Everything is appropriate in its own time. But though God has planted eternity in the hearts of men, even so, many cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, The Living Bible)

{There are hundreds, probably thousands, of bloggers around the globe participating in  30-day challenges where you post about something every day for thirty days. For most, it's a way to jumpstart the creative juices, to get into a daily habit of writing. For me (yes, I'm joining the bandwagon) it's a way to document my program for repair and renewal — spirit, soul, and body.}

Today I picked up my second copy (I gave the first one away... Note to self: Do not give away books that have transformed your life unless you already have another copy at hand.) of Bill Epperhart's Correct Change Required. This book carried me through one of the most difficult times I can remember, motivated me to complete my first full fiction manuscript, AND helped me lose more than 20 pounds. And it's not just a poundage issue ... Epperhart's subtitle is "Becoming Who You Really Want to Be." Who doesn't want THAT?

As I've regained about 10 of those pounds in the last six months or so; have multiple writing projects started, but nothing completed; and am at a time when I really need to redefine myself because the old ID doesn't fit anymore, I ordered another copy of Epperhart's book.

Day One:

"Most people lead lives of quiet desperation." ~Thoreau

If you are too far removed from your own angst to grasp this concept, go to Walmart and check out  your fellow consumers. Walmart (and Target, and Starbucks, and every church, restaurant, resort, and shopping mall) are full of people trapped in Thoreau's description of "quiet desperation." They might be:

Desperate to save their marriage or other relationship.
Desperate to make their financial ends meet.
Desperate to regain their health.
Desperate to find peace and joy and satisfaction.


There are only two responses to desperation: apathy or change. You either continue to accept the way things are as your fate in life, or you choose a course of change. Imagine yourself as a caterpillar...
Too fat to eat another bite, so heavy with what you've already consumed you run the risk of falling right off the next leaf into oblivion, all the while knowing you are called to something better, something MORE.

Change happens to us all. Sometimes it's forced upon us by circumstance in the form of tragedy, trauma, or other people's choices. Sometimes we're tricked into it by a combination of internal and external pressures. Often, change is just a product of our temporal existence in this realm. But above and beyond all of those is proactive change: the kind of change that brings about a desired result. It comes when we choose to change and follow through with those new choices to the desired result.

• Easy? Not even.  As someone has said, "If it were easy, everyone would be doing it."
• Essential? Only if you have that hunger for something better and higher than what you're experiencing.
• Available? Absolutely. You are a child of the Most High God, designed in His creative image and given a free will so powerful you can even make choices that are self-destructive (you know that, you've made some of them already). 

For today, ask yourself the following:

1. What change(s) do I desire to make in my life?
2. Am I willing to die to old ways of thinking, believing, and doing in order to make those desired changes happen?

Some of you are clinging to the past—past hurts, losses, griefs, victories, or self-destructive methods and patterns of life. Others are clutching at present circumstances, painful though they may be, unwilling to release situations, roles, relationships, etc., in order to move on to the next phase of your existence. As one who has played the game both ways, may I encourage you? Don't wait until change is forced upon you by the "sands of time in the hourglass," begin NOW to make the changes you most desire to make.

More on the process tomorrow!

I took down the Christmas decorations tonight. Everything will go back to the shed tomorrow morning. The fireplace mantel is empty. The top of the piano is bare of decorations.

And I don't care.

Why?

Because it means the year is over. All the turmoil, the trauma, the celebrations and rejoicing of 2011 have come to a close. It's time to turn the page, reboot the computer, reset the perpetual calendar. In the next few days we'll cross an imaginary line into 2012.

It really doesn't matter what number we assign to the year, what matters is the clean slate, the fresh start, the blank calendar.

The new year is a wide open door of opportunity for change, irresistibly attractive, IMO. It's an opportunity to set aside all the baggage I've picked up in the last 365 days and go forth, footloose and fancy free.

Those changes can be internal or external. They can be about writing goals or about personal goals, financial goals or emotional ones. They might fall into entirely different categories. 

What do I want out of my life?

What changes must be made to accomplish those goals?

Time for a little introspection and self-evaluation ... care to join me?