{"id":6918,"date":"2025-12-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6918"},"modified":"2025-08-16T22:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T03:40:04","slug":"look-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6918","title":{"rendered":"Look Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short and sweet thought for the week\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As we approach a new year, I have some advice. Look forward. The past is to learn from, not to live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people want things to be the way they used to be. Well, guess what! That is not going to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t afford to get mesmerized by nostalgia. After all, our memories may not be as accurate as we think. That\u2019s why nostalgia may be good to look back on, but not to live in. Believe it or not, the poodle skirt is long gone and so are most movie stars you remember as a kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others wish things had been handled differently by those they feel wronged them. Well, guess what! It\u2019s too late! Wishing does not change the past. Everyone has legitimate reasons to feel hurt. If we don\u2019t let go and let God, bitterness will consume us. There comes a time when we need to just get over it and move on. It is foolish to be held captive by things we can do nothing about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in the past immobilizes us. It keeps us from enjoying the present and prevents us from moving into the future. Christian lives should not be held in suspended animation. Paul says to forget what is behind (Philippians 3:13-14). The old things have passed away and God wants to do something new (1 Corinthians 5:17). However, God can\u2019t do new things with us if we keep clinging to the old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God wants us to move forward with faith (Hebrews 11:1). We cannot see into the future, so it can feel scary. However, God is with us. God will take care of us. God knows all our needs and doesn\u2019t want us to worry (Matthew 6:25-32). Instead, He wants us to trust Him completely (Proverbs 3;5).   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better time to focus on the concept of looking forward than when we are entering a new year. Our future lies ahead, not behind us. If we don\u2019t keep moving forward with God, then we will get left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet your eyes look straight ahead; fix your<\/em>
gaze directly before you.” ~Proverbs 4:25 (NIV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Short and sweet thought for the week\u2026 As we approach a new year, I have some advice. Look forward. The past is to learn from, not to live in. Many people want things to be the way they used to … 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\/6918"}],"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=6918"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6921,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6918\/revisions\/6921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}