“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Each day this week I have encouraged you to spend some time looking back and reflecting. On this Fast Forward Friday, I encourage you to look ahead. I love this photograph by Ray White. It appears the man is frozen in time as everything around him moves in fast forward.

As time moves on towards the end of 2022, many of us may start to write goals for 2023. Often those goals may be health or career related. Today I want you to consider making a spiritual goal for 2023. You may be reading this prior to starting your day, so you may not have adequate time to truly sit and prayerfully consider a spiritual goal. So go about today pondering and praying for God to help you discern what you should focus on for 2023. Then gift yourself some time this weekend to sit with God and craft your goal. Below are some ideas to get you thinking.

* Commit to a daily devotion time and choose a devotional to guide your spiritual growth time-Julie and I have some we could recommend if you need some ideas.

* Begin a prayer journal to list daily joys and concerns.

* Join a Bible Study group.

* Research spiritual growth books you would like to read and commit to reading at least one off the list.

These are just a few ideas to help you start thinking. We would love to hear what you choose as a spiritual goal. Sharing with us on Facebook or Instagram may help inspire someone else. In fact, finding a new way to share your faith may be just the spiritual goal God is calling you to today.

Whatever goal we choose, let’s allow today’s scripture to give us strength, courage and hope for how God will help us spiritually grow in 2023.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On this Thankful Thursday I am reflecting on last week. I was blessed to have a week off from school which afforded me extra time to spend with family and friends who are like family. Today’s pictures are some of the highlights from my week.

I am also reflecting today on my mantra for the year, “be a light.” While I am giving thanks to God for all the blessings of last week, I wonder if I was shining the light of Christ while I interacted with others? Did I do everything “in the name of Jesus Christ”? There were moments that I lost my focus and acted more human than Christ-like. In fact, it’s mostly around family that we let our guard down and act more human. However, I pray the prevalent reflection I present is that of Christ.

How can we stay focused on being a light for Christ, even when we are with family? We must give thanks. Having an attitude of thankfulness for even the smallest things helps me “do it all in the name of Lord Jesus”.

A couple weeks ago, I shared with you the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. Click here to read the post. Have you started writing down your gratitudes daily? If so, we would love to hear about your experience. Leave us a note or text/email one of us. Julie and I love sharing in your faith journey.

Today is also the first day of December. I encourage you to begin to pray about choosing a word, mantra, or both for 2023. Choosing a word/mantra has helped shape my walk with Christ and helped me be intentional. To stay focused on my word/mantra for 2022 I began writing both of them every day at the bottom of my gratitude list for the day.

As we go throughout this Thankful Thursday, let’s carry out Colossians 3:17.

“Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. * * *”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭MSG‬‬