I have been in reflection mode for the first weeks of January. I scrolled through my prayer journals and I was in deep awe of how God moved in my life in 2016. I will summarize 2016 as a year of Miracles and Prayer Breakthroughs. This 2017 instead of making a fresh list of resolutions, vision boards, goals and plans, I am deciding to have a word to live by for the year.

My Big word for 2017:

UNCOMPLICATED

 

This word means to simplify and to make things easy.  I believe life should be enjoyed and not just endured. We need to choose to un-complicate our life.  Admittedly, we all have a natural tendency to complicate our own life.  It can be from being disorganized or as trivial as making wrong decisions that lead to unwanted consequences.

 

In our Bible study group alone, we have all experienced complicated situations. I have ladies who desire to meet their God’s best and so decided to lower their standards instead of waiting for God’s chosen one. This path brought a lot of heartaches, tears and pruning.  Some struggle with their health and still justify why they should not take care of their body. Others don’t want to submit to their husband because they don’t believe their husbands can lead or change. This of course has led  into series of unnecessary fights. Some are going through financial problems but still catch themselves shopping more. There are those that refuse to face family issues because of fear and pride making the problems bigger than it already is.

The good news is we can always make a choice. We can choose to reset and go back to basics. We can make straight forward actions that lead us to have a clearer and more peaceful path.

So here are some of the things I am doing that hopefully can motivate you as well to enjoy life by simplifying.

 

DE-CLUTTER

Are there things that you have that are gathering dust and eating space?  Its time to clean and clear them out. I began by inspecting all the things inside my bag and even my wallet. Little things such as receipts, candies, loose change and notes are the small culprits to my cluttering.  Check your closet and create breathing space by taking out clothes you don’t wear, or no longer fit you and is not your color tone. Gather all of them and plan to either have a garage sale or give it away. In my case, I have set it aside for Revelation Church Store where we give it to our community to allow them to “shop” with dignity. May I also recommend that you go through all your books, games and digital files?  Sometimes keeping video and files that steals your precious time, makes you unproductive or that can cause you to stumble should be cleared out from your hard drives or shelves. De-cluttering allows you to see what is most important. It also helps a person let go of things that no longer serves it purpose in your life.  De-cluttering is truly liberating.

 

DETOXIFY

January 3 was the magical date my husband and I chose to have our annual executive checkup. Knowing fully well that the holiday munching would bring our cholesterol to a sky rocket high number, we were setting ourselves up for failure. When the results came out, the doctors were telling us it’s time for us to have a lifestyle change .  He also recommended it was about time we detox our body through a 1 month treatment. The doctor only pointed out the physical aspect of life. But let me challenge you to detoxify your heart and mind as well. Some of us need to renew our thinking with positive thoughts and with truth from God’s word. Many of us suffer from stress, worry, bitterness, anxiety, unforgiveness, depression and feeling of helplessness because we have fed our minds and our hearts with lies and distorted thoughts.  Set yourself free from this toxic emotional battle. The best way to purify these filthy feelings is to read God’s word and find refreshment, promises and relief.

 

SAY NO

Not all opportunities are good opportunities. It is wise to be discerning in knowing if these opportunities lead you or derails you from your life purpose. In the past I would just say yes to every opportunity – then I find myself stressed and out of tuned. I can’t manage my time and I am doing things that have no contribution to my life. Its’ like a “happy distraction” that takes me away from my main purpose. I had to learn to stop saying “YES” and start saying “NO.”

 

People ask me: How do you know what your life purpose is?

 

I know this deep in my heart that I was made to worship God and bring glory to His name.  It is very clear to me that next to the Lord, I am a wife to John, a mother to 5 children and daughter to my mom, sister to my siblings, a friend to the body of Christ but most importantly a compassionate friend to sinners like me. If there is something that comes my way that does not make me do my role – I am joyfully saying NO to these things.  I thank God that He has shown me that He is so much more than any of these “golden opportunities”. I have turned down high yield income projects because they did not glorify God. Saying “No” is not always easy. But I have learned to enjoy saying “NO” because it protects me from distractions and unnecessary pain. It also means that when I choose God over the worldly offers, I have His presence as my greater reward.

 

GIVE SPACE

This 2017 – I want to be in wide-eyed wonder of God’s amazing work. I want to be able to witness modern day miracles and great transformation in the lives of people around me. The Lord reminded me that if I want to see great things – I need to make God lead me.

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.” – Mark 8:34 MSG

I can’t keep making my own plans and just informing God about what I want to do. Instead, I am giving the Holy Spirit enough SPACE to move in my life. It means clearing my calendar and asking God to fill it by giving me God-given dreams and visions for His great work.  It will mean being still and praying more. It means inquiring from the Lord before acting. It means resting in Him rather than wrestling with what I want.

All of this will be hard to do if we are not connected to the Source. The true way to un-complicate life is by walking and obeying the Lord. I humbly ask that you pray for me. I know that I can never do this apart from Him.

I would like to pray for you too. You can leave me a message in this blog with your prayer request. It would be my great pleasure to pray for you. Together lets simplify and experienced the blessed life.