My Mom worked for Perfect Fit Industries when we were growing up. It was a textile mill that made mattress covers, quilts, bedspreads, shams, etc. She was supervisor of the mattress cover side of the mill. She loved the ladies that worked for her. 

She was a skillful seamstress in her own right and taught me to sew when I was around 12. She demanded excellence. If a zipper wasn’t correct, you took it out and put it in again until it passed her inspection. It was a skill I appreciated when I got married. I could make my clothes and my children’s clothes…and save money.

But I digress. The one thing my Mom did not like was inventory. She dreaded it every year. I guess it was the responsibility of having everything exactly accounted for. She always hated papers and numbers…but she loved creating beautiful garments. Guess you have to take the undesirable tasks along with the desirable ones.

And that brings me to our spiritual inventory. Do we stop and take stock of the past year? 

Have we grown spiritually? 

Has our God spoken to us revealing Himself?

Have we incorporated spiritual disciplines into our daily life? (Bible reading, prayer, scripture memory, giving thanks, praising Him…)

Have we shared the Gospel?

Have we served others well? Whether locally or on mission?

Do we really love others in the Body of Christ?

Are we seeking our own glory or His?

When we are wronged, do we forgive from the heart as Christ would?

And I could go on…

There is an old saying, “If you fail to plan, plan to fail.” This is so full of truth. As we walk into 2025, let’s plan well.

Discipline ourselves to daily prayer and Bible reading. There are so many wonderful reading plans out there.

Make time in the day to spend alone-time with God…in prayer or meditation. You will have to fight to keep this one. The thing the evil one doesn’t want, is for you to spend time with our Father.

Look around. What needs do you see? Can you meet those needs? Do you know a person or organization that can?

How can you show the ove of Christ? At home, church, work, community?

And again, I could go on.

The idea is to just stop. Look back. Take inventory. Look ahead. Be intentional. Ask Abba God. He will guide. We don’t want to just ramble around with no purpose or direction. The time we are given to spend here is too precious to waste.

Taking inventory. Might be a little unpleasant…maybe encouraging…but so worth it.

Happy New Year. Love to all.

“Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12