I was discouraged at the end of 2012 to realize that I hadn’t accomplished anything I set out to do. I had 4 “big” goals in 2012 with lots of milestones to reach each one. I finished a lot of milestones last year, so I made some progress. I just didn’t finish any of my big goals.

Then it occurred to me that all my goals were about ME. So, I took drastic measures. I prayed through the New Year! I asked forgiveness for thinking I could accomplish anything on my own and I invited God to infiltrate every aspect of my life in 2013. I asked Him to give me His goals and His desires. None of my goals needed to be removed from last year’s list, they were all just modified to take the “focus” off me and put it on God.

I find myself distracted by the things of this world. I need to focus on Jesus. Period. This affects every area of my life. If I focus on Jesus and honoring Him with my body, losing weight won’t be a struggle. If I focus on Jesus and honoring Him with my money, getting out of debt and reducing my expenses won’t be a struggle. If I focus on Jesus, I will see the people as He sees them and I will realize how valuable our time is together. I will realize that I need to be in the moment and they deserve my undivided attention.

Philippians 3:10-14 (NLT) I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I FOCUS on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Stop worrying about my current circumstances, especially when the wind and waves are fierce.

Don’t fret over what may come.

Forget about the past.

Learn to be present in His Presence.

Ephesians 1:17-19 (MSG) I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes FOCUSed and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!