Totally Like Whatever, You Know?

Totally Like Whatever, You Know?

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Snow!

Snow started early this morning and has not stopped yet! I spent the morning sliding down a nearby hill (and trekking back up that hill). Great exercise. The afternoon is being spent in a library, one of my very favorite places. Libraries are instant comfort.

Cinnamon Goodness

My nephews and I made cinnamon rolls one cold January day. Lots of fun, flour, and wild cinnamon shaking!

A New Year

Donald Whitney has a wonderful resource for helping to start the new year. It usually takes me a couple of weeks in January to think on the questions. My goal is to work on these throughout the year. Sometimes I do better than other times ... but it helps to have these clarifying and focusing questions.

Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year or On Your Birthday

Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. "Consider your ways!" (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.

Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

In addition to these ten questions, here are twenty-one more to help you "Consider your ways." Think on the entire list at one sitting, or answer one question each day for a month.

11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

17. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?

18. What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?

19. What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?

22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?

24. What's the most important trip you want to take this year?

25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

27. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?

28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?

29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

30. What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?

31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn't considered the question.

If you've found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace—in a day planner, PDA, calendar, bulletin board, etc.—where you can review them more frequently than once a year.

So let's evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, and live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage" (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things let's also remember our dependence on our King who said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Copyright © 2003 Donald S. Whitney.

Packer on God

Packer on God’s Purposes in Our Troubles

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Why I Wrote This Book

Why I Wrote This Book

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Orphans Deserve Better

Orphans Deserve Better

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Orphan Care Resolution Passed!

The denomination to which I belong approved the orphan care resolution. I am thankful and full of much rejoicing! Now, we must put hands and feet to these words. What is my part? What is your part?

If a tree falls in the backyard ...

My neighbor's big dead tree fell into my backyard this afternoon. It smashed part of my fence, a chair, wheelbarrow and dented the grill. I am so very thankful that the tree did not hit my house! Over the past few years during storms, I have wondered if that tree would fall. Today, on a sunny still afternoon, it fell.

More photos are on facebook. My sweet friends came by to wring hands and offer sympathy.

Up up and away

I had a fun afternoon at the Flying Circus! I got to go up in a 1941 Waco plane. Lots of sun, blue skies, green fields. This is a pretty state. Maybe photos will be posted soon.

Banana Split Cake

Layer 1:
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Mix and pat into bottom of 9x13 pan.

Layer 2:
2 eggs
2 sticks butter
1 box powdered sugar

Mix and beat for 15 minutes. Spread over graham crust.

Layer 3:
Slice 3-4 bananas over layer 2.

Layer 4:
Cover layer 3 with can of well-drained crushed pineapple.

Layer 5:
Cover layer 4 with large container of Cool Whip.

Layer 6:
Sprinkle with chopped nuts, cherries, and/or blueberries.

Chill for 8 hours then enjoy!

Assorted Thoughts

For the past five years, I have taken a personal retreat in the fall, and last week I went away for a few days. Here are some random thoughts from this time:
· Why do even the smallest towns have a Chinese restaurant? I grew up in a small town, and I remember when a Chinese restaurant came to town. It was viewed with much suspicion in rural southeast Arkansas.
· I saw a sign that said “alpacas for sale.” Has anyone ever spontaneously purchased an alpaca?
· I overheard a man say that the best Greek food he had ever eaten had been in Salt Lake City. Seriously?
· Sitting in the sun, reading a good book, and listening to fiddle music is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
· I would like to live in small town again at some point in my life, but I have become used to stores staying open past 5 p.m.
· Maybe when I retire I will live in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Maybe then I won’t need anything after 5 p.m.
· I need a bumper sticker that says “tailgating will not make me drive any faster.”
· Who were the people at the next table who kept saying “charismatic Baptists” very loudly?

At the end of my time away, I attended the first Together For Adoption conference. So good. I’ll write more on that later.

Nostalgia

A Crossett friend sent me this photo. I'm the one in the middle in yellow, age 4. It wasn't officially kindergarten, more like a Mothers Day Out, I think.

Bloggin'

Keeping up a blog is hard work. I can't always think of anything interesting to say. Sometimes, I can think of things, but they aren't thoughts or observations I want to share with the world.

• I am listening to "Come Weary Saints" from Sovereign Grace Music. Very good. I recommend it.
• My parents visited last week, and we did a huge amount of yardwork and house maintenance. My mother is very good at planting and planning while my father can fix anything.
• We ate at a great restaurant - Croaker's Spot. Interesting conversation with the owner about politics and religion. The owner's father was a famous singer in the 1950s and 1960s. He was impressed that my father knew who he was.
• Half-marathon training is going well. We did eight miles this past Saturday, and the goal is nine for this Saturday. So, I've done a quarter-marathon already.

Assalam Alaikum

A friend of mine made a Central Asian feast this weekend - plenty of fruit, nuts, pilau, naan, and soup. Delicious! We also celebrated two birthdays. Good times.

Into the Woods

I spent the weekend camping with friends at a nearby state park. We had a great time - lots of conversation, food, naps, books, food, naps, games, food, and naps. Being outside, listening to crickets chirp, wind blow, knowing that one's main decision is choosing cool ranch chips or bbq ones is a lovely way to spend a couple of days!
(I can't get photos loaded, so those will come later. If we are facebook friends, you can see some photos on there.)

Back from Chile

Thanks for remembering me and our team to the Father! We returned from Chile on Sunday, May 25, after a great trip. More about that soon. Your support and encouragement has been much appreciated!

I'm making cookies for "Songs and Sweets," an ESL program. Since it's run by Baptists, we had cookies.

Continue to pray for the people of Santiago!

Santiago

I am leading a trip to Santiago, Chile, Friday, May 16, through Sunday, May 25. Our blog is chicasservinginchile.blogspot.com. Thanks for remembering us to the Father!

Run Bonnie Run

13 miles.
That’s how far a half-marathon is.
That’s how far I will run/walk on Nov 15!
I signed up for a half-marathon. This is a goal that can be achieved only by the grace of the Lord. I am signing up for training sessions with a local organization that will guide me in twice-weekly runs and provide an exercise plan.
Signing up for such an event is certainly uncharacteristic behavior for me. It’s quite a personal challenge. I will be 35 in November, and I thought this would be a good way to mark that. Maybe when I am 70 I will do a full marathon.

Listening

I have been enjoying Before the Throne from Sojourn Music (http://sojournmusic.com). It is a pleasing mix of styles, all pleasant and fresh. I especially like “I’m coming back,” “Evergreen,” and “Come and sing.”
It is available on iTunes, or you can buy the cd on their website.
What music are you enjoying these days?