It Is Never To Late to Start Growing

 I have always loved this time of year - between Thanksgiving and New Years. For me this is a time for reflecting over the past 11 months, and preparing for the coming year. I'm still one of those people who makes New Year's resolutions. I still set goals and make plans to achieve them; the dreaming and planning just energizes me. Honestly, I probably only hit about 10-25% of them, but I still like dreaming and making plans to grow. In fact, this is the time of year I create a Growth Plan for the coming 12 months.  Though I haven't done this the last couple of years, I've learned that if I don't have some targets to shoot for, and some kind of plan to hit them, I don't make much progress in life. 

My planning always starts with seeking a word from the Lord from His word. I ask the Lord to highlight a verse or passage that will guide me in making the plan and guide me through the coming year. This year my verse is Luke 2:52, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." This simple verse contains a wealth of wisdom and inspiration; Luke describes the growth and maturity of the young Jesus. The word grew means to advance, increase or progress. Wisdom refers to mental and intellectual growth. Stature is a word that refers to both physical stature as well as emotional health or maturity. “Favor with God” refers to the spiritual component of life, relationship with God. Favor "with man” refers to relationships with people. So Jesus advanced mentally, physically, spiritually, and relationally. 

That covers pretty much every area of life, and gives me a good model to follow in planning for growth in the coming year. My plan will including growing ... 

... mentally and intellectually through intentional reading, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, and watching edifying media. 

... physically and emotionally through regular exercise, proper nutrition, and getting appropriate rest.  

... spiritually through practicing the spiritual disciplines such as Bible study, prayer, meditation, service, witnessing, etc. 

... relationally through scheduling of quality time, memory making events, and intentional contacts with family and friends.

Over the next month I will be nailing down specific goals in each of these areas (and a couple more), and fleshing out specific plans to reach my goals. I'm energized as I pray and think about what can be accomplished, but I also remember that setting goals and making plans is the easy part. I will still need commitment, determination and motivation to work the plan and accomplish the goals, but the starting point is to know where and how I am going to grow. If you are interested in growing with me and would like some help developing a Growth Plan, shoot me a message, I would love to help.  

A God of New Beginnings

"God is a God of new beginnings!" I love that statement, and I love this time of year. For some, the New Year is just another day, but for me it symbolizes the opportunity to start over, fresh and new. I've always used this time of year to reflect on the past and plan for the future. I used to make "New Year's Resolutions" and I still do, but now I call them "goals;" things I want to go after in the coming year.

In Philippians 3, writing about his own spiritual life, the Apostle Paul wrote, "...But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13-14 (NIV) Paul was never content where he was in his relationship with God or his life, he was always pressing forward toward the goal and toward personal growth.

So, this time of year I set some "personal growth" goals:

1. Spiritually - Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I always desire to deepen my relationship with the Lord. Our theme verse for Grace Point this year is 2 Peter 3:18, "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (ESV) A goal without a plan is just a wish, so how will I accomplish this goal? By being very intentional in study, meditating, memorizing and obeying His word; by maintaining the discipline of daily prayer and being intentional about sharing my faith with others - just to name a few of the steps.

2. Physically - Become healthier
I've always struggled with my weight and two of my biggest problems are that I don't always eat the best foods and I tend to be too sedentary. So my plan is to make better food choices, eating smaller portions at a time, drinking plenty of water and being active for at least 30 minutes a day. It probably doesn't sound like much, but I've heard that small changes can make a big difference, and can lead to the ability to make bigger changes. I'll probably never run a marathon, but there are some trails in the Smoky Mountains that I'd like to hike again.

3. Mentally (attitude) - Be more positive
Near the end of each year I pray and ask God for a word or phrase that I can focus on in the coming year, and for 2019 the word I have sensed God giving me is "Believe." Faith, of course is a gift from God, but it is also an intentional mental/spiritual practice. The verse that God has highlighted is Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (ESV) I want to be intentional about not only believing IN God, but believing God - taking Him at His word and acting up on it. All of that starts in the mind, and having a more positive attitude toward God and in life in general.

4. Relationally - Deepen relationships with friends and be intentional to build new friendships
I am blessed to have many friends, and to have a few very dear and close friends. More than friends, I have men in my life that encourage, challenge and mentor me. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another." I am thankful for the men who sharpen me. I also want to sharpen others. I currently meet with an accountability/prayer partner and a few different groups of men for discipleship. I want to deepen those relationships; but I'm also praying for the opportunity to develop discipleship relationships with some younger guys, and perhaps some couples. I have to be careful not to spread myself to thin, but we are called to make disciples and discipleship only happens in relationship.

5. Vocationally - improve as a preacher/pastor and teacher
When I was around 20, God made my calling clear - "Preach the gospel." Over the years I've sometimes drifted from that calling and got focused on the "busyness" of ministry (and life). Recently God has been calling me back to my original calling to preach the gospel (Acts 6 - the ministry of word and prayer). The plan is to focus less on developing church programs and activities, and focus more on proclaiming the word of God, and being myself as a pastor and preacher. Too often I slip into the "professional pastor" mode and pretend to be something I'm not just because I think it is expected with the job. God has to always remind me that He is my first calling, and He called me to be me, not what I think others think or want me to be. (I realize that may not make sense to the people reading it, but it does to me, so I guess that's what matters most, lol.)

There are a few other areas where I have some goals and am developing plans or steps to see those goals come to pass (finances, marriage, parenting, missions, etc.), but these are the "Big Five" areas. All of this is what I call a "Personal Growth Plan" and if you's like to talk about developing a growth plan for your life, I would love to spend some time with you - shoot me an email at glmiller1965@gmail.com, or a text - 865-236-4159. Thanks for taking the time to read this; as a reward for reading it all the way through, let me know you read it and I will treat you to breakfast or lunch one day in the coming weeks! (If you're a female reading this, my wife and I will treat you to a meal) God bless.