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The Best Way to Transform Your Will and Behavior

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There is a small section in Romans where Paul discusses his struggles with sin in a way that all of us can relate to. If you’ve ever read the passage you’ve probably nodded your head vigorously in agreement.

” I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” Romans 7:15 NLT

Can I get an amen? Me too, brother Paul, me too.

“I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” Romans 7:18b-19 NLT

Every day!

“I have discovered this principle of life–that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.” Romans 7:21 NLT

I’m glad it’s not just me that feels this way.

“I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.” Romans 7:22-23a NLT

The War Inside our Minds

Did you know that there is a war going on inside of your mind, at all times? Paul describes this as a war between your sinful nature and the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives inside of you.

We think that the moment we become Christians we (and everyone else, maybe especially everyone else) should be instantly good and holy, never sinning, never making mistakes, always following the will of God to a “T”. But the reality is that this doesn’t instantly happen, ever.

We also think that the moment we decide to start making different choices in our lives, be it in regards to our health, our work, our parenting, our marriage, or anything else in life, we should instantly begin doing the things we’ve now decided to do. The choice has been made, why don’t we follow through on it?

I know I should eat a salad instead of a Big Mac, so why do I always go for the Big Mac?

I’ve decided to start going to the gym on a regular basis, so why has my gym bag stayed locked in my trunk all week while I’ve relaxed at home on the couch instead?

Maybe you call it a lack of self-control or self-discipline or willpower. Maybe you call it a war of the flesh.

The truth is that changing our behavior and actions is a process.

A Little Brain Science

You have to change your thoughts and renew your mind if you want to change your will and behavior.

Our brains were designed to take the path of least resistance. This is why once you’ve developed a habit, be it a good habit or a bad habit, it can be really hard to break that habit.

When we take a certain action our brain develops a neural pathway. Neurons connect with other neurons and develop a roadmap in our brains for the way things should go. When we repeat that action, the pathway gets even stronger. Until one day we don’t even have to try or think about it, our brain is on autopilot, doing the thing we trained it to do.

So if you’ve spent your whole life (or even just the last couple of years) eating Big Macs and lounging on the couch, your brain will fight you at every step of the process when you try to shake things up and eat salads and go to the gym.

It’s also why a drug addict who finds Jesus in the safety of a jail cell will often succumb to the temptations of the real world upon his release, no matter how strong His newly found faith was in jail. His brain hasn’t had the chance to develop new neural pathways that lead to better decisions. His brain has chosen to follow the only pathway it knows.

This is also why later in the book of Romans Paul tells us to “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2b NLT.

Changing Our Behavior Must Begin By Changing Our Mind

renew your mind to transform your behavior

It is not possible to change our behavior by simply deciding to change our behavior. We can’t force ourselves into lining our will up with God’s will or anyone else’s will for that matter.

God did not design humans to have the ability to instantaneously change everything about themselves. And I’m pretty sure this was intentional.

You see, the thing God wants most is not instant obedience. It’s relationship.

“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.'” Acts 17:27-28a NIV.

You see, we aren’t changed and transformed into the likeness of Christ, holy and perfect and righteous simply because we’ve decided to now have faith and believe in Jesus.

We are changed and transformed because we “put on our new nature, and {we are} renewed as {we} learn to know {our} Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:10 NLT

Our new nature in Christ is a process. We learn to know God and in that learning, we become more and more like Him.

We “let the Spirit renew {our} thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians 4:24 NLT

This is important. The Holy Spirit doesn’t change our behavior. The Holy Spirit changes our thoughts and attitudes. The change must first begin in our mind.

We must begin to develop new neural pathways. As our relationship with God grows and develops, as we learn more about the heart of Christ and seek to understand His purposes and will, our neurons begin to fire differently. We create a completely new roadmap in our brain.

Renewing Our Minds in Christ Leads to Lasting Change

a renewed mind leads to a renewed life

And do you know the result of all this transforming of our brains?

“The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things!” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT.

Our behavior begins to change.

If you are tired of making decisions and then failing when you try to follow through on those changes, maybe it’s time to stop trying to manage your will and instead begin to manage your mind.

Your flesh and your will are guaranteed to let you down. Your will is easily controlled by the world, by temptations, by your brain’s insistence on always taking the easy road.

So let us stop trying to change our will and our behaviors. And let us instead lean in, seek after, and pursue a transformation of our minds.

If we want to become a new person, let’s start with changing the way we think. Let’s work toward developing new neural pathways as we learn new behaviors and ideas and processes. And most importantly, let us remember…

“There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2 NLT.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 NLT.

Today’s Action Step to Transform Your Will and Behavior

Think about one behavior you are currently trying to change in your life. Have you been trying to force yourself into changing your will before you transformed your thoughts? Have you taken this desired change to God and requested His help?

Instead of focusing on changing the behavior, we must first focus on transforming our mind so that the desired behavior will naturally follow. It will still be difficult the first few times you do the desired behavior as your brain begins to learn to develop a new neural pathway. But by focusing on changing your thoughts and your attitude first, seeking God and bringing Him into the picture, you will begin to lay the groundwork in your brain to shift from the existing pathways to the renewed and transformed pathways.

Additional Resources

You Are What You Think: How You Can Direct Your Thoughts to Change Your Life

How to Avoid Falling Off the Healthy Eating Wagon

5 Steps to Refresh Your Faith

How to Be a More Positive Person

Do you struggle to do what you want to do and not to do what you don't want to do? There is an important first step that must be done if we want to experience true change. If you are ready to transform your will and behavior, you must start by renewing your mind. When we transform our mind than our behavior will naturally change.

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4 Important Lessons To Help You Crush Your Streak Challenge

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From Tracy – I am thrilled to share this guest post with you today. My friend Julie, from The Hallway Initiative, shares the four lessons she learned while participating in the WMB Streak Challenge at the beginning of the summer. I have decided to make the Streak Challenge a regular offering, so if you weren’t able to join us in May, you now have the option to sign up anytime. But be sure to read Julie’s lessons first to help you prepare.

A few months ago, I was feeling a bit frustrated with my health.  It isn’t that I have major health concerns, but somewhere between marriage and kids, I’ve lost the energy, flexibility, and strength that I had a decade ago.

So when Tracy from Working Mom’s Balance announced the start of her Streak Challenge this past May, I knew I wanted to sign up.  It would be the perfect opportunity to develop a new health habit that could jumpstart my goal of getting back into shape!

I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the challenge.  Not only did it help me develop a new healthy habit, but I was surprised to learn four other lessons that were really valuable, too.  Today, I’d love to share them with you in the hopes that they will encourage you on your own journey, whether your goal is to lose weight, improve your parenting, or develop a gift you’ve never before cultivated.

Choose Wisely

When I originally heard about the WMB Streak Challenge, my first thought was to do a Whole37.  I’d completed my first Whole30 in February and liked the thought of continuing where I’d left off.  But when I realized that the dates of the challenge covered Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and a family wedding, I quickly decided that sticking with a Whole30-style menu was going to be difficult, if not impossible.

This realization taught me an important lesson:  whenever you’re trying to start a new habit, choose wisely.  Pick a habit that you can reasonably accomplish.  If you set the bar so high that you’ve doomed yourself to failure, you’ll convince yourself that learning a new habit is impossible when the problem was simply that you didn’t start something you could reasonably finish.

I ended up choosing to stretch every day.  I felt that this was in keeping with my desire to try a health challenge but would be much more manageable than a monster Whole30.  It was also something that I could keep up whether I was at home or away and could also accomplish over the holidays.

You Have to Do It

When I compared the challenge of a Whole30 with my final choice of stretching every day, I kind of giggled.  I mean, the first one would have been extremely difficult, while the stretching seemed overly simple.  It would be a breeze to complete the Streak Challenge!

Or so I thought.

The thing is, even if something seems easy enough, you still have to do it.  You still need to deliberately make time for it.  I rather expected that my stretching routine would magically happen on its own, but I was wrong.

Even though I did complete the challenge by stretching every day, I lost track of how many times I ended up doing it moments before hopping into bed because I’d simply forgotten about it until the end of the day.  And once I even fell asleep before remembering that I hadn’t stretched (and yes, if you’re wondering, I did get up out of bed to do it just to say I completed the challenge!).

For this reason, I loved Tracy’s recommendation to pair our Streak Challenge habit with another habit we were already doing, just as she started taking her vitamins with her morning health drink.  Since she was already in the habit of enjoying her daily health drink, it was a lot easier to remember her vitamins along with it rather than trying to remember to take her vitamins at a different time of day.

Had I paired my stretching with, say, my daily quiet time, I probably would have been a lot more successful at accomplishing my stretching earlier in the day!

Small Changes Can Have a Big Impact

As we neared the end of the challenge, I was rather surprised to see how big of an impact this small daily challenge had on my physical health.  While I used to run a lot as a teen and young adult, somewhere in the crazy blessings of marriage and parenting, I let go of my exercising habit.  And although I’m technically not overweight, often I don’t feel very healthy.

But when I began my stretching challenge, I noticed an improvement not only in flexibility but also an increase in my energy too.  I didn’t change anything else besides adding in daily stretching, but that single, small change made a big impact in how I felt overall.

Sometimes we mistakenly convince ourselves that only big, life-changing goals and achievements will make an impact.  But the reality is that more often than not, it’s the small, daily choices we make that make the biggest impression.

You Don’t Have to Continue

The original streak challenge ran from Memorial Day through the 4th of July – 37 days.  Even though I knew there was an end date, I never gave much thought to what I’d do once the streak was over.

Tracy’s last email to those of us completing the Streak Challenge was an “aha” moment for me because she pointed out that we didn’t have to keep on doing our challenge forever.  While some would continue, others of us would move on to other things.

For me, it made the most sense to continue with some stretching but to slowly let my new stretching habit morph into an exercise routine.  Stretching will still be a part of that, but I’ve now incorporated light weight lifting and semi-regular jogging on my treadmill.  While I only do these things for a few minutes each day – I’m not running for an hour or anything like that! – these small changes are having a big impact on my overall health.  And that was my original goal for completing the Streak Challenge in the first place:  getting healthier.

I am so glad that Tracy put in the hard work of creating the Streak Challenge, and I’m happy that I was able to join in and complete it.  Not only am I healthier both mentally and physically for having accomplished this goal, I learned four important truths in the process as well.

If you’re considering taking on Tracy’s Streak Challenge via email (which I would highly recommend!), remember: choose wisely; you have to do it to finish it; small changes can have a big impact, and you don’t necessarily need to continue once the challenge is over.

And I promise – if you take on the Streak Challenge, you’ll love the sense of accomplishment and you will feel good about your new habit once you’re done!

Julie Moore is wife to Jon and mom to their four spark plugs, the oldest of whom has Type 1 Diabetes. When not helping Jon with his business or homeschooling the kids, she blogs at The Hallway Initiative, encouraging Christian women to praise the Lord in the midst of hardship.

You can start your own 37-day streak challenge at any time. Each day you’ll receive an encouraging email with tips and tricks to help you be successful. Visit this post to find out more and sign up!

Have you ever considered participating in a streak challenge? You set a goal to do one thing every day for a specified number of days. The results can be fantastic, but it is hard. Here are four important lessons that can help you prepare to have the best streak challenge experience.

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From Financially Frustrated to More Than Just Making It

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Do you ever feel like you are on a financial roller coaster?

You finally begin to get ahead one month. You’re not sure how you did it, but you can’t believe how nice your budget looks. You pat yourself on the back and celebrate that you finally had money at the end of the month.

Until next month, when the exact opposite happens. You didn’t change a thing, you didn’t go out on a spending party, there were simply more expenses than you expected and now you’re wondering if you really will ever get ahead. You try to plan so carefully, you budget and scrimp and save for a rainy day, but the rainy days keep coming.

How To Go From Financially Frustrated to More Than Just Making It

This feels like the story of our life this year. We are in a decent spot financially, much better than we have been in the past. We feel like we have a little more wiggle room in our budget for extras and we’re able to plan better for things we know are coming down the road. But it’s all those things that we didn’t know were coming down the road that keep messing up the plan.

Things were going smoothly so we put a deposit down on a vacation we’ve been dreaming of for years. And then the washing machine broke and needed to be replaced. We get a new washing machine and start working our way back up only to discover that we have a pretty bad termite problem in our house that will cost thousands of dollars to completely repair. Ugh, back to square one.

The reality is that many of us are just barely making it financially. Even in two income families, the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck with little left over for emergencies, extras, or even giving. And it is exhausting and frustrating.

More Than Just Making It

We want to do more with our lives, but we never can seem to get ahead. This is why I was so excited to read Erin Odom’s new book More Than Just Making It: Hope for the Heart of the Financially Frustrated. The financially frustrated? Isn’t that all of us? I don’t know anyone who hasn’t experienced financial frustrations at some point in their life.

more than just making it

More Than Just Making It is part memoir and part “how to” book offering practical strategies to overcome financial struggles and frustrations. Erin grew up in middle-class America, she attended private schools and was even able to graduate from college completely debt free. She had plans to become an overseas missionary, but just as that dream was about to become a reality she found herself in a struggling marriage and a desperate financial situation.

The book shares Erin’s story of true financial struggles, from standing in line to apply for food stamps, learning how to cut back and live frugally in every possible way, to walking through a bankruptcy. Erin’s situation went from bad to worse before things slowly and gradually began to turn around. Now that Erin has made it to the other side, she is sharing all of the tips and things she has learned as she went from middle class to living at poverty level and back up again.

More Than Just Making It will be released on September 5th, but if you preorder the book, Erin has put together a number of incredible bonuses worth over $220. You can read more about the preorder bonuses and book at morethanjustmakingit.com.

preorder bonuses

For Those Who Are Not Financially Frustrated

One of my favorite parts of the book is that Erin tackles the debate and the stigma of government aid head on. Her stories share a glimpse of the reality of families who survive on food stamps, Medicare, and other sources of government aid. She honestly shares her own assumptions and pride along with the shame she felt when she needed to turn to the government for help.

message on generosity for the church

The chapter on “Changing Our Mindsets” offers an incredibly powerful call to the church and a guide on how believers can support and help those who are struggling financially. She believes that “meeting the physical needs of suffering individuals can go a long way in opening the door to meeting their spiritual needs as well.” She drives home the point that judgment and shame will never lead someone to the gospel or out of poverty, but compassion and assistance can do both.

Whether you are financially frustrated yourself or you are living comfortably, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this book. I was amazed at how well Erin is able to provide tips and knowledge for those struggling financially as well as ideas and insight for those on the other side who can make a difference through compassionate support.

Steps to Take to Get to More Than Just Making It Financially

Today, I wanted to share a few tips on how to go from financially frustrated to more than just making it. These tips and ideas just scratch the surface of the ideas that Erin provides in More Than Just Making It, so be sure to grab a copy to learn more.

Determine if you have an income or a spending problem.

Erin makes the important distinction between those with an income problem and those with a spending problem. Take some time to have an honest look at your income and expenses to help determine where your situation lies.

If you have an income problem you can save and cut back all you want, but you won’t ever get ahead. If you are constantly struggling just to cover the basic necessities, then your solution isn’t more coupons. You need to address your income problem. Maybe you or your spouse need to get a different job, an extra job, or even start your own business on the side. (This post shares a number of options to help bring in additional side income.)

spending problem

If you have a spending problem, it is important to address the underlying cause of your excess spending. For many people, shopping is used as a therapy to numb the pain in other areas of their life. Others struggle with “keeping up with the Joneses” and living outside of their means as a way to appear as if their circumstances are better than they are. Some may simply have a knowledge problem and they need resources and education on how to live within a budget and make better spending choices.

Make a plan for your money.

The Bible calls us to be good stewards of our resources. Whether we are rich or poor, it is our duty to spend our money wisely and shrewdly. If you don’t make a plan for your money ahead of time it is hard to make wise decisions. You need the knowledge of the big picture to help you determine the best plan for your spending.

This is why everyone should live on a budget. Not a restrictive, you can’t spend any money on fun things budget, but a simple plan for your money. When you receive new income (ie, payday) take a few minutes to sit down (preferably with your spouse) and make a plan for each dollar of that income. You can make whatever categories and budget line items you want. Making a budget simply gives you the freedom to spend your money guilt free on the things you have planned.

I recommend using YNAB (You Need A Budget) to create your budget, but a simple pen and paper work just as well too. The point is not necessarily the tool, but the fact that you use it. So sit down, make a plan, and then actually live according to your plan (adjusting for unexpected broken washers and termites accordingly).

Don’t borrow to buy what you can’t afford.

If you don’t have the money to buy it, you don’t buy it. It really is as simple as that. Obviously, there are circumstances that might require you to borrow money in a pinch. However, if you find yourself pulling out your credit card on a regular basis for meals out, extra clothes, or fun adventures, you would be wise to lock your credit card somewhere you can’t find it.

In a perfect world, we would all have a large emergency fund to rely on when things get tight. But in reality, working your way up to a hefty emergency fund can take years and in some cases might never feel possible. If you do need to borrow or use credit, make wise decisions. Only borrow the bare minimum you can to cover the things you truly need. Using your credit card to buy a few days of groceries to float you until payday is one thing. Borrowing an extra $20,000 in student loans for extravagant living expenses is foolish.

give freely

Always be saving.

One of my favorite parts about YNAB is that I can “blind” myself to our actual bank account balance. I rarely look at how much money we have in our bank account. Instead, I look at the amount of money we have designated for each category. If there is $300 left in our food budget and we are three days away from payday, I don’t feel too guilty about picking up some take out if I’m too tired to cook. But if there is $.03 left in the food budget, you better believe I’ll be searching the pantry for a box of mac and cheese instead of hitting the drive thru. Even if our bank account says we have $2000 in the account, I only look at the amount in the category I intend to use.

The reason for this is because we are always saving. There are constantly little bills that come up and big expenses that only pop up once a year. I put a few bucks into these occasional bill categories each month so that I’m never blindsided. When it’s time to renew our license plates, the money is ready and waiting in the account. When our Amazon Prime membership automatically pulls from our account I don’t have to sweat it because I had been slipping that money over every month. When we have birthdays in August, September, October, and Christmas in December, I don’t have to panic because I’ve been planning for this spending escapade all year long.

Even if you can’t fund every budget savings category that you would like, make it a point to start somewhere. Even if it’s just $5 a paycheck, begin to create the habit of saving some of your money. You will feel so relieved to find money set away when a rainy day comes.

Trust God

trust God

No matter how dark your financial situation is, there is a God who calls you beloved. He cares for you deeply and passionately. And He will never leave or forsake His beloved children. Lay your fears and anxieties, your worries and your stress before Him. Cast on Him your burdens and ask Him to meet your needs. Our God always provides. It may not look like we expect. It may not be everything we want. But He always, always takes care of His children. He is always there. Trust Him, rely on Him, find your hope in Him.

Today’s Action Step

Take an honest look at your personal financial situation. Are things going well for you? If so, what can you do to provide compassion and assistance to those around you?

If you are financially frustrated, consider the areas where you may need to make some changes? Do you need more income or better spending habits? Do you have a plan for your money each paycheck period?

And be sure to preorder your copy of More Than Just Making It and grab the pre-order bonuses before September 5th.

Nearly everyone has faced times of financial frustration. But there is always hope and a way out. With careful planning and wise decisions you can change your personal finances to discover that you are more than just making it. This post is a book review and guide from the new book by Erin Odom, More Than Just Making It: Hope for the Heart of the Financially Frustrated.

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What to Do When You Feel Far From Achieving Your Dreams

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First, I was dying to finish high school and start college.
And then, I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then, I was dying to marry and have children.
And then, I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school.
And then, I was dying to retire.
And now, I am dying …
and suddenly, I realize I forgot to live.
-Anonymous

Do you ever get caught up in your dreams for the future and feel stuck in the reality of your right now? You know that your right now is good, really good. You have so much to be thankful for. You recognize that others would give anything to live the life that you now have. And yet, all you can do is dream and hope and long for what seems like this far off distant future that you desire.

You try to follow the advice of the experts and live in the present. You make long gratitude lists to remind yourself of how good you have it. You focus your attention on your blessings and the experiences of now, but it seems to only last for a short time before you are distracted again by your dreams. If only you could make the future come faster. If only you could guarantee that this future in your dreams would actually happen.

And you know the reality is that you won’t ever get to the future of your dreams if you don’t put the focus and the work in the here and now. But its just so hard with these current life circumstances. You are busy and stressed and things are so tight and difficult. If only you had this future life it would just make everything so much better. But you can’t get to future life without pushing through the hard of now.

I’m a big believer in goals. I think it is great to be future focused and have a plan for where we want to go in life. It is important to always be growing, improving ourselves, and moving forward in this journey of life. And so we look to the future and dream of what we might be able to do with the days ahead of us.

And this is good.

Until you get stuck there.

The point of dreaming of our future and setting our goals is to provide us with guidance for the here and now. Our dreams and goals give us the information we need in order to know what we should do with today. We look at tomorrow not to live tomorrow today, but to guide us into becoming the person that tomorrow needs us to be.

The truth that we all know is that tomorrow is not promised. We may never achieve the goals and dreams we have for ourselves. We may passionately believe that God has placed these dreams inside of our hearts and still never achieve them on this side of eternity. The only thing we have is this very moment.

To live, to breathe, to smile, to laugh, to enjoy this moment in time and savor it for all it is worth. And it is worth so much. Even when conditions aren’t perfect. Even when our heart longs for something different. Even when our circumstances are difficult and painful. We have this blessed moment of life. A gift from our loving Creator.

I do not claim to be an expert in this. I struggle daily with my desire to live in my head. In my head, I can see this beautiful future that I’m dreaming of and it looks so pretty and fun and so much easier than my trials today. But I know that this dreaming is useless. This dreaming does nothing for my today. Dreaming without action is simply wasted time.

So here are ways we can use our dreams to fuel us into action and living fully present in the moments of today.

1. Seek God first always, in all things, at all times.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 NLT

Our entire purpose on this Earth is to seek God. This is it. Whatever dreams and goals and hopes you have are secondary. All of the gifts and people and possessions you experience on this earth are a nice touch, but they are not the point. The entire reason that God made us, in His image, is so that we would seek Him, reach for Him, and find Him.

If this is not your one aim and your one goal, you are entirely missing the point of your existence.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’” Acts 17:24-28 NIV

Related: When you feel like you’re failing at everything

2. Recognize that there is a time for planning and dreaming.

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT

Dreaming and planning is not wrong and in fact, the Bible directs us to plan ahead.

“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ Luke 14:28-30 NLT

But once you’ve planned, once you’ve dreamed and scheduled and counted the cost, you release your plans to our Sovereign God who holds all things and controls all things. For His plans are perfect. His ways are higher. His thoughts are not like our thoughts. So we release our hopes and dreams to him, recognizing that it is only through His will and His power that we will achieve anything.

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NLT

Related: How to respond when life doesn’t go as planned

3. Trust in God’s Sovereignty and Goodness

If you listen to and pay attention to successful people you will likely hear a common theme when they talk about their “before” and “after”, especially successful Christian people. Usually, you will hear them say something along the lines of “God exceeded my expectations,” “God’s plans were much bigger than I would have ever dreamed,” “I would have never planned my life this way, but it is better than I ever imagined it could be.”

God has a habit of blowing our minds. God has a knack for lavishing unconditional love and faithfulness upon His people. God’s ways are bigger, better, higher, and wiser.

Now, none of this is a promise of a perfect life. None of this is a promise that we will be rich and prosperous without a care in the world. In fact, we are promised the exact opposite. We know there will be trials. We are certain that there will be hard times. And earthly riches should never be our aim.

But we can be certain that God is good. And that His plans for us are good. And when things look doubtful, dark, or downright scary, we can trust that He has our back and He will lead us through each and every storm. Safe, secure, successful.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Related: Thy Will Be Done

4. Do the Work.

We have our dreams and goals for a reason. I absolutely believe that God places dreams and goals in our hearts to lead us into the places He desires for us to go. The more we draw close to Him and seek His face the more closely our dreams will align with His plans. They may not look exactly alike and the end result might be very different than we imagined because His way of thinking tends to be far beyond our human capabilities, but our initial dreams are a gift to guide us into the work He wants us to do.

And that is the important part. We have work to do. No dream or goal was ever achieved sitting around and just “waiting on God”. God doesn’t usually move until you do. God rewards our faithfulness with results.

Remember the story of Joseph. As a young child, Joseph had a dream that He would be a leader and a ruler over his entire family. And then he was sold into slavery. And then wrongfully imprisoned. Until finally years and years and years later, he became the ruler he knew he was supposed to be. But the important piece of the story is Joseph’s faithfulness to do the work, no matter where he found himself.

The Bible says that the Lord was with Joseph so he succeeded in everything he did. Both Potiphar and the jail warden put Joseph in charge of everything in their authority. Joseph did the work and then God blessed the work and used that work to lead Joseph into the next stage of His calling. God could not have helped Joseph succeed in everything he did if Joseph just sat around dreaming and wishing about the life he was “supposed to be living”. Joseph had to do first and then God blessed it.

“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” Proverbs 12:11

5. Make the Next Right Decision.

Our dreams can be exciting, but they can also be overwhelming. We have a burning passion inside our hearts to faithfully do what we believe God is calling us to do, but the task ahead of us looks far greater than our strengths and abilities.

How am I supposed to get from here to there? I’m not strong enough for this. I don’t know how. I don’t see all the steps, what if I mess up or make the wrong decision? What if I fail? What if I misunderstood God’s calling?

Friend, we don’t have to have it all figured out. And we certainly don’t need to worry about failure. The Creator and King of the entire universe has got your back. There is no problem He cannot solve. There is no mistake He cannot repair. There is no wrong decision He can’t make right.

You seek Him to lead you, trust Him to help you, and make the next right decision. You don’t have to see the whole path. You don’t need a clear vision of the future. You don’t even need the strength to make it to the next hour. You have this moment. Make a choice for this moment and get to work. When the next moment comes, make your next choice. And if you don’t know, you ask God, and trust in His lead. But all you worry about is the next right step.

This is how we live in the present. We dream of and plan for the future, but then we release our dreaming and hold onto today. This moment. This beautiful gift.

What will you do with this moment right now? How will you faithfully use this day, in the midst of your in-between, in the middle of your “not the circumstances I had hoped for”, what will you do to trust God with your dreams and faithfully follow what He is calling you to do for this day?

“Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” Luke 9:62 MSG

Today’s Action Step

Seek God first. Spend some time alone with God in prayer, listen for His voice, read His word, and search for the peace about your situation that only He can give. Then move forward with the work that you know He is calling you to do. Make the next decision and get to work.

Leave a comment with the one thing you will do to make the next right decision in pursuing your God-given dreams.

Additional Resources

My friend Julie from HallwayInitiative.com recently released an ebook called A Place Prepared: Finding Peace in God’s Perfect Plan. In this book, Julie walks us through the countless trials and struggles she faced as a young adult including financial hardships, relationship struggles, and serious medical issues for several of her family members. Throughout her stories, she weaves the message of hope and peace we can find through our Savior. Her ability to notice God’s faithfulness in each season of life will move you to begin to look out for the ways God is working in your life to show His glory and goodness. I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs to be reminded that God will always go before us and prepare us for whatever circumstance we will face in the road ahead. You can purchase your digital copy of A Place Prepared by clicking this link.

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Join The FREE Streak Challenge To Develop A Powerful Daily Habit

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You know that your daily habits are what lead you to a successful life. Intellectually, you understand that the things you do each and every day will produce certain results in your life. However, creating those daily habits that usher us into the life we want to live is much easier said than done.

“Tomorrow I’ll start working out regularly.”

“When the kids are a little older I’ll have more time to establish a daily quiet time with God.”

“Once I get a new job I’ll be able to find the motivation to read more books.”

And on and on our list of reasons and delays continue. Until one day we find ourselves living a life of lame excuses instead of intentionally pursuing the life we want to live.

We’re going to stop all that right here. There is no better time than the present and no better day than today. We’re going to quit with the excuses and decide that today is all that we are promised, so we will begin today to live the life we want to live. We will stop the excuses and start making better choices. We will choose a new habit and work at it diligently each and every day until it becomes a part of who we are.

An Introduction

If you’re new here. Hi, I’m Tracy. I have been running at least one mile each day, every single day, for the past two years. Two years ago I would have laughed in your face if you would have told me that my rash decision to run every day would last more than a couple weeks. But now, running every day has become so much a part of my life that it is as normal to me as brushing my teeth and eating and showering each day. It’s just who I am. It’s what I do.

There is never a question about if I will run each day. That is such a freeing feeling. I don’t have to wrestle with my excuses or doubts or laziness, I just run. The only questions are when, where, and how long. Those are much easier to decide, trust me.

Developing the habit of running every day was not easy. It took a lot of work, a lot of sacrifices, and a lot of perseverance when I just did not want to. And it still, two years later, takes a lot of work, a lot of sacrifices, and a lot of perseverance when I just do not want to. But every single moment has been worth it. Your habits really do create who you are. And I love who I have become.

So what about you? What habit could you begin to implement into your life that could change who you are? What small thing could you begin doing each day that will lead you to the results you want in life?

My Challenge to You.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.- Aristotle

I have a challenge for you. We are going to begin a streak challenge. During this challenge, you will do one small thing each and every day for 37 days. You won’t allow excuses. You won’t let busyness or stress or laziness get in your way. You will do your one thing every day, no matter what.

Are you in?

Step 1 – Pick Your One Thing

There is value in pursuing discomfort and striving for the ridiculous. - Tracy Kulwicki

Your one thing can be whatever you want. It does not have to be running. If you are not a runner, hate running, or can’t run, this challenge is still for you. I run because that is what I want to do with my life. But this is your life, you get to choose what habit will make the best impact on your individual life.

Here are some of my thoughts and guidelines on your one thing –

  • Make it small – you’re going to do this thing every day, no matter what, so be sure to set yourself up for success. Running a mile takes me approximately ten minutes. Even on my busiest days, I can find ten minutes. So something that takes you around 5-15 minutes to do is probably the size we are looking for. And remember, even if you are sick or your schedule is packed or a crisis happens, you will still be committed to doing this thing, so make this a manageable task. (I’ve run while sick, while traveling, and the day my dad died, so when I say no excuses, I pretty much mean you get zero excuses.)
  • Make it specific – one time I told myself that I would do “some strength training” every day. And then I would do a 30-second plank and call it good. Um, that wasn’t quite what I meant, but I was able to weasel myself out of my own commitment because I wasn’t specific enough. Whatever you decide, make sure to make it specific enough that you don’t have room to weasel yourself out with a half-hearted attempt.
  • Make it measurable – this goes along with making it specific, you also want a quantifiable limit to it. “Go for a walk” could mean you walked to your mailbox and back. Be sure to add either a time limit, a length, or a number of repetitions. Basically, you want to make your habit something that if you were in a court of law, everyone could agree if you either did it or did not do it. Be very clear.
  • Make it relevant to your life and your overall goals – I could create the habit that “I’m going to listen to rock music for ten minutes a day.” But listening to rock music doesn’t lead me any closer to any of my goals in any area of my life. Think about the specific goals you have for your current season of life. What habit could you implement that would have the most impact on your ability to reach your current goals? That’s the one you want to use. Just because someone else is pursuing a specific habit, doesn’t mean that their specific habit is the best one for you to pursue.
  • Make it active – this is a challenge to create a new positive habit, not remove a bad habit. While it is great to remove bad habits, that is not our goal here. We are looking to select one thing that we want to actively start doing each day, not removing from our lives. (Active does not mean physically active, it just means you have to do something instead of stop doing something.)
  • You only get ONE THING – this is very important. While you might feel super motivated as you are brainstorming ideas and you might want to start implementing several new habits for this challenge, I urge you to pick only one. Do not try to overhaul your entire life in the next 37 days. Pick one small thing and stick with that one thing until it is ingrained in your daily routines. Then you can pick another one.

You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of success is found in your daily routine. - John C. Maxwell

Here are just a few ideas and examples I came up with if you’re feeling stuck on your one thing. The sky is the limit and this is your adventure, so just use this list to spark ideas.

Physical

  • Run at least one mile every day.
  • Do some other form of exercise every day for X number of minutes/length.
  • Do X number of pushups, squats, lunges, etc every day.
  • Drink X ounces of water each day.
  • Go to the gym and workout for X number of minutes each day.

Mind

  • Read for X number of minutes or X number of pages each day.
  • Write for X number of minutes or X number of words each day.  –This is my new one thing. 🙂
  • Spend X number of minutes learning something new (new language, a new skill, new hobby).
  • Work on a puzzle, crossword, or other brain-challenging activity for X number of minutes a day.

Spiritual

  • Pray for X number of minutes or X number of times each day.
  • Read X number of verses/chapters of the Bible each day.
  • Write out a scripture verse each day. (Here’s a good list if you need suggestions.)
  • Write down X number of things you are grateful for each day.

Relationships

  • Spend X number of minutes kissing, hugging, or snuggling your mate each day.
  • Play with your kids for X number of minutes each day.
  • Write an encouraging note/text/email to a friend every day.

Step 2 – Commit and Join the Streak Challenge.

Write down your one thing and commit yourself to doing it every single day for 37 days, no excuses. You might feel scared, you might start instantly sweating, you might start panicking, and your brain will likely begin to flood with reasons why you can’t. Feel all of those feelings, let all those thoughts flow through you, and then tell yourself that you can and you will. Read this post and this post and this post if you need help changing your thoughts to positive ones.

This is a challenge we are doing together. There is power in community. I’ve been where you are and I know what it takes to get to the other side. Each day I’m going to send you an email with a daily lesson of encouragement, inspiration, and positivity to help you stay in the right mindset to succeed at this thing. I promise you that the hardest part is not your schedule, or your kids, or your body, the hardest part will be your mindset. You’ll get a daily email in the morning to remind and inspire you. Read it, and then go do your one thing.

Are you ready? Sign up here (it’s completely free!) –

Step 3 – Grab Your Friends.

We first make our habits, then our habits make us. John Dryden

Accountability is one of the most important factors for creating a new habit that sticks. I’ll be sending you a daily email to help keep you accountable. I will be your cheerleader and encourager. But you need more than just me on your team. Tell your friend. Tell your spouse. Tell your kids. Tell your coworkers. Let the world know what you are trying to do.

It will feel scary. You’ll worry about the embarrassment of failure, but here’s the thing – we won’t have failures in this challenge. And I’ll tell you more about why you can’t fail in one of the emails I send during the challenge. So stop worrying about other people and tell them about it. (Use the hashtag #WMBstreakchallenge on social media so that we can all cheer each other along.)

Then invite your people to join you. Pick the same habit or pick a different habit. It doesn’t matter. But you want someone struggling and persevering right along with you. That has been one of the most motivating things for me. Knowing I had friends doing this with me that I did not want to let down. Share this post with your friends and encourage them to sign up and commit right along with you.

Step 4 – Day 1 Starts Tomorrow.

Once you sign up I will send you a welcome email right away. Then tomorrow you will get your day 1 challenge email.

Be ready and take things one day at a time.

Let’s do this thing.

P.S. – My post about 5 Lessons I’ve Learned About Self-Discipline From Running Every Day for 2 Years might be really helpful to read before you get started.

Note – I originally created this post and the WMB Streak Challenge to run from Memorial Day to the 4th of July 2017. Due to its popularity, I have continued to offer this email challenge year round. You can sign up at any time and complete your 37 days so you can officially become a streaker too.

From Memorial Day to the 4th of July we are choosing one new habit to do daily. Join the streak challenge and change your life. #WMBstreakchallenge

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