Week One -- 

Notes from the Forward -- 

• let go of the past (Baggage)
• clarify my convictions (Know what I stand for)
• pursue faithfulness (to God, marriage, family, etc.)

This will involve discipline and self-sacrifice. This study will stir and challenge.

You CANNOT do it in your own strength. Phil. 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 

Introduction -- 

Afraid of resolutions? or afraid of failing?

This resolution is with GOD.

This resolution will affect those closest to you.

This will cause a major impact on your life.

"Sometimes the greatest miracle of all is the one that happens in our own heart, the change that takes place in you and then surprises you as it filters into the seams and fabric of your whole life.The effects of a changed woman on her surroundings can be staggering!"

Read each chapter slowly and purposefully. Think it through. How can it apply to your specific situation? Take notes. Write in your book. Be accountable.

Part 1 -- This is Who I am! ~ A resolution to be content. 

Surprisingly Satisfied.

36 - Do you remember 36? Are you looking forward to 36? Are you happy with your relationship with 36?

I am guilty of rushing through my life . . . wanting to be in high school, then wanting to graduate, then wanting to get married, then wishing my children were older, then hesitant for them to get married, waiting for the empty nest, then wondering what to do now? What is next?

Take advantage of today and all that it holds. Don't miss out on special opportunities because you are in a hurry to get to the next place. Embrace every moment.

I Timothy 6:6 -- True Godliness with contentment is great wealth.

I Timothy 6:8 -- If we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Hebrews 13:5 -- Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have: for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you."

At each season of life, we have different choices, option, decisions, circumstances, surroundings, people, scenery, etc.  We will never pass these exact ways ever again. We may never have the opportunities that we have right now. We may never see these people again. What legacy are we leaving behind? Are we so busy looking at the next season of life, wishing that we were there, that we overlook opportunities that we will never have again? I am guilty of this. . . on our coast to coast trip that we took in 1999, we were so close to the Grand Canyon, but we didn't stop. I wish that we had. I was too busy thinking about the next place that we were headed. Now, that opportunity is hundreds, even thousands of miles away. I missed it because I was looking forward to the next stop and closed the door on that opportunity for years to come. I also closed the door on that opportunity for my husband and children. Oh, the sights that we missed. . . . will I ever have that opportunity to view those sights ever again? not with the same group of people, and possibly not ever. 

Comments: 

Different times . . . balancing the tough, every day struggles with the little bits of heaven dispersed throughout the day. Learning to keep them in balance.

Know Jesus - Know peace. 

No Jesus -- No peace.

Learning to be content -- with God's timing, and God's provision.

Somebody is always watching!

From p. 28 -- Contentment is the equilibrium between the enjoyment of life now, and the anticipation of what is to come. 

For next week, we will discuss through page 30.

Read through all 13 of the Resolutions at least once a week to keep the big picture in mind. 

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