What will 2018 bring? Honestly, I don’t know. But God does. He sees all that has happened, all that is happening, and all that will happen. He is beyond time. He is preparing you and me right now for what will happen next week, month, and throughout the year. My hope is not in the year but in the Lord. Of course, I am hoping for certain things to happen. Good things. Who doesn’t? But my faith and hope does not hinge on whether those things happen or not. I love the verse from Daniel, where his friends are asked to bow to an idol. They refuse. They tell Nebuchadnezzar, “we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) Oh, how powerful is that! “But even if He does not…!”

Many times last year, that was my mantra. Over and over, I clung to God and said those words…”But even if You do not, I’m still going to serve only You. I’m going to worship only You.” It’s a choice. Let’s make that choice today. No matter what happens this year, we’re going to cling to the Lord.

Let’s say, “Yes, Lord!” on the good days and even on the hard days. Then no matter what happens in 2018, it will be a great year.

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When you are deciding, committing and disciplining yourself about your dream, be specific what that dream is. Yes, it is an accomplishment to complete a book. And if you are pursuing publication, then once you reach ‘The End’ of that very first book, you definitely deserve a celebration! But don’t pat yourself too hard on the back and for too long. The hard work is just beginning. Writing, someone famous once said, is rewriting.

Whenever you are pursuing a BIG goal, there are many smaller goals along the way that must be achieved. It’s all a building block and foundation for the bigger dream. Write those down, think about them, pursue each one passionately. Each step forward will put you that much closer to your goal. I’ve even known very visual folks who drew a map and marked off sections they completed so they could see how they were closing in on their dream.

So are you ready to share your dream? What do you want to do? If you still don’t know? What are you doing to figure that out?

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