Chapter 17 in Joyce Meyer's book Battlefield of the Mind is all about the wilderness mentality that says,

Someone do it for me; I don't want to take the responsibility.

I don't know why I am so surprised when God brings together different reading topics in my life at the exact time that truly weren't suppose to be being read in correlation.  The dragging of my feet in completing this particular book has given me the chance to read this specific chapter at the same time as I was reading another great book entitled, The Principle of the Path, by Andy Stanley.

Out of all of the verses in the Bible, Genesis 11:31 is the key verse in both chapter 17 of Joyce's book and in one of the first few chapters of Andy Stanley's book.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.

Basically, when Terah, the father of Abraham (then called Abram), set out for Canaan, he stopped short in a place called Harran and chose to simply settle there.  He never reached his original destination.

The premise of both books with regard to this verse is this:  Why do we often not reach the goals we originally set?  How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?

Joyce says that one temptation is to expect other people to help us reach these goals; and when we are not successful, the easiest excuse is to blame someone else or some past event in our life.

Andy Stanley says that in order to reach our goals we have to stay focused and be headed in the right direction.  In other words, we can't just "intend" to do something.  We must be taking steps that lead towards that goal.

If you know me very well at all, you know that I have some "intentions" in my life that I have not yet turned into reality.  I am sure that most of you do too.

As you begin a new year, take some time to think about what direction your life is heading.

Do you have any goals?

Do you have some destinations in your mind that you hope to reach this year?

Family goals

Education goals

Spiritual goals

Health goals

Financial goals

If so, begin thinking of what kinds of baby steps you need to be taking in order to see these goals become realities.

Don't wait for someone else to do this for you.

Don't blame your past or your present life experiences for your lack of movement towards these goals.

Pray. Ask for wisdom. And start walking in the right direction.

Sometimes, when you are driving with a GPS installed in your car, you will hear the automated voice on the device say, "Perform a u-turn as soon as possible."

Take a few minutes today and think of your life as a path.

Are you heading in the direction that leads to your life goals?

If not, consider what you need to do in order to change directions.

Do you need to get up earlier?

Do you need to have someone hold you accountable for what you are eating?

Do you need to begin exercising?

Do you need to visit your doctor for a check-up?

Do you need to begin paying off debt and stop living on credit?

Do you need to go back to school?

Do you need to become more involved in your kids' lives?

The list goes on and on and on............

My prayer today is that God will give me the wisdom to make the right decisions regarding my future and that I will have the courage needed to take steps in that direction.

I am praying the same prayer for you.

I recommend both of these books as good winter reading material.

With all my love,