Your Year in Review - Spiritual Growth, Reviewing and Planning in Your New Year

First order of the new year is review. Right. I can’t even remember breakfast yesterday and I cannot recall many dates or such from last year but I can most certainly look over the inner changes that have occurred in my spiritual growth. A full year of consistent bible study brought me a long way so this was more of a milestone year for me. Most years don’t seem so but if we look within, after the fact, we will (or should) see the changes. I find a journal helps and if you do not keep one, this is the perfect time to start, at the beginning of the New Year.

Psalm 139:23-24 offers us guidance for our inner review:

Investigate my life, O God,

    find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

    get a clear picture of what I’m about;

See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—

    then guide me on the road to eternal life. (MSG)

Schedule some quiet time for yourself to muse and review. I set aside two days and told my husband I would be working on these things. Even a few hours in an evening can make a big difference. Look at who you were and where you were last year verses who and where you are now and where with God's plan, you desire to be in the coming year. A planner will help here. Choose something you like and preferably with verses or inspiration to help you through the new year.

Take the time now to really go deep to see which areas are weak and where you may have gained strength over the past year, then readjust to work toward a new balance to be a better you as you walk your spiritual path in 2019.

Contemplate your findings in prayer and meditation, in quiet time with God. Be patient as understanding unfolds in its own way. Keep at it for the month or as long as it takes to get a clear picture.

Don't stop there! Continue throughout the year with regular reviews, even weekly if you have the time. This helps to keep you on track and aware when you may veer. It takes work and review even daily to walk the path that God wants us on but in doing so we are always given the guidance and growth that we need to succeed in His Divine plan for us. 

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About Cheryl Yale-Bruedigam

Cheryl Yale-Bruedigam has been writing spiritually for thirty years. With undergraduate studies in English and women's studies, she devoted over a decade of research and writing to women’s studies and spirituality.

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