He will give you the desires...

2012 "Evolutions"
1.  Get below (blank) lbs.
2.  Save $(blank)
3.  Take better care of my skin
4.  Take better care of my nails
5.  Read through the New Testament

Bucketlist
1.  Wear a size (blank) jeans
2.  Get my nose pierced
3.  Take a vacation
4.  Read 2 books (not including the bible)
5.  Beat my 5k time
6.  Climb a rock wall
7.  Do 10 pull ups

Maybe "resolutions" aren't your thing.  To be honest - up until last year they weren't my "thing" either.  Mostly because I held myself up to a standard that I could never actually live up to.  That lead to disappointment in myself and instead of setting realistic goals that I could live up to - I stopped setting goals all together.

Not setting goals meant that I usually wasn't trying to improve myself at all.  I'm not really sure how I expected to grow as a person or in the Lord without any aspirations to do so - maybe I thought that God would just change me.  And though I believe that God can do that - I'm learning that (at least for me) He doesn't normally operate that way.

My scripture for the year is Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."  This doesn't mean that God will give you whatever you want.  No... no ... no.

This means that God will put HIS desires in my heart.  I believe that when I follow the Lord and "delight" myself in His Word and Will for my life - I will have His desires for me.  That means more than just spiritual things.  Did you know that God cares about everything you care about?  God cares about my nails, He cares that I am proud of my skin, He cares that I respect my finances.  God cares about whether or not I am healthy.

How do I know that He cares?  Because I care - and God has put his desires in my heart.

I know I don't normally talk about spiritual things in my blogs - but this is part of my journey (a huge part).  When you realize that your goals and your dreams were placed there by the Lord  - they become more than just resolutions - they become evolutions ... desires that change you from the inside out.

So I encourage you (if you haven't already done so) - take the beginning of this year and ask the Lord ... "What are your desires?  What are my desires?"  Write them down so that you can refer to them later... delight yourself and encourage yourself in the Lord.

He will give you His desires!