Are Your Priorities In Order?

How are you doing?  Are you fininshing 2010 strong or are you limping to the finish line?
The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on the year that is ending and make adjustments for the new year.  Below is a resource I came across in the book "Confident Parenting" that provides a guideline for reflecting on the different components of your life. Are you being intentional about the Legacy you are leaving behind?

Soli Deo Gloria
ah

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Keeping all of the different components of your life in order is no easy task.  For your sake – and for the sake of your family – evaluating your priorities is an important step in keeping your life on track.

1. Relationship with God

Are you loving the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind?  (Matthew 22:37,38)

Are you seeking first His kingdom and righteousness?  (Matthew 6:33)

Are you spending regular time in prayer and in His word?

Are you growing in Christ-like character? Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) and Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

2. Relationship with your spouse

Are you loving your spouse sacrificially and unconditionally as Christ loved the church? (Ephesians 5:25-28)

Are you meeting your spouses’ needs?

*          Emotional

*          Physical

*          Spiritual

*          Romantic

What would your spouses’ answer be?

3. Family

How often does your family only receive your leftover emotional scraps?

Do you view your children as gifts from the Lord? (Ps. 127:3)

Are you encouraging your children, are you comforting them, are you urging them to live lives worthy of the Lord? (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

Are you taking the responsibility and privilege of mentoring your children in their faith? (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Are you loving, enjoying, and spending sufficient time with your children? How about your extended family?

4. Work

Are you being a good steward of the gifts, opportunities, and resources God has entrusted you with in your work for the benefit of God's kingdom? (Matt. 25:14-30)

Are you enjoying your work as a gift from God?  (Ecclesiastes. 3:22)

5. Ministry

Is your involvement in ministry …

*          Appropriate to your giftedness?

*          Sufficient (too little/ too much)?

*          Fruitful?

*          Rewarding? (Ephesians. 4:11-12 & 16)

Are you active in reaching the lost world for Christ? (Matt. 28:18-20)

6. Friends

Are you spending and enjoying time with good friends?

7. Personal

Do you like the person you are becoming?

How is your health and physical fitness?

Are you continuing to grow mentally?

Are you spending time and developing personal interests or hobbies?

Are your priorities in order?

by Jim Burns, Ph.D.

More resources from Jim Burns, Ph.D. available at HomeWord.com