Reflections on 2011: Wow! I can hardly believe that 2011 has come to an end. I have been blessed beyond measure. 2011 held two significant “firsts” for me: my first time teaching college and my first book was published, Smart Work U.
As I reflect on this year, I feel like I am running into 2012 with anticipation and hope instead of dragging my feet.
There was a season in my life when I remember dragging my feet into the next year because I thought the best had already been. Have you ever been there? You look back over your life, and you see God’s blessing in a million ways. Sometimes, those stellar moments can leave a shadow on tomorrow. How can God do more than He has already done? If you are in this season of life, I want to encourage you that He can. 2011 was a reminder sent from God that the best is still yet to come. If I am still breathing, He has purpose for my life. I hope that the lessons below encourage you to smile, believe God for the best, and step out and do life differently.
May you be blessed as you read them and inspired to intentionally see God in your life in 2012!
1. You will never have more time than you do now. Do the things you always dreamed of doing.
2. There is not enough time in the day to hold onto grudges. Let it go.
3. Prioritize the top 3-5 most important things in your life. Don’t forfeit or sacrifice the important for the urgent.
4. Do what you promised God that you would do. He is waiting on you to make good on your word.
5. God will only help you to the extent that you let Him.
6. “But sometimes a closed door is the very thing that gets us where God wants us to go. I’ve come to think of closed doors as divine detours. And while our failed plans can be incredibly discouraging and disorienting, God often uses the things that seem to be taking us off our course to keep us on His course.” – Mark Batterson
7.Sometimes blessings come in disguise….they require a little work and elbow grease in order to see the shiny silver lining.
8. When we face mountains, the key factor in the equation is not the size of the mountain but in whom we place our faith.
9. Jokes at the expense of others to make ourselves feel superior, just make us a small person.
10. Time flies whether you are having fun or not. So, you best just have some fun along the way.
11. Life is composed of saying “yes” to God time and time again.
12.It’s amazing what God can do when we let go.
13. “Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.”-John Wesley
14. God creates beauty out of our fears, insecurities, uncertainties when we give them over to Him.
15.The hard decisions are the moments that shape us.
16. The God adventure is not found in clinging to the boat of comfort, convenient, or easy! Be willing to go OVERBOARD!
17. The standard you set for yourself is the standard you will reach. Unfortunately, if average is your standard, you will hit it every time.
18. Too blessed to be stressed.
19. Problems are just opportunities for creative solutions.
20. “When you kill time, remember that it has no resurrection.” – A.W. Tozer
21. I have the power to choose whether or not to allow God to enlarge my life. Don’t stay small just because it’s comfortable…
22. Harsh discipline does not create buy-in. Coaching and compassion with discipline will pay dividends.
23. If you internally run away from situations, fears, or opportunity, you have to channel running away into running towards the challenge to overcome. The more you do, the less you will want to run away.
24. Be a wise steward of your influence.
25. “Don’t let the best you’ve ever been or done be the yardstick for the rest of your life – your best days are yet to come!” -John Lindell
26. Sometimes God places dreams in our hearts for a different season of our lives. Don’t get ahead of God.
27.We will forfeit God’s blessing when we let our emotions dictate our actions.
28. Things become inconvenient when our lives do not allow for the unexpected.
29. Keep moving forward. No matter how you look at it, two steps forward and one step back is still progress when you decide to step forward again.
30.To do something great, you have to start right where you are.
31.The things you put time, energy and effort into will bring a return.
32. Don’t doubt that God cares. He cares more than we could imagine.
33. Hold on to hope.
34. Decide to live life intentionally.
35. Learn to be generous with God’s blessing. You might be the answer to someone’s prayer.
36. Be a person of your word. If you say you are going to do something, follow through by doing it.
37.Before you say “no” and let an opportunity pass to the next person in line, God just might be setting you up for something that is destiny defining.
38. Celebrate others’ spotlight moments.
39.“As long as you are going to be thinking anyway, think big.” -Donald Trump
40.There will be challenges and obstacles, but it is our choice to overcome or quit. Choose to overcome.
41. Writing a book is a lot of work, but well worth it 🙂
42.Its amazing the people God puts in your path on a daily basis..guess we have to stop being so busy & start noticing.
43.Paper and stuff will overwhelm your life if you let it. Find a system to organize it and throw most of it away. 🙂
44. I have found, the more I am connected to the Creator, the more creative that I am.
45. Don’t be too proud to ask for help.
46. Being thankful is not automatic. Your mind has to be re-trained to live life with a thankful heart.
47.Listen to God when He puts something on your heart to call someone, pray for someone, help someone. It usually is for a reason.
48. Be careful when you are tempted to judge people. Everyone has a story, and most of the time, we don’t know it.
49.Be consistently consistent.
50. If you would have told me last year I would be where I am at today, I wouldn’t have believed you. I would have prepared more instead of worry, and I would have trusted God more. I am pretty sure that my worry didn’t help God one bit!
Here are the links to the lessons I learned in 2009 and 2010.
May 2012 hold more opportunities, favor, and blessing as you continue to walk with God!