Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

12 Articles to Inspire You in the New Year: A Roundup

by 15 Comments

New YearYesterday was National Resolution Planning Day.  And also National Bacon Day.  Anyone else love irony?

 

I am no expert on goal setting, organizing or losing weight, but so many of us are looking for ways to do this next year a little better than the last.  So I called on some of my friends, and they came through. 

Click To Tweet
These articles inspire me to set new goals and change mindsets – all for the glory of God.

 

For easy reference, these blog posts are broken up into 4 categories:  Spiritual Growth (first because I consider it the most important), Health, Word for the Year, and Other Improvements.  I pray you find something really helpful here.

 

Spiritual Growth in the New Year

 

  1.  I have already placed an order, and you might too after you see inside this beautiful planner reviewed in Planning for a Faithful Life on instaencouragements.com. New Year
  2. Sara from theholymess.com supplies us with a New Life in Christ Bible Reading Plan.  Dive into your time in the Word with intention!
  3. I found this tool new and interesting.   Check out the Christian Growth Wheel to Mature Your Faith from thinkaboutsuchthings.com.
  4. The Abundant Life…How to Flourish in a Frazzled World from simplyscripture.org is so self explanatory.  And so needed.

 

Health in the New Year

 

  1.  healthyasyoucan.com tackles arguably one of the most popular resolutions in How to Set and Slay Your Healthy Weight Loss Goals for the New Year.  New Year
  2. And I tackled mental health with the help of my friend Stacey – who is a licensed professional counselor – in Saying Goodbye to the Inner Critic.

 

One Word for the New Year

 

  1.  Many choose a one word focus for the year.  A word to study, pray over, meditate on.  I chose trust last year and continue to learn so much about depending on the God of the Universe.  Lisa from lisanotes.com chronicles 3 Steps to Choose the Right Word.  You may not even think you need a word.  But maybe you do…New Year
  2. pattyparker.me tells us about picking a Family Word of the Year and what it means to her.

 

Other Improvements in the New Year

 

  1.  Patty Parker to the rescue again with Living Clutter Free in the New Year:  9 Tips That Will Rock Your World.  Who doesn’t want to have their world rocked?
  2. How about some general tips on planning for success?  4 Keys to Planning Your Best Year Ever from livingwithmargins.com.
  3. And How to Beat the Odds and Reach Your Goals This Year from marvasmith.com.
  4. And it may be a little uncomfortable, but Accountability Helps Goals Become a Reality.  Thanks angelpenn.com.

 

And One to Grow on in The New Year

 

Last year at this time I hosted friend Shannon Pugh writing about evaluating last year before jumping into any of this other stuff in One Minute…Makes a Big Difference!

 

I would love to know if one of these struck a nerve with you or if you’ve decided to implement a plan or suggestion!  Also, do you have any New Year’s traditions?  Leave a comment below.  And Happy New Year!

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Fellow Grace and Truth host Lisa Burgess captured my attention with 7 Tools to Overcome Your Addiction to Certainty.  Her message nestles right up against my word for 2021.  Trust.  And I still have so much to learn.  Maybe you do too.

 

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

Praying Glory to God in the Highest #5

by 8 Comments

Glory to GodChristmas day may be past, but we are still praying glory to God in the highest.  The Christian calendar still observes Christmastide until Thursday January 6, Epiphany.  Also called Three Kings Day, Epiphany commemorates the Wise Men finding Jesus after their long journey. May we still seek Him as they did.

 

“After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  Matthew 2:11 NIV

 

In this account, the Child is mentioned before Mary.  Ordinarily, attention would have been brought to the mother first.  But this Child is special and must come before all else.  So special is He, that the men fell down to the ground in awe and worship.  And then they presented Jesus with costly gifts.  From the Believer’s Bible Commentary:  Second Edition:

The treasures they brought spoke volumes.  Gold is a symbol of deity and glory; it speaks of the shining perfection of His divine Person.  Frankincense is an ointment or perfume; it suggests the fragrance of the life of sinless perfection.  Myrrh is a bitter herb; it presages the sufferings He would endure in bearing the sins of the world.  

 

Oh, what a Savior!  My prayer from this passage today:

 

Glory to God

 

Don’t let this season end just because the calendar turns.  Comment below on who He is to you.  And share this on your favorite social media platform using the icons below.  Invite others to join in giving glory to God in the highest.  And if you don’t want to miss any of the party, subscribe using the form on the right hand side of this page.

 

Praying for you in this.

Lauren

Categories

Archives