Mistakes!  We all make them and all most none of us care to admit that reality, but the truth is – live long enough and you will make more than your fair share.  It’s part of life, part of living and dying.  We are not perfect and so we make mistakes!  There are some things we need to do and should do and we just fail to do them, not necessarily because we are bad people with devious schemes, but just because we are people who are not perfect, people who make mistakes.  On the other hand, there are some things that we should not do and we do them anyway.  Again, this is not because we are evil monsters with sinister plans to crew up the world.  It is simply because we are imperfect humans and imperfect humans make mistakes.

If you’ve never made a mistake it would be pretty easy to have an expectation that others would not make a mistake as well, but the truth is:  If you are human and living on this planet earth at this time, then you have and you will make mistakes.  Mistakes are a part of life.  The great Apostle Paul put it this ways in the Scripture:

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ “And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.  ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! ‘  Romans 7:14-25

The battle is always waging!  I have and will continue to make mistakes, not because I want to, but because I have the battle waging inside of me.  I am trying to do better and on some days, I really think I am beginning to make some progress, but then on other days I feel like I am back at the starting block.

I think the real battle is not in living a mistake-free life, but in admitting and learning from your mistakes.  I John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

I’ve discovered this will keep you more than busy in this life.  So stop pointing the finger at others and begin to inspect your life.  See your mistakes, admit them, do what you can to make them right and receive and give God’s forgiveness – you will be glad you did!

Whenever my girls go to spend the night with grandparents, I am thinking this is going to be good, I can use the break!  I mean let’s be honest, they asked a thousand questions and usually with just one word like:  “Why?”, “How?” or “Where?” as in “Where are we going?”  They have loud toys or like to listen to their music loud and if they are the opposite sex, then that creates another set of issues that we don’t even have time to talk about!

While I enjoy my girls going to spend the night, I also can’t stand it, because after about thirty minutes, I am missing them!  I miss the things they say, the expressions on their faces and the crazy things they say!  I miss getting to love them and be loved by them.  When they are gone, it makes me realize how valuable every minute of everyday we get to spend together is!

It’s not just about me missing them.  I am better when I am with them and they are better when they are with me.  God gave them to me and me to them; and He did this on purpose – so that we all could live more fulfilling lives!  Next time the noise from the toys starts to get on your last nerve or the music is just a little too loud, take a moment to think about how you will miss it when it is gone.  Instead of dreading it, jump in there with them and create a memory for you and for them – you will be glad you did!

Habits, we all have them, some are good and some are bad.  There are several questions we need to ask concerning habits.  These questions can help us to get a good start on some goals for the new year:  1) What are our habits?  2.) Which ones are good and which ones are bad?  3) How do we get rid of the ones that are doing us harm?  4) What do we replace them with?  5) When will we get started?  Galatians 4:7 says that we are no longer slaves, but children of the Most High God.  We are children with power to live different, better and more fulfilling lives.  We must be willing to do our part, so let’s get started!

WHAT ARE OUR HABITS?  Take a few moments to actually think about your habits, both good and bad.  Think of as many habits as you can and jot them all down.  You may want to ask people around you that you trust to also help you to see what maybe you can’t see.  Once you have your habit list, then you can move to the next step!

WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS BAD?  This is where you have to take your list and put every habit on the scales to see what it weighs.  It will be easy to distinguish the difference between some, but a lot of our habits walk a very fine line and this is where you will have to do some real soul-searching.  Determine the good from the bad and make a decision about habits that you need to change or get rid of!

GET RID OF THE BAD BY REPLACING IT WITH GOOD!  Steps 3 & 4 actually work hand in hand!  We all have bad habits.  If we want to make life more fulfilling, then we have to learn to replace our old bad habits of reaction with new good habits of purpose!  Once you decide in your mind that you are going to do this, the heart will ultimately follow and you will find yourself living a very different life!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON?  You know what you need to do!  You’ve been knowing what you need to do for a while.  Even if it is just working on one wrong bad habit at a time, then get it done – you will be glad you did!