To old friends and new friends - 'ello, 'ello 'ello and as if you didn't realise - yes - it's 2021!
After my last post in 2020 relating to the #30DayHusbandFast (which I strongly advise checking out if you are looking for intentional prayer in that area ;-) ) I did take an unintended break, so it took a while for me to get back into the flow - #saynotoprocrastination. But I'm here, I'm back with an even greater desire than before to speak biblical truth, share my musings and just be real about faith.
Whose here with me? (Just imagine I said that on a stage and you all whooped, that's the kind of vibe we're going for).
So - 2021...Generally when it comes to New Year Resolutions I stopped doing them a few years ago, and that was because I was crap at them. No excuse, no nothing - year after year, I found it hard to stick to them and instead of clearly dealing with a defeatist character trait I just thought nope, I'm going to jump on the 'I don't do New Years Resolutions, they're pointless' bandwagon. Major Faux Pas (and *Sidenote*: when you realise you have a destructive flaw, don't shield it away take it to the Lord in Prayer and deal with it, as those flaws just love to fester and multiply like a bad case of #covid19 - say no to festering and say yes to prayer - 1st Peter 5: 6-7.*). But anyhoo, I digress.
So fast forward to 2019 when I dumped the 'I don't do New Years Resolutions, they're pointless' bandwagon, and joined the #NewYearSameMe bandwagon, (seriously, #saynotodefeatistmentality), which was basically another way for me to validate my inability to stick to goals and just dwell in a state that I felt comfortable with - one that welcomed progression if I made some, but also no progression if I didn't - win-win ay? Nay!
'I don't do New Years Resolutions, they're pointless'
I took that saying into 2020, and 2020 became a year of change for me, a defining year. I got a new perspective on my day job and what it meant to me, I started and finished a Sustainable Fashion course I
had put off for years, I restarted my Fashion Instagram (@luluwewars if you want to check it out/shameless plug I know) I started (and am still doing) some online courses in relation to Investment, Finance, Business, I grew in faith and understanding exponentially, I learned to love and be content in my singleness, I restarted some old projects here and there, I connected with my Christian brothers and sisters online and have had amazing conversations around faith and am seeing real growth, and yes I even had the idea for this blog and actually started it. I went into the year with a #NewYearSameMe attitude, and God showed me that yes you're still you - but let me help you recognise who you are, and what I've called you to.
2020 became a year of discovery, purpose, confirmation and joy. The year started - I didn't know what to expect - the year ended - I was different. Whereas the year started - and God was God - the year ended - and God was still God. A new year has started and guess what - God is still God.
“For I am the Lord, I do not change;" - Malachi 3:6
So this year, dropping my defeatist attitude (but being a creature of habit - yes I'm also just very confusing at times) I decided to spin the #NewYearSameMe catchphrase on it's head. I'm no longer seeing it as a way of staying in destructive patterns of behaviour, but using it as a tool to explore the patterns of behaviour that have changed, were always within me and make me - me. I'm still Louise Afaidze-Hayford, my name hasn't changed because I'm not yet (yet) married, but I have gained new understanding/awareness of what God wants from me and for me that I'm going to keep exploring and sharing. Additionally #NewYearSameMe applies to God, every year we live we experience 'something new' whether it be a restaurant, trip, hotel, pandemic, meal and so forth, we go into a new year, we grow older - we change - but none of this is new to God, because God doesn't change. Every time we go into a New Year, He's still the same God sovereign over the same earth, watching the same scenarios play out - and He's still there. Whether it's a new year or not, God is consistent.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." - Hebrews 13: 8
So I want to take a moment to remind you of that. The start of 2021 feels a lot like 2020 in relation to the fact that we still have COVID-19 about, another lockdown, another shutdown, another period of uncertainty and not seeing loved ones/friends and so forth. But no matter what, this is not new to God, He is still God, He is still there and He is still sovereign over everything - He's in control and He knows the steps that we need to take to navigate anything that occurs in this life.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. - Proverbs 3: 5-6
So I encourage you, as consistent as God is with us, be consistent with Him. You don't have to set resolutions/goals in January - matter of fact I'm thinking that for me January may actually be a good time of self-reflection and establishing my outlook/plans for the rest of the year - through out the month. Who said I need to do it by x date in January? There isn't a Bible verse about that so nope! But in any case one goal/outlook/mindset we should always have is - God, setting our minds/thoughts/decisions on God. Grow in the consistency of your interaction with God, in consistency in praying to God, in consistency in reading the word of God, in consistency in worshipping God, in consistency in trusting God, in consistency of praising God, in consistency in relying in and on God, in consistency of crying out to God, in consistency in being real with God, in consistency of not hiding from God (as he knows everything - so there's really no point in that), in consistency in loving God - just be consistent. Consistency builds on consistency so the more we are consistent in all aspects of our walk with God, the more we understand, recognise, appreciate and love His consistency with us.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. - Colossians 3: 1-2
