Welcome July - Welcome Changes

Welcome July! Summer is in full swing, the weather is heating up, vacations are planned and if you can believe it, 2018 is over half way through! That caused me to do some reflecting. In January, I picked a 'word of the year', one to give guidance and hopefully instill the characteristics of into my life. Much time is spent reading and listening to relevant material and this week, I realized progress has been made in this area, but there is much more needed....and time is moving along quickly.

July is a special month because my firstborn son was born in July. Becoming a mother was one of the life changing milestones that gets reflected on each July. The son turned 27 this year, but I never will forget the moment he was born. Being a mother is an area of continual learning and growth!

Where are you at as we face the mid point of the year? Are there areas you still want to improve? It would be easy to give up on goals and aspirations since so much of the year has gone by. Next month is August and school begins a new year and then you know once fall arrives, the rest of the year is a blur.

But, what if we took one month and renewed our focus? Determined to not give up on what we started at the beginning of the year but to enter July with a plan to move toward areas we want to grow in. If we spent 30 days focused on one area to improve, things could look different for us come August 1! Where are you today and where could you be 30 days from now? Be encouraged to pick one area, make a few changes. We can start small, but end big.

Where do you want to grow:
Personal Health - weight, diet, exercise

Spiritual Health - Bible reading, prayer, worship, service, stewardship

Better habits - time management, being on time, becoming more organized

Relationships/Service - loving others, meeting needs, growing in communication

Whatever area you choose to better, three things will help you meet that 30 day improvement.

1. Plan - write down your goals. Put them in sight.

2. Partner - tell someone about your plan

3. Progress - track your habit formation in writing

There is something special about a new month, it is ready to be explored, made the most of and an open opportunity for us to be better.

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