So I’m thinking that as we dive into 2025, there’s a lot of chaos in the world. Maybe it’s time to poor a cup of coffee and ponder the next year, 5 years, and 15 years you really want to have. If increased complexity and distractions and competition for your heart and mind, it’s the perfect time to relaunch the real Grace life blog. Welcome back to RGL. And buckle up. This is coming every week to r heart and settle your soul.

Let’s start with coffee. Add music if that’s your, well, jam. It’s mine. Music’s playing. Hello New Year, can’t wait to hang out.

Now. Get this deep, friend…. God has got this year.

I know you don’t know what it will hold, but Abba is still holding you. Take sec. Let that hit all the way to a more settled soul. Just sit with it a moment. God is holding you. Chaos doesn’t reign. God reigns.

I know your heart gets all twisted over Amazon searches and social media and lists online searches and anxiety over kiddos, and job/financial/real estate markets, and politics. Okay, God is not twisted about any of it. He knows the top from the bottom, end of Rom the beginning, true desires from distractions.

I know you hit that 2nd or 3rd cup of coffee after a rarely good night of rest, and if you have a m8nite to crank up the music or catch an inspiring post or video, suddenly you’re ready to launch a new hustle or project or tackle the impossible. But for right now, let’s not. Let’s first put down the right roots. Deep into Christ and His beautiful desire for you. The best next right thing is always the first things – and I’m going to lay them out over the next three blog posts. Here they are in advance. Check your heart. Check your hopes. Check your health. Check out happy. I know, am I really going onto alliterate like that? Is this the 80’s or something? Hey – It just happened, so I’m rolling with it. It’ll work, so roll with me.

Okay, so you are getting over my “h” words to outline this process. We are pitting down roots into Christ looking for clarity and direction in Him. And I don’t want to use check boxes or bullet points. I want to use tacos. (Hey, write your own blog.)

🌮 Your heart. It’s either wayward in the world, or it’s secure in Christ. We are going to talk about that.

🌮 Your hopes. This isn’t a wish list. It’s so much better than that. It’s a YOU list. It is the heart-singing, soul-soaring, life-satisfying fabric of what really matters and why. And yep, we are going to talk about that.

🌮 Your health. It’s either the limiting factor or honed instrument of the desires of your heart. And – despite my taco bulleted list, we are going to rock the health-in-Christ question most get wrong and how to get it right. Don’t panic (yo – I said DON’T Panic, and you’re starting to panic!). This will be good. You’ll be surprised and encouraged and better for the conversation. We just can’t keep pretending one day you’re going to get healthy. Y’know what, today’s a day. And actual DAY. Let’s have the talk. Let’s make a plan to enjoy the next decade. And the next. And we are going to talk about it. Like eating vegetables…. and you WILL like it, youngin’! Okay too far, but true.

🌮 Yep – Your happy. We gotta check the happy-o-meter. If you can’t choose it now, everything you try is just going to muddy the proverbial water more. Let’s tap in to happy. I don’t really mean feeling good and smiling big and acting like everything hunky-dory (y’know, I’ve never written “hunky-dory” before. That’s probably not how it’s written, but there you go. That’s a first. Just for you. You’re welcome.). I should say I don’t JUST mean those things (see the list before the whole hunky-dory sidebar conversation). I do mean those things, but I don’t mistake them for joy. Not the same. But happiness is a thing. In fact, it’s a THANG! You get to be happy. And you guessed it…. we are going to talk about it.

These topics we are going to check in on: heart, hope, healthy, and happy. And probably another topic or two as we slide into the new year. We aren’t barreling in blindly. Done it. Not pretty. Nor are we analyzing and scheming and conniving and hustling our little UNsovereign hearts out trying to cause our preferred outcomes. We aren’t barreling just talking here. Relax. But it’s going to be good to be alive, truly alive and deliberate and facing forward in Christ for this next year. This next step or two. This life you’ve got flying by.

Let’s check it. Choose it. Embrace it. God is good, and Christ is your life. Let’s live like life in Him is good.

Your next step will prove that you mean it.

Sip the coffee. Listen to the music. Take a deep breath.

..and stay tuned.

Three questions for you to ponder to make this real…

1) Which of these are you most excited to chat about and get practical with?

2) Which of these topics are you most terrified to change or attempt change? Why do you think that is? Can you make that a conversation with God?

3) You liked the tacos for bullet points didn’t you? Cmon, admit it. You wanna send taco- bulleted questions to your accountant or questions to your boss, don’t you. It’s okay, fess up! Everyone loves tacos.

Love y’all. Comment below. Questions welcome. Comments and verses welcome. Tacos and coffee welcome. 🤗