{"id":3244,"date":"2016-01-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-03T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3244"},"modified":"2016-01-16T22:27:13","modified_gmt":"2016-01-17T04:27:13","slug":"another-year-of-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3244","title":{"rendered":"Another Year of Choices"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Choices\"<\/a>Each New Year brings resolutions we make for changes that will better our lives.\u00a0\u00a0 Although we usually have every intention of keeping them, all too soon they are abandoned because change is hard.\u00a0 Most of us want changes to instantly happen without any effort on our part.\u00a0 We think if we write them down they will miraculously come to pass.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that\u2019s not how it works.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why last year I resolved not to make resolutions but to focus on daily choices instead.\u00a0 So my 2015 blog posts were devoted to choices.\u00a0 The response was so positive I\u2019ve decided to continue with another year of choices in 2016.<\/p>\n

Hopefully we all know that God has forgiven us for our sins \u2013 past, present, and future. \u00a0Nothing we can do will ever earn us salvation because it is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8)\u00a0 Nothing we can do will make God love us anymore than He does.\u00a0 Christians who perform lists of do\u2019s and don\u2019ts trying to get God to love them, or at least love them more than the next guy, do not understand God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 God\u2019s love is freely given to us!<\/p>\n

However, even though God gives us salvation, grace, and love, He does not automatically give us good habits or moral character.\u00a0 Those qualities are determined by the choices we make.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 When God reveals Himself to us we must choose to receive His gifts of salvation, grace, and love.\u00a0 Ah\u2026that word \u201cchoice\u201d is in everything we do!<\/p>\n

After forty long years of wandering in the wilderness an aged Moses admonished the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land to make good choices.\u00a0 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways…and the Lord shall bless you in the land which you go to possess. …I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursing; therefore choose life…”\u00a0 (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)<\/p>\n

Right choices bring peace of mind; bad choices bring difficulty.\u00a0 God does not need to zap us when we do something wrong, because wrong choices bring their own penalties.\u00a0 When we make wrong choices we punish ourselves.\u00a0 It\u2019s the cause and effect principle.\u00a0 What we sow, we reap.\u00a0 Although God always forgives us when we make poor choices, the effects remain and we have to deal with and live with them.<\/p>\n

While it is true time and chance happen, many of our problems could be avoided if we trained ourselves to make better choices.\u00a0 A lot of trials are brought on because of our poor choices; other trials may not be our fault, but still we must choose how to respond to them. \u00a0So there is always an element of choice in everything we do.<\/p>\n

\"Every<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bible is full of exhortations encouraging us to walk in the way of the Lord.\u00a0 As we read the Bible we can listen for God\u2019s voice whispering to us, \u201cThis is the way, walk ye in it.\u201d\u00a0 (Isaiah 30:21)\u00a0 Still, the choice is ours.\u00a0 We must choose which way we will walk.<\/p>\n

So here we go with another year of choices!\u00a0 If we resolve to day by day make better choices, we will be a lot happier \u2013 and so will everyone around us.<\/p>\n

\"Misery<\/a><\/p>\n

Some choice quotes about choices\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.\u201d ~Roy Disney, co-founder of Walt Disney Productions<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all make choices but in the end our choices make us.\u201d ~Ken Levine, video game designer and author<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have to make a choice and don\u2019t make it, that is in itself is a choice.\u201d ~William Jennings Bryant, American orator and statesman<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our choices that show what we truly are far more than our abilities.\u201d ~J.K. Rowling, author<\/p>\n

“When it snows you have two choices:\u00a0 shovel or make snow angels.\u201d ~Anonymous<\/p>\n

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Each New Year brings resolutions we make for changes that will better our lives.\u00a0\u00a0 Although we usually have every intention of keeping them, all too soon they are abandoned because change is hard.\u00a0 Most of us want changes to instantly … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}