4 Personal lessons from this past year to help embrace the New Year(2015)

4 Personal lessons from this past year to help embrace the New Year(2015)

Posted on by Matthew Laker

I love the celebration of the New Year and the thought of the beginning of a new season.  A new season opens the door for strengthening rhythms  or beginning new ones that may help me walk a path of entering, experiencing, and engaging the life I was created for.  waterfeet

 

As I look back on 2015 and forward to 2016, here are four personal lessons I was reminded of that can help me embrace 2016.  Perhaps within these four, there may be one or two that can also help you.

 

  1. My identity is deeper than what I do.

Identity is a hard struggle for us all.  Coming out of this past year, I am reminded that God has not called me or accepted me based on my ability but on who he is.  I was not called to be a pastor based on what I would do or can do.  I was reminded that what I do can change, but I am more than what my hands can produce.

 

My lesson moving forward to entering, experiencing and engaging the life I was created for, is to see myself as God does.  Who I am becomes wrapped up in him.

  1. Taking care of myself.

 

Taking care of yourself mentally and physical must be of high priority.  There is no way I can serve others, reach my dreams, or achieve my goals if I do not take care of myself.  I am not where I want to be physically, but I have made some great steps this past year.

In order to embrace the new year, I must ensure that I care from my physical and mental life.

 

  1. Life changes: give margin and be flexible.

At the end of 2014, we adopted a little boy into our family. You can read a little about that here.  It has been one of the great  blessings and challenges of this past year.  We have had to redesign our schedules and rhythms, and on top of that, we had a job change and moved to a new home.  As I look at my own life, and those I have journeyed with over the last year, change happened.

In order to embrace the new year, I must understand change is just a part of life, so give margin and be flexible.

 

4. We all need community.

To be honest, I have done well and poorly with it over the last year.  God has designed us to be in relationships and so the human experience needs relationships in order to flourish.  We all need larger, small and smaller communities in our life, but  the thing is, it just does not seem to happen.  We have to work at it and it is hard work sometimes.

 

However, even though there are challenge and risks in community, the benefits far outweigh the cons.  In order to embrace the new year, I must understand the role of the different types of community in my life and build into them.

 

Looking back over the last year of your life, what are four things you have learned that can help you embrace the year ahead?

Christmas – The day after the Celebration

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Series Christmas 2015 – part 6 Series Christmas 2015 – part 6

How now do we live in light of the great coming of Jesus?

 

For many there is a great build up to Christmas and then it is over.  We must now come down off the mountain, and journey along the road of life.

 

We need the mountain top experiences of seeking Jesus, but life is lived down below.  We meet Jesus at the top of the mountain and also in the regular rhythms of life.  Jesus came to transform your  life. Jesus, taught in such a way that he believed it would have an impact on the daily rhythms of life.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ” (NLT).

 

As you look ahead to the new year and following Jesus. What do need to you let go of from the storm?

To live in the new life ahead, what do you need to let go of from the past?

 

When we follow Jesus it does not mean all our storms go away. The storm may still be around, but how do you engage, enter, and experience the full life that Jesus came to give?

It starts with him as your center.

 

John 10:10 New Living Translation (NLT)

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich

and satisfying life.

 

Christmas is just the beginning of the Christian calendar year.  I encourage you to find a reading plan to take you through the gospels and discover Christ with fresh eyes.

This new year how will you intentionally use the resources God has given you to impact and spread the word of God.

 

Let me leave you with two resources.

 

One, is to sign up to receive weekly post from my blog.  Most weeks you will receive 2-3 post directly to your email.

Sign Up herehelp you grow b

The second, is to consider getting a life coach. A life coach can help bring clarity to where you are and want to go, then help develop a plan to get there.

This year do not sit in the back seat, but grab the steering wheel and enter, experience and engage the life God is calling you to.

 

May you have a great year and God be with you.

7 Tips to get the most out of Christmas

Posted on by Matthew Laker

7 tips (1)1. Community

Make time for real relationships.  For many there are lots of opportunities, but what relationship should you focus on? The tension this time of year could be having too many opportunities. Which ones will help you live in who God has called you to be? For some, you may want to pull away, but also make it a point to connect with people.  

It does not always have to be expensive or elaborate, but keep it simple. We were made for relationships. A relationship can enrich our life, so this Christmas be intentional with your community.

2. Pick up a Spiritual Discipline

This is a great time to try or pick up a Spiritual discipline for a season.  The role of the spiritual discipline is intentional development of our relationship and intimacy with Jesus.  It is a deliberate self-imposed habit to foster spiritual growth in one’s life and community.  

Consider a Discipline of Abstinence such as solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, or sacrifice.

3. Specific Serving

Jesus is the neighbour who came to serve.  Many this time of year jump on the bandwagon of serving in organizations. That is important, but consider being specific in your serving this year. It is as we serve others that we become more like Christ.  

Instead of just giving money to an organization, which you should still do,  consider a single adult or family that you could invest in personally.  Find ways to bless them over the four weeks of advent and week of Christmas.  

4. Find a devotional to lead you through the advent themes in scripture

Staying in God’s word always has a great impact in fostering our walk with Jesus and helping us enter, engage and experience the life  we were created for.  It helps us know who God is, which can help us know who we are and what we are to do.

5. Check your expectations.

What we focus on matters as it sets our direction.   During the Christmas season, we need to check our expectations.  Many have an expectation of themselves and each other that are not realistic.  Choose to be simple and enjoy the little things. 

6. Take rest

Be sure to take the time to rest.  There are three elements to this rest.  First it is breaking from the normal routine of life, second is finding things that are restorative, and third, get physical sleep.

7. Spend less

Here in Canada, it is so easy to think you need to spend money to enjoy Christmas.  There is a place for money, but make a budget and stay within it.  Money can be a stresser for many,  so remember that Christmas is about more than how much you spend.  

What would you add to the list?

Creating a Life plan: A Second step

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Creating a life plan can help you better enter, engage, and experience the life you were created for.

Picture yourself riding a bike and that you have been riding it for some time. You have had to push to keep moving forward, you have had to overcome obstacles, and you at times feel winded. Where do you want to be in 5, 10, 30 kilometers?  Likewise in life, where do you want to be in 5, 10, 30 years? One of the questions I will often ask University Students is, “What is your hope when you are done?”  For many, they do not know.  I understand that they just want to get through their studies, but it is important they know what they want otherwise they will just bounce around in life.

Another man I know is looking ahead to retirement and trying to figure out what he wants for that stage of life. Currently he is working through where he wants to be with work and finances, while also drawing an overall picture of that season of life.

Creating a plan will help you get from the dream to the practical.  A life plan can help you accomplish what you desire and steward the resources God has given you.

Recently in a post, I shared that the first step in creating a life plan is identifying the life spokes that are important to you. On a bike wheel you have spokes and the spokes work together to transfer power and weight so that you may get to where you want to go.

Read that post here

Once you identify the life spokes that are important in your life,  the second step is to ask yourself what you want to accomplish in those areas.  Where do you want to ride your bike to?

What is the vision for each spoke of life?

What is the story you want written?

Where do you want to be in ___(fill years in) years?

What do you want to see in the future?

Here is an exercise to help:

Step one:  Know your life spokes

(Example) Financial

Step two: Vision

(Example) Life Spoke : Financial

My Vision: I want to be financially stable while also generous to others

Step three: Define purpose- What is one sentence that would clearly define the end result you want.

(Example) Life spoke: Financial

    • In 30 years I want to be financially stable for retirement. This means owning a home mortgage free and living in my means.

As you work through each of the areas, there will be some cross over as each spoke works together in your wheel of life.

In developing a life plan, when you create a vision for your life, you can leave a lasting impact upon those you care for.

A Life plan: Admitting your reality

Posted on by Matthew Laker

A personal review is a foundational step to growth. 

If you are going to embrace, enter, and engage the life you were created for– if you are to discover a life of wholeness–it is going to involve looking at reality.  To do that you will need to hit the pause button and take a look at your life in review. monkey

Jesus shares, “how can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Luke 6:42 NLT).

In that passage, Jesus is speaking about how we interact with others and judge them without seeing our own sin first. There is a reminder in this statement that we are both in need of God’s grace, but to find it we must admit our own sin first. It is in this passage that we also learn the value of admitting our own reality.

I was watching a season of reruns of ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ and noticed that the same thing happens in every episode: the food is bad and there are organizational issues everywhere.  However, the biggest issues are the people refusing to look at the plank in their eye.  Often they refuse to admit reality.  

In any development of a life plan, part of that plan will involve understanding your current reality.  Not only the circumstances but understanding who you are. How are you thinking and feeling?  How are your thinking and habits are leading and contributing to where you are right now?  

For many to admit their reality they are going to have to admit and identify the plank that is in their eye.  

At the end of the year, it is common for people to set goals and New Year’s resolutions.   Many of them fail because they are done on a whim and people do not really want to change.  

If you are serious about wanting to change,   you need to develop a plan and get help to work that plan.  A good place to start is by reviewing your year.  

Each December  I sit down and do a review.  I set aside some space with no distractions.  I then take a mental walk through a reflection exercise of different areas of my life, asking where am I at.

Here are four questions to help you in such an exercise.

1.  What can I celebrate in my life this past year?

2. What would I like to see changed? What is God asking me to change?

3. What were my obstacles this year?

4. What would I like to see changed next year.

Next Step: Get out your calendar and block off some time to take a review and create a game plan for the New Year.

 

bannlkhelplifeplan