Power Up the New Year

My daughter gave a talk today in our church meeting.
She did a great job,
and at her wise age of 15
she motivated and inspired me to put a little
EXTRA UMFFF
to my New Years Resolutions!
(I never get my Goals for the New Year
settled on until after I've recovered from
Christmas- this year I'm a few days behind)

She shared a great quote by a great speaker
and leader in our church-
Sheri Dew said
"... it is actually easier to motivate someone to do
something difficult than something easy. That's because
the status quo is uninspiring. Our spirits crave to progress,
and if we aren't moving forward, we're not happy.
We believe in progression, and progression is by design
difficult. How inspiring would it have been if our Father
had said, 'Be ye therefore mediocre'? Though our knees
buckle at times under life's pressures, none of  us wants
to stay just like we are."

I love this quote, but when I put it in context of setting
New Years goals, it makes me want to push a little harder,
set my sights a little higher. Of course I want to set my
goals to be attainable, but I want  more to push myself
to be better and stronger than I think I can be.

My sweet daughter also made a cute statement. She said
"goals aren't about TRYING to be better- they are about
BEING better. Jesus didn't teach the TRY to BE-atitudes,
he taught the BE-atitudes!!" I thought that was not only a
cute way to say it, but a statement loaded with wisdom.
So often we let ourselves out of succeeding by saying
"I will try...."! But when we decide only to TRY,
we set ourselves up to stop short of the success that
ultimately we crave and need for progression.

I love that I can be inspired by my children.
I am immensely grateful,
and a little envious,
that my children are growing up
a Quadzillion times better than I did-
they are wiser,
stronger,
and more capable than I ever dreamed of being
in my teenage years.

Happy New Years to all my friends,
Past, Present and Future!
And here's to pushing harder,
reaching further,
and aspiring higher-
Here's to Great Heights!!