There was no possible way for me to even imagine actually trying to walk to a car and then sit through a church service this morning.

So, here I am-laying on my side in bed with a pillow supporting my back and our puppy Kandi snoozing beside me.  She is the sweetest little companion.  It's hard to imagine our house without her already. :)  I have to share a picture of her and Olivia from last night.

I've been thinking about the fact that 2010 is coming to an end and a whole new year lies ahead of each of us.

What will we change in 2011?

How can we make it the best year possible?

What resolutions can we commit to that we feel strongly enough to actually keep?

I need this week to really pray and think about 2011.  I want to challenge each of you to do the same.

I've already determined that I want to be more consistent in my blogging. For example, my entries from the book Battlefield of the Mind stopped a month or so ago when life at our house got crazy.  I am determining to finish that book with all of you in the first few months of this new year.

So, I took the time this morning to reread the next chapter in this book and thought the timing was perfect with the ending of another year on our calendar.

Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish," is the key verse in this first section on overcoming a wilderness mentality. For the next few weeks we will be looking at thought processes that lead us into the wilderness instead of into the freedom God longs to give us in Christ.

Joyce talks in this chapter about the fact that our past as well as our present should not determine our future. 

I love that God is all about making things new!

I love that God looks at us and sees potential not a series of bad decisions or unfortunate events.

I love that even now when my present situation seems so confining, God says, "Have a vision!  Have a dream!"

As you think about 2011, make sure you remember that you can avoid a wilderness mentality by choosing not to think certain thoughts.

For today, December 26th, 2010, let's all decide to have a vision about our future!

How can we do this?

Remember when Abraham gave Lot the chance to pick the land in which he wanted to settle?  Lot chose the best land, leaving Abraham on a not-so-great piece of property.  God then said to him,

"Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are...."

In other words, don't look at where you are but look FROM WHERE you are!  I am in my  bed today unable to do much more than read or write, but I am going to look from this place and see a year full of potential!

Where are you today?

Look from there, cast a vision, and believe that God has big dreams for you in 2011!!