Taking Stock

This is the time of year many businesses “Take stock.” They take inventory of what sold and what didn’t sell last year. Then they decide what’s needed for the coming year.

Taking stock is not only good for business; it’s also good for people.

“Now, hold on just a minute. Why should I take stock if I’m not in business?”

Did you start the New Year by saying (or thinking), “Where did last year go?” Many do. Well it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if you take stock with a LIFE inventory.

So turn off the TV, sit down with paper and pencil and take stock of your life. Use the letters of the word “LIFE” to do it. Don’t just rush through 2010 without taking inventory of last year.

What did you LEARN from 2009? The year’s economic lessons forced many to re-evaluate their priorities. To consider what is truly important in life. Have you? Do it and write it down. Did you accomplish the important things last year? Why or why not?

Did you make INVESTMENTS last year that didn’t bring a good return? And I’m not just talking money. What about how you invested your time? Were you so focused on “taking care of business” that your family suffered? If so, what needs to change? Make those changes now.

How about your FRIENDSHIPS? Are they influencing you for better or for worse? Have you been a true friend? And what are you going to do about it? You can either encourage the friends you have or find new friends who will influence you for the best.

Finally, what about the END? Businesses want to end their year “in the black.” They want to show a profit.

How do you want this year to end? Make a list of what you want to have accomplished by December 31. Then write down what you need to start doing today so you can say “Mission Accomplished” in 12 months.

How will your personal story end? How do you want it to finish? What will you do this year to lead you to your goal? Do you have a plan—or a goal?

This year will present you with opportunities. What can you do differently this year to seize those opportunities as they come? Remember the Law of Opportunities: “Opportunities increase or decrease according to how you handled the last one.”

As you set your goals for 2010, will you include God and what he wants for you?

God says in the Bible “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

To do what God suggests requires thoughtful planning and difficult choices. He doesn’t force his way into people’s lives. He waits for you to choose him.

Jesus promises that if we put God first in our lives, he will give us all we need. Will you take God at his word this year and trust him to provide?

Next year, when you take stock of your life, would you like to look back and conclude that 2010 was lived to the full? If so, then consider becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.

Why? Because Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

So if what you’ve done with your life leaves you empty, come to Christ. Ask God to accept you, not on the basis of what you’ve done but on the basis of what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross. When you do that, you become God’s child and begin to experience “life to the full.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!