Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me]. (1 Corinthians 6:12, AMP)

Happy New Year! It always feels so great to start a brand new year. I don’t know about you but I love starting with a clean slate, new goals, and fresh opportunities to see God work. The last few years I have tried to make themes for my years instead of a list of goals. I still have goals every year but I have an overarching theme that I keep my mind on. This year my theme word is Essential and I will be asking myself daily “Is it Essential?” Is what I’m doing essential to my marriage, my boys, my writing, my books, my website, my ministry, my family, and my life in Christ.

It seems so easy to get caught up in the non-essentials of life. My calendar can become so full of things that really don’t matter and don’t impact eternity. This year, I’m going to step back and focus in on what’s essential for my life. Webster’s dictionary defines essential as this, “extremely important and necessary”. Is what I’m doing extremely important and necessary? I need to evaluate that every day as I come in contact with all kinds of things that really aren’t necessary.

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