As the new year is kicking off, It's natural to think about goals.  But I'm doing it different this year.  For my personal life and ministry, I decided to not make a "to-do list" of things to accomplish this year.  Instead, I've chosen to make a simple 3-word "to-be" list of of who I want to be this year.  

We all know that doing flows from being.  How you see yourself will determine how you lead yourself.  Yet we seem to recognize what we "accomplish in life" instead of celebrating who we "appreciate in life."   To be honest, I'm more concerned who my two children become as human beings versus what career they have or how much money they make.  Would I want them to be monetarily successful so that I can stay at their guest house in their gated community when visiting their estate in California as they have grill-out's with Daisy Ridley and Chris Hemsworth  between films...sure.  But I have to realize that money, majesty, magnitude and materials things all fade away but seeing my kid become WHO they were always meant to be gives me a contentment and security for their future like nothing else.  I remind my children that God created Adam and Eve in His own "image" and not as His own

So God created making in His own image, in the image of God He created them: male and female."  Genesis 1:27

I am remind them that before you were born and as you are in the your mom's womb, God was thinking about you.  But God wasn't thinking about what you were going "to do" in life but more about who you were going "to be" in life.  God told Jeremiah who he was while in the womb and not what he was to accomplish, that came later!  God had to remind Jeremiah he was "prophetic" first.  See below, 

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  Jeremiah 1:5

 God even used three words when commissioning YOU as a future Christian from Scripture.  God spoke to Peter to remind the church that they are:  chosen, royal and special.  And from there, God says "so that you may do this:  declare!  God didn't start out telling them what they were supposed to do but instead reminded them who they are so that they can have the confidence, the purpose and the significance of being a people that were to do what God wanted them to do which was declare praise! See below:  

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderous light." 1 Peter 2:9

Worship leaders, before we do any praising, let' God remind you of who you are rather than the world.  That makes all difference in how you carry yourself, what you say and how you act on stage.  Pastor's ... same thing.  Even in our everyday life, if we unconsciously have our 3 words as "entitled, stingy and pessimistic" then most likely we will be building your family, your team at work and your community around you as "a self- indulged and resentful, reluctant to be generous with a joyless and unhopeful future because others never cared or tried."   Maybe that's why we are called "human beings" instead of "human doings."  So let's choose to "be" who God has called us to be this year.  Let's make 2018 a year of being instead of doing.  Because as you discover who God is calling you to be this year, God will reveal and equip you for what you are to do this year.  

I'm sharing you my words this year to inspire you as you continue to head forward into 2018:

1.  Succint.  Why this word?  Because as a communicator I want to say it less to give more of an impact, because I want to simplify a few areas of my life, because I also am dividing my time blocks into shorter coffees with more intentionality, etc.  I've realized what you see in your life tomorrow depends on what you seek in your life today.  So I am simplifying by seeking God in all that I do.  I also put a Scripture with it to keep God as the originator and sustainer of this word.  I have Matthew 6:33 as my word because not only is the verse short but there is a simplicity build into it to keep it minimal yet powerful.  It says this, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added."  There's that seek word, again! Love it! 

2.  Savvy.  Why?  Because I am trying to be more experienced and knowledgable on some of my career objectives, because I want to be sensible and more welcome-informed  on some other areas of my life I wasn't, because I want to be more perceptive and smooth in my leadership, etc.  I am using Proverbs 14:15 because it sums it up best, "The naive believes everything but the sensible man considers his steps."  

3.  Liberating.  Why?  Because I want to have more freedom in me to be more bold and daring, to see others become free to be themselves in my team and in my campus, because there are a lot of limitations culture puts on us and I want to be a man who lives and walks in freedom!  I love 2 Corinthians 3:17 for this one because where the presence of God is there is freedom and one of my goals is to do nothing without God's presence being seen, heard and felt!  It says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Each word affects my persona life and professional life.  Out of these words, my behaviors change, my choices are different and I have already and will see a different outcome this year.  

What are you 3 words?