything in your life. He wants nothing more than to stay at the beginning of everything in your life and in your 2024.
I always find myself setting really high expectations, goals, or resolutions to start each year off because of course I want it to be the best year ever! How often is it that all of those goals and expectations are going to be met? Personally, I've never met them all and I sometimes will feel guilty or not worthy because of it. I am here to remind you that going to the gym every single day to get those abs before summer and perfecting your skincare routine so you can glow all year long is not what is going to fulfill you. For this to be the best year let God and his word be what fulfills you. Start the year putting God and your relationship with him as your #1 priority and watch how he will change your life.
6 Healthy New Year’s Resolutions to Start off Your Year
Wake up earlier
When you commit to meeting with Jesus every morning you are committing to meeting with him before any of the other worldly things you have going on. If you usually wake up at 8 A.M. start with waking up 30-45 minutes earlier to be able to start your morning slower and invite Jesus into your day. All he asks is that we meet with him every morning and spend time with him and in his presence.
2. Prioritize quiet time and journaling
Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
3. Be more intentional with your friends and the people you love
Matthew 18:20 “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
4. Move your body
1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
Our bodies are “temples of the holy spirit” so keeping ourselves healthy will improve our overall quality of life. Even if your schedule only allows for a 20-30 minute walk a day, dedicate that time to a prayer walk and move your body while meeting with the maker who made you.
5. Focus on Jesus and not things of the world
Maybe for you this looks like limiting social media, not buying all of the trendy items, or not giving into things just because your friends do it. In Colossians 3:1-3 it says, “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
6. Give yourself grace
These are all great goals to set for yourself as you start the year but accept that no one is perfect and we are all covered for our sins because of the sacrifice your father did for you.
Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
Enjoyed hearing from Laci, follow her on IG at @laci.howard
