Have you ever tried to unlock a door and thought you had the right key but realized it didn’t work?  Why won’t this work?  Where do I get the right key and how do I use it? 

While working on my 2012 goals, I realized they required an attribute that has not been my strong suit in the past. 

CONSISTENCY!!!

The Free Dictionary.com defines consistent as (of a person, behavior, or process) unchanging in achievement or effect over a period of time. 

Consistent to me means:

              To stay on course

                       To create lasting daily habits

                               To be persistent in action

Change is what I know and what I like.  Change is something that I thrive on. The challenge is if I’m constantly changing, I’m not doing anything long enough to create new habits for lasting results. 

Some areas I choose to work on is as follows:

• Exercise – I tend to be driven by a goal with a deadline. I’ll put the hard work in for a while but not in a consistent effort once the goal is finished.  I choose to consistent in exercising 4 or more times a week.
• Finances – What is a budget anyway?  This is an area of struggle and it causes unnecessary stress in my marriage. I choose to be consistent in creating a monthly budget and follow through on tracking the expenses.
• Prayer – I do pray daily but not so good before a meal or with my husband. I tend to keep my prayer life more personal but that keeps me from expressing to others my need for God.  I choose to be consistent in praying at each meal and with my family out loud.
• Writing -  For sometime, It has been a goal of mine to write a book. The blog certainly has helped me get into a habit of writing but a book is quite a bit longer and takes a bigger commitment to complete. I choose to be consistent in writing 3 or more days a week.

A consistent effort is not about self-effort because I certainly can not do this on my own.  Creating new thoughts, actions, habits requires an accountability and reliability on something bigger than myself.   

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.

Without choosing God as the key to my life, I cannot achieve any of my goals.  With God as the key, He can open up doors to possibilities I cannot even imagine. 

Have you thought about what attributes it will take to reach your goals this year?  Consider the Godly character within you from the Holy Spirit.  God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  He is the King and the key to create consistency in your daily life. 

I woke up yesterday and opened the door to an even bigger God!!!