31 Days of Calm: How to Make Change Stick {Day 5}
31 Days of Calm in My Chaos
A few days ago, I received a phone call from a woman whose family my husband and I have been helping and working with for about 10 years. She was so excited and so happy and I’ve never heard her so focused on changing.
You see, for years {maybe even decades} her life has been a total mess.
I am so happy and excited for her. She really made my day! She talked about coming to church and plans she was making and even asked me about how to tithe.
I offered to come and pick her family up for church since they don’t have a car and promised we’d get together soon to talk more about some of the questions she had. When you’re in pastoral ministry, it’s really exciting to see change like this after so many years!
Anyway, we talked for about 45 minutes and as I hung up the phone, I had this sinking feeling. I told my girls that we needed to pray really hard for their family.
You see, the devil doesn’t want you to succeed.
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Less than sixteen hours later I arrived at their door and knocked. Her husband came out and apologized for not having called me. They’d been up all night with their little ones who had the stomach flu.
I wasn’t surprised. The Bible says:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 ESV
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Whenever you make the decision to change for the better, you are going to face a battle.
- If you’ve decided that your marriage needs work and you set to it, things will be especially challenging before they get better.
- If you decide to wake up earlier to have your prayer time, you’ll be tempted to stay up late or get sick.
- If you decide be more patient with your children they will be especially trying on your patience.
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Satan knows we are weak. And it’s only the Lord’s strength that makes any change possible.
“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 NIV
There is always hope! And it is possible for us to change our bad habits and create new healthy ones.
“All things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27
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3 Ways You Can Find Success Today
Here are three ways you can find success as you work toward making change in your life.
1. Pray about it. Of course, yesterday we talked about the importance of prayer. We need God working alongside us every moment! He is our strength!
2. Don’t get discouraged. So yesterday you blew up at your husband. Okay, well, yes that was wrong. BUT, today is a new day. Ask for forgiveness and strive to be more patient. God’s mercy is new every morning! Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes.
[Tweet “Slow progress is better than no progress.”]
3. Take baby steps. Slow progress is much better than no progress. This maybe one of the great mistakes we make. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. You’re sick of your life {or maybe just a part of it} and you want change – NOW.
That’s good. But you can’t change everything overnight. If you try, you are very likely to fail. Instead, set goals and work on one or two each week {or longer} until you feel success. Then, move onto the next one.
[Tweet “You can’t change your whole life overnight. Baby steps!”]
So, for instance, if you are using my New Year’s Plan of Action form, you would go ahead and write down your goals, things you want to see changed, etc. Write down what you will need to do to accomplish each item on your list. Then, work on the first goal. Then work on the second goal. Then work on the third.
New habits are hard to create, whereas bad habits are easy to keep doing.
Don’t try to revamp your whole life all at once. They say that it takes an average of 28 days to really form a new habit. That’s a whole month! Remember, baby steps!
[Tweet “New habits are hard to create; bad habits are easy to keep doing.”]
This week we’re going to be working on getting organized at home so we can enjoy the rest of our lives and lower our stress. Today, I’m starting in the kitchen. Do one thing each day to ensure success.
Today’s Goal: List 5 things you want to see changed over the next year. Make a plan of action – how will you work toward success?
What one thing do you most want to see changed at the end of the year?
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If you haven’t seen my new “This is My Life” Planners, you are in for a treat! Not only will this planner help you organize your day, there are goal setting worksheets to help you set your priorities and find more joy.
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