What’s Worth Focusing on in 2021

If you made a list of goals for 2020, you should go back and look at them. It might be funny!!

I did that this morning, but mine weren’t all that funny. Here’s the basic gyst:

1. Lose 10 pounds. —————Okay. I lost 3. Whatever, I will take it.
2. Motivate my unmotivated son.——–He is WAY more motivated now, but that took getting Dad and teachers and virtual school and growing up all involved. I cannot take credit for this.
3. Help the boys more with school work.………………….Dear Lord, I did not mean I wanted to home school again. Let me be more careful about what I say…
4. Publish 1 post on the blog/week……..I was doing well with this until October-November I think.
5. Publish Israel ebook. HEY! I actually did this one! Hurray!
6. Learn to play piano. I can now do basic songs, to include Greensleeves, Home on the Range, and some simple Bach and Brahms arrangements. I can even play two different things with both hands at once, and this took a lot of work.

But what about this year? Are goals a good idea in 2021?

Should we tempt fate in this way? If 2020 took our toilet paper and our schools from us, what could happen this year???

I mean really, there are no crazy thoughts anymore. These are all reasonable concerns. Ha! We try not to get carried away, but 2020 has left us changed.

What do you think? Troubles or no troubles, we still have to have something to reach for, right?

This morning I pulled off the miraculous stunt of having coffee in a quiet living room. It was rainy, and the boys all slept in. Alan was busy doing his thing, and behold! Quiet!!!

Normally, there is far more talking and people asking me questions. I am thankful for this too because I love my family, but the constant activity here makes one especially grateful for the moments of silence too.

We are not having Sunday school this morning either, so I had extra time to do quiet Bible study in my cozy sofa recliner. My coffee was hot, and the reading was straight from the words of Jesus. It just all felt especially wonderful today.

The verse that hung in my mind after I had said my morning prayers, eaten my breakfast, and headed back up the stairs was this one:

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Matthew 16: 22-23

“You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Peter was worried about the physical well being and survival of Jesus. Maybe he still thought Jesus would be a political leader instead of a spiritual one. Jesus did not come to be King of Palestine or Rome. He came to be something far greater than that, an eternal savior for all mankind.

But how do we do concentrate on the things of God rather than the things of men? I mean practically, how do we do that exactly?

Those are the thoughts that I am currently chewing on. I want this to guide my goals.

What comes to mind for you when you think of the “things of men?” I mean currently, the things of men are largely about the corona virus and POWER. Man, does everyone want the power! So many headlines today are about the election. I thought the presidential election was over two months ago, but all that hoopla is still going on.

Those are things of man. They may be important, but they are neither eternal, unifying, edifying, or spiritual. What about the things of God?

The things of God concern people’s souls.

This is what DOES last from generation to generation. The things of God are what matter most–

–making sure you are doing your God given work.

–Taking care of your children, your spouse, and your parents.

–Looking out for other people you see in need.

—The good news of the Gospel: You don’t have to live in guilt and shame. Jesus came and paid the price for our sins, so we can be forgiven and at peace with God and man.

I feel like the Bible’s list of the fruits of the spirit is a great indicator of the way that is worth living:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22

Ever since I read that verse the first time, as a child, I have loved that last sentence. Against such things there is no law. You will not get a ticket for being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and having self-control.

So my goal this year is to continue focusing on fostering a love of God in my children and my Sunday school class.

I still want to be a better wife and take better care of myself too.

Last year was BIG. I went in thinking it would be a “duller year” because we would not be moving, for once. But oh man, was I wrong about it being dull, and I am glad I was. THREE of our four boys were baptized in 2020. THREE!!!

Hallelujah. That is exciting.

It was such a HARD year though. Why is it that the best spiritual things tend to happen in hard times? I don’t know. We are reminded of our need for God maybe? And in a rich country like America, sometimes this is what it takes.

I hope all of you have had a restful Christmas break. The real world gears back up tomorrow (Monday) for most of us. It is easy to dread going back. The break was needed so extremely badly this year. But I am just reminding myself that often it feels good to get back to “normal” once you get going.

I hope all of your weeks prove to be fruitful and blessed.

God loves you. He is always there when we call on him.