Happy New Year!

One of the first scriptures I read after I moved into my room at TK was I Corinthians 6:12 –

• All things are lawful unto me, but all things
  are not expedient: all things are lawful for me,
  but I will not be brought under the power of any.”

Other versions say it this way:

• All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will
  not be mastered by anything. NASB
• “I have the right to do anything,” you say, but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do
  anything” but I will not be mastered by anything. NIV
• “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not
  be dominated by anything. ESV

The idea is that nothing on this earth will have power over me because I am Christ’s.  It was interesting to think about this at a place like TK because everybody there was dealing with something they wanted or needed to overcome, such as addiction or faulty thought processes.  It’s a continual process to allow Christ to be in control and not something else. I guess you could call this sanctification too!

This is a great segue into New Year’s.  This is the time when so many of us take stock of last year and reflect on what we want to be different this year.  I know I am.  I can make a whole list of things I want to change, do differently, see turn around, etc.  Thinking about them won’t change anything though, so I’m starting to put a plan together.  Well…I’m thinking about starting to put a plan together.  It takes me time to think through things, and this is no different, maybe bigger because I don’t want to fail.  I really want to make some changes.

So many times in the past after thinking about changes I want to make, I throw myself into it.  When I mess up I “should” all over myself and wonder why I even try.  In reality – I should say, in truth – it’d be better to pick myself up and reset the tape in my head to say, “you made a mistake, AND this doesn’t mean you’re a failure; start again tomorrow and go back to the plan.”  This means I need a plan to go back to!

This has ties back to the thoughts on perfectionism.  This works best with mindfulness and concentrating on the moment.  This encompasses positive self-talk, defusing from thoughts and emotions, understanding emotions are only information not predictors, and understanding what my values are.  So much of what I’ve already written about comes into play when it comes to changes at New Year’s – resolutions, if you want to call them that.

What changes do you want to make?
What’s your plan?
What will you do when it doesn’t go as planned?