As we near the end of 2016, many of us are looking ahead to the new year. You may be planning, setting goals, or considering your New Year's Resolutions. As you think about the upcoming year, I encourage you to welcome God into that process. Consider what he is inviting you into for this upcoming year. How are you making space for your spiritual growth? What resources or rhythms do you need in order thrive with God? Take some time to listen to God and your soul as you look ahead to 2017. 

Here are 10 resources that can help you launch into a great new year and thrive with God.

1. The Wheel of Life.

The Wheel of Life is a tool that helps you reflect on your current life, and identify changes you want to make in order to thrive. Click here for a tutorial and free Wheel of Life worksheet packet.

2. Read a book that will ignite your spiritual growth.

A great book has the power to influence our spiritual trajectory, and lead us into new insights and encounters with God. Here is a list of 10 Great Books to Ignite Your Spiritual Growth - I highly recommend every one of these books.

3. Go on a spiritual retreat.

Taking an extended time of silence and solitude with God can be an incredible place of spiritual nourishment and renewal. Here is a simple step-by-step Guide to Taking a Spiritual Retreat. Spiritual retreats take a bit of planning, but they are totally worth the investment of time and energy. I try to take 1 or 2 spiritual retreats every year, and they have become foundational in my relationship with God.

4. Join the Spiritual Journeyers Facebook Group. 

I host and lead this group, and it is a great place to receive guidance and connection for your faith journey. People can freely participate in the group discussions, and we often share our struggles, breakthroughs, and prayer requests with each other. Click here to join the Spiritual Journeyers FB group.

5. Meet with a spiritual director.

My monthly conversations with a spiritual director are a vital place for my own spiritual growth. She and I pray together, talk about what God is doing in my life, and discern together how to respond to God. If you are looking for a spiritual director, I'd love to meet with you. You can read about the spiritual direction services I offer here. I currently have the availablity for a handful of new clients. 

6. Create a new Rhythm For Life. 

A rhythm for life is a simple statement of personal habits that you choose to practice to intentionally make space for God's presence and voice. The new year is a great time to reassess your current spiritual rhythms. Ask God to give you a few practices and habits to make space for him.

7. Join the Journeyers Collective.

The Collective is my monthly membership program that invites you into regular spiritual direction with me in a group setting, a private Facebook group, and a members-only library of resources for your spiritual growth. Membership costs $18/mo or $118/yr. You can find out more about the Journeyers Collective here.

8. Put the essential things first.

You alone have the power to choose how you spend your life. Make sure you are doing what is essential to who God has called you to be. As you think about your typical day or week, how can you block out the time and space for what is most important? For more on this, read Why You Need to Master the Art of Saying No to the Nonessentials.

9. Intentionally make time to do life-giving things.

What activities fuel your joy, creativity, and life? Make a list of those things. We often don't give ourselves permission to do these things. For the sake of your soul, create time and space this year to do the things that give you life. Some life-giving things for me are writing, date nights with my husband, weekly exercise, and reading good books. What's on your list? 

10. Subscribe to my Notes email newsletter.

I send out a email with practical tools and guidance for your spiritual journey. Think of it as your spiritual director popping into your inbox to say hi and give you permission for your soul to breathe. Want to receive these emails from me? Sign up here.

What action steps are you taking as you plan and vision for 2017? What do you need to help you thrive with God this coming year? Please share in the comments. 

I was invited by my friend Brianna Wilkerson, a health and wellness coach, to write a guest post on her blog Made Well. Here is an excerpt:

A friend of mine asked recently, “How can I have a closer relationship with God?” This friend shared with me her desire to draw closer to God, to experience God more in her daily life, and to learn to walk with God. There was something inside her compelling her to want more in her relationship with God than what she was experiencing.

This desire expressed by my friend is something I, and perhaps many of us, resonate with. We long to know God more deeply, we want to experience an intimate relationship with God.

The good news for us is that God longs for a closer relationship with us as well. Revelation 3:20 says this, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” God himself is standing at the door, waiting for us to welcome him into our lives. The moment we open the door, we get to enjoy intimate relationship with God.

No matter where we are at, no matter where our starting point, we can always go deeper in knowing God. Intimacy and connection with God can grow. Like any relationship, the one we have with God is a two-way street. It takes both God and me to draw nearer to each other. So if God truly is drawing near to me, then what can I do to draw near to him?

To read the rest of the post (and get lots of great health resources) head over to Brianna's blog Made Well here: 3 Ways to Deepen Your Relationship With God. 

Take a moment and think back to yesterday. As you consider how you spent your day, think about the different activities you did. How much of your day was spent on things that lined up with your deepest values? How much of your day was spent on nonessentials?

When I look back to yesterday, I see moments of nurturing things that are essential to me. I played with my kids, worshipped with my church community, and spent time in prayer with God. There are other moments when I spent lots of time on nonessentials, like browsing the internet, and worrying about something I have no control over.

We're human, with limits of time and energy. Some people live as if their time is unlimited. That is simply untrue. Our resources of time and energy are limited, so we must learn to spend them on the right things. 

Jesus was a master at this. He was an essentialist, saying no to nonessentials in order to nurture the essentials. Just look at the Gospel of Mark - you'll see Jesus saying no to all sorts of good but nonessential things.

For many of us trying to make space in our daily lives to connect with God, we may discover that there are nonessentials that we need to let go of first.

We have many other activities we could say "yes" to, instead of connecting with God. These other things may be good; they may be places where we experience some level of joy or rest. But ultimately, our souls are still yearning for a direct, focused, sacred moment of engaging with God. That's how I feel after reading a good book or watching a TV show - it's nourishing on some level, yet I want and need to have that space to truly abide and dwell in God's presence.

The larger life principle is that we each have power to choose how we spend our time. If you want to have a fulfilling and thriving life, you must put the essential things first.

HOW TO SAY NO TO THE NONESSENTIALS (AND YES TO THE ESSENTIALS)

1. Examine your daily life.

Decide what activities are essential to you. Nurturing your health? Spending time with loved ones? Making time to connect with God? What things are most important to you right now, and how can you build your day around those things?

2. Block out the time and space for the essentials.

Create space for the essentials. Put those priorities in first, and allow them to take precedence over the less important things. If it helps, block out times during your day for those activities.

3. Eliminate (or limit) the nonessentials.

Instead of thinking "I can do everything," ask yourself, "What are the trade-offs I want to make?" You may need to say no to certain things. You may want to edit out or put time limits on various activities.

4. Do this process, refine, and do it again.

Living as an essentialist is not a one-and-done thing. It is a process which invites us to learn, change, and grow. 

MORE RESOURCES:

Join our community The Spiritual Journeyers on Facebook to get support in saying more "yes" to God.

If you enjoyed this post, check out these related posts:
How to Use the Wheel of Life: a Tool For Personal Development (+ free worksheet packet)
How to Create Space to Listen to the Voice of God (plus free printable prayer guides)

ACTION & PRACTICE

What do you need to say "no" to today? What things need to be removed and cleared away so that you have the ability to say "yes" to receiving all that God has for you? Consider how you can shift your day to make space for God's work in your life.

How much or little does your daily life reflect what is most essential to you? What adjustments do you want to make to create more space for what is essential? Please share in the comments.