It’s the middle of the year! We are halfway through! Remember back in January when you set goals? When you looked at the new year with hope and expectation? There’s a good chance that the year hasn’t turned out the way you expected,. Has it? How far have you gotten toward accomplishing your goals? Are you discouraged? Dear Friend, I want to encourage you to step back and look back. You might be surprised at just how much progress you have made. 

Mid-year is a good time to review. Back in January I posted about letting God help you choose one word to focus on as the theme of your year. (Tap here for a link to that post.) The summary is to allow God to guide you to one word that He wants to use to shape your approach to life for the year. Rather than creating a list of goals that you might not accomplish, let one word guide the work God wants to do on the inside. It isn’t too late to pray over and choose one word to shape the rest of 2019.

Mid-year is a great time to refocus on what really matters. God knows the changes He wants to make inside you. His goals for you may be different than your goals for you. Early in the year I also wrote encouraging you to focus on the changes that really make a difference, the ones  on the inside (link here) What are some of the changes God has been working on in you? Do those changes conflict with the goals you set for yourself? It’s okay! What God is doing in you is going to make a bigger difference than anything you had hoped to do. 

Remember, imperfect progress is still progress. Mid-year is also a great time to look back and see how far you have come. Two steps forward and one step back still keeps you ahead of where you were! Think about where you were in January. If you are even one step beyond where you were, you have advanced. You really have come further than you think.. 

My one word for this space this year has been PERSEVERANCE.  It’s been my goal to encourage you to persevere in following God and His purposes for you. I decided to look back over our weeks together and pull out our themes from the past weeks. I was encouraged as I looked back and I hope you will be, too! Here are some of the encouragements from past posts. 

God wants to do His work IN us not just through us.

The changes that matter most happen on the inside. 

Don’t let who you once were keep you from becoming who you were meant to be. 

Press on . Who you are now is not who you will be. 

Pursue excellence with an internal motivation.

Every change starts with a decision. 

When you can’t see what’s ahead know where you are going. 

When you don’t know what to do, know who you want to be. 

Dear Friend, whose approval are you living for?

God’s purpose for you is outside your comfort zone. 

Fear tries to control. Faith trusts God is in control. 

Resist the resistance. Step into God’s purposes. 

Don’t let weariness win! Don’t quit!

God grades on obedience, not perfection. 

Be the best you. 

Be a reflection, a glint of God’s glory, to the people around you. 

Contemplate the cost. 

You are dearly loved. Not second choice, but a cherished child. You are who He says you are. 

He sees you. You are not invisible.He knows you. He loves you. He cares. 

Share. Smile. Grow. Be there! You make a difference. 

Where will your YES take you?

Small steps make a big difference. 

He is with you. 

The week: Look back. You’ve come farther than you think. 

Dear Friend, if any of those statements jump off the screen and. Into your heart,  I’d encourage you to look back to that post. Just tap the statement and it will take you to the original post. There may be something in it that God will use to encourage you to persevere in His purposes for you.. 

The year is half over, but there is so much more ahead. You may end the year without accomplishing your goals, but you don’t need to end the year as the same person who started it.. Face the fact that  life is not perfect, it isn’t about accomplishing goals, having perfect children or a perfect marriage or a thriving ministry. it is about becoming more like Jesus. He uses all the imperfections to shape us, Stay focused on what matters. You may not DO everything you wanted to do, but you can BE someone different. You can end the year more like Jesus. 

Key thought: You are making more progress than you think. 

A Scripture to consider: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A YES challenge: Review the above statements and choose one that most encourages you. Take some time to let God speak to you through it. Go back to the earlier post and see what God wants to say. Write that statement and place it somewhere you will see it, phone notes, bathroom mirror, car dashboard. Let it continue to encourage you. 

Prayer: Father, sometimes I feel like such a screw-up. I fall so far short of who I want to be and so far short of who I know You want me to be. Help me remember that imperfect progress is progress. As I take time to look back on this year remind me of the ways that I have grown and help me to keep moving toward your goal for me of Christ-like character. Amen. 

Photo credit: P. Giordano