(upbeat music) - Hi, family. Welcome to God's Word Transforming Lives. Are you wanting to learn the Bible first by first? One letter at a time with real life application and this podcast is for you. My name is Amy and I have been teaching the word of God to women for over 15 years now. I came out of some trauma from my childhood and it left me feeling so empty. And after searching high and low with everything the world had to offer, I always came up short until I learned the word of God for myself. And it was in that that I became transformed. So if you would like to be transformed by God's Word, then stick around and let's do this together. Did you know I have a free sisterhood community of women just like you? Women who love Jesus when they love one another? They too are looking for that deeper walk with Christ and they love learning his word. If you pause right now and click the link below in the show notes, it'll take you right to the Facebook group. We look forward to getting to know you. - Sisters, happy new year. Today is New Year's Eve day, but I wanted to come on here and just kind of talk a little bit about the New Year's. I love new beginnings. I am that girl that loves Mondays. I love just new weeks because I, for me, it's just like a, I love doovers, you know? I'm always looking for those new mercies every morning with the Lord as I'm on this hard sanctification journey myself. And I do love New Year's as far as like, there is just this beautiful, you know, just starting new, starting fresh, looking into the future, you know, what can be, what kind of changes can be made. And so I'm not big on the resolutions as far as the past several years. You know, I haven't really done the whole life. This is my New Year's resolution. Not that resolutions are a bad thing. I just think that resolutions should be something we're always contemplating. Like what is something that we, you know, need to be determined in, you know, changes that need to be made in our lives. I think that's self-reflection, working out your salvation with fear and trembling. I think if you've been following me for any amount of time, you know that I am somebody who is about self-reflection, always looking at the word of God as a mirror to our lives to see, you know, where do I still need to resolute? And this is, I'm just gonna introduce, this is Zeus. This is my daughter's cat, I'm babysitting. So he is a hybrid Lynx and he's super beautiful but he is new to our home for a season while we're babysitting. And so he doesn't understand the podcasting world that when I'm podcasting, he needs to stay down. So, but he's a good boy. Well, anyways, so resolutions, you know, it literally means that you've made a firm decision to do something or to really take that deliberate action in your life. And so, you know, as men, or women, men and women, of course, but women of God, we need to really take seriously that when we make a resolution, that means we are literally making a firm decision that we are going to do something. And we know, you know, the statistics with resolutions are within the first two weeks, most people have already stopped their resolution. They already have given up. They've already, you know, moved on to something else. And so that's why I don't think New Year's resolutions are necessarily a good thing or a all determining thing. I think that we should just be self-examining and doing resolutions all the time looking at our lives and going, where do I need to make a deliberate decision of action to make change in my life? And working with the Holy Spirit to do that. So, but with that being said, every year, and if you guys were with me last year, I had it for you guys, but I've been doing this with the women that I disciple for many years now, where every year I give them a New Year's questionnaire to really reflect on the previous year and how they've grown in the Lord and in their walk. And then also to look forward to the following, or to the next year to what could be some real changes that you can make in order to achieve some of the goals that you have or to really grow in your walk with Christ, to grow with the body of Christ. And it's awesome because if you do it every year and you really look back, sometimes, and I say this all the time, we don't always see those changes in our life that are like when we're looking just maybe from day to day or week to week, but sometimes I've noticed in my life is that I won't realize that I have grown in a certain area or that I've really produced fruit in that area until I've had time. And so what's nice for me is I look back from the whole year and I can go, oh, wow, I really have grown in that area. I'm no longer doing that or I'm no longer spending that amount of time in that area of my life or I can also look back and go, wow, I've kind of back slid a little bit in that area and I don't wanna do that again this next upcoming year. So what are some changes that I need to make to live more intentionally and more deliberately in certain areas? And so I love this questionnaire. I keep it in front of me. I also have like prayer lists and stuff. So kind of what I do for getting me ready for the new year is one thing I love is I don't do vision boards because I think that they can have like a new age kind of witchcraft, speak it kind of thing to it that I'm just not a proponent of. But what I do love and what I call mine is a prayer board. It's just a prayer where I'm just putting some things down that I would like to see happen in the year of 20 of the new year for us, it's gonna be 2025. And I do this every year. And I just, for me, it's not speaking things into existence. It's not manipulating the universe or God or anything else. It's literally just like these are things that have been pressed upon my heart that I would like to achieve or goals that I'm studying, things I would like to see changed in my life. And I wanna pray with the Lord into these things. And that if it's his will, then praise God. But these things are on my heart. And these are things I wanna work harder in or really work towards that I believe the Lord has put upon my heart. And so I do what I, so I do this little prayer thing. And on there, we'll have like the different things that I kind of wanna accomplish for this year with the Lord. In my own, just my personal life with community, church community, with my husband and marriage, just different things that I would like to do. And I notice that when I do that and I keep this in front of me and I am actively praying and just asking the Lord, I'm seeking him for this. I'm saying, you know, these are the desires of my heart. I know that you give new desires. And my desires are all about ministry. Like I really hone in on what can help me mature as a believer, what can help me walk in a more mature and deeper intimacy with the Lord. And do the things I want to do are my desires about building God's kingdom. They're not about building my own kingdom. They're about building his kingdom. And so that is, you know, an important part of this is wanting to just be that representation for him, to be the hands and feet of him. And how can I do that more effectively? And so I have that. And then I have like a prayer binder. So every year, just do something new, whether it's a, I've done notebooks, I've done those little composition notebooks. And but this year I'm going to do a binder so that I can have like just loosely paper. And then in it, so I start out with the questionnaire, which you guys are going to get. And I have that all filled out and I'm going to keep it right there so I can kind of look at it throughout the year and see, you know, kind of check in on myself and see if I'm doing, if I'm, you know, staying true to some of the commitments that I have made to myself. And then I have the paper in here and then I'll have my prayer board in here to just kind of be keeping it in front and center and praying and keep it all nice and neat. And what's nice is I can journal through this. I can put down the names of those because there's a place in that questionnaire of names of people that you are praying for their salvation, other types of prayer. And we can, you know, kind of track in that year, you know, where God has been faithful, just to answer our prayers, he is faithful. He always answers is either yes, no, or wait. But in sometimes he says, no, and it's like, okay, the Lord said no to that, you know, and that's okay because when he is the author of my life, when he is the director of my steps, I have complete peace with whatever he decides to do with my life, I'm his servant. So I have my desires here that I think that the Lord has put through my heart, but when he says no to something, I can go, okay, that may not be, that obviously wasn't something that he wanted me to do or he doesn't want me to do it right now. And so I love just having that. So in the mornings, when I get up, spending time in the word with the Lord, I have my prayer journals, I'm writing things down, I'm praying for people, and I love being able to just kind of go back and look on those things. For me, it's just a new way to kind of get started, fresh, ready for the new year. And do I do it perfectly every morning? No, do I always get up and do it? No. But I'm consistent, yes, there's the difference, consistency and faithfulness. And not beating yourself up when you have a day or a week where things just are awry, you don't get there, and knowing that the Lord is right there, always waiting for you. And so I just wanna encourage you this new year's. I'm gonna have the new year's questionnaire in the show notes and the comments for you guys. And I would love to hear from you, like what are some of the things that you have goals for 2025, one of the things that the Lord's put on your heart? You have questions about what I'm doing. I love to hear from you. So, but yeah, and I just pray blessings over you for the new year. I just pray that whatever it is you're gonna do, that you really do make a true resolution, that it's a resolution you're saying, "I am determined." Like this isn't just a two-week thing. This isn't just, I mean, this is transformation. God's word transforms our lives. And transformation means a complete turnaround, transforming completely. Going from that caterpillar to the butterfly, becoming completely new. No longer crawling and inching on a tree, you now have wings to fly. It's why I love Romans 12, chapter 12 verses one through two. It's literally my life first, that my life has to be laid at the altar of God that he has transformed me from that caterpillar, from that dead woman and brought me into a new relationship. He has resurrected me into a new creation in Christ where I am now free to go and be his servant, to be his hands and feet and to be his light. But I have to be willing to lay my life at the altar of God and say, "Do with me what you will, Lord." And I know that this kind of helps me every year, get that started for the following year. And I love the self-reflection. We always need to be self-reflecting. I know I talk a lot about that. So I love you guys, I'm here for you guys. I want this to be a year where we connect more. If you're not in the Facebook group, I'd love for you to get in there. If you are in there, you know, I'd love to hear from you more. I'd love to hear more conversations and more prayer requests and questions. And I'd love to do more of those kinds of things this year. So just really get to know some of you personally. I know I talked to several of you all over the United States, even some are in other countries, but I'd love to really get to know you more and have that more of that intimacy with you to the best of our ability online, right? So, and if you're in the Northeast, Ohio area, come and hang out to some of the events that we do. We go to a church in Hartville, Ohio on Sunday mornings. I mean, we would love to be a part of personally walking out life with you and doing discipleship with you if you are in the Akron, Canton Northeast, Ohio area. So God bless you guys. I just love you so much. Happy New Year, Lord. I pray blessings over each and every one of my sisters that you just continue to bless them, to shine your face upon them, to walk with them this year, God, anything that may be hindered them last year. I pray that that is just broken for this year, God, that this really is a new beginning for everyone listening, Lord, that it's new beginning in their finances, new beginning in their marriages, new beginning in their relationships, new beginnings with their children, new beginnings with education, God, work, whatever it is they need, Lord. Most importantly, just another new beginning for their spiritual walk. God, to just be called higher, to spend more time in your word and with your people, Lord, that you would help us to get out there and be the church and just be with us, Lord, and be with them and strengthen our relationships, God. We just wanna honor you this year with our life in every way, help us to grow in you and mature in you, Lord, in Jesus' name, Amen. God bless you, sisters. Have a wonderful New Year's. Family, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If it has blessed you in any way, would you give me 30 seconds and share it with a friend of yours? One more small little favor, if you would, head over to whatever podcasts or sure listening to this on and give me a five-star review. That would be so great. It helps get the episodes out there to other people who may be wanting to learn God's word. Again, don't forget, guys. Until next time, it is a Crock-Pot faith, not a microwave. With God's word, discipleship, and patience, YouTube will be transformed for His good work. Grace and peace, I leave with you until next time. (gentle music) (gentle music)
