• Lose weight
• Get out of debt
• Become more organized
• Maintain a diary
• Save money
• Improve grades
• Get a better job
• Get fit
• Eat right
• Get a better education
• Drink less alcohol
• Quit smoking
• Reduce stress
• Take a trip
• Volunteer to help others
• Be less grumpy
• Be more independent
• Learn something new (such as a foreign language or music)

I’ve never really been one for setting new goals on the 1st of the year but I do think that taking a good look at your life at any time and deciding to make positive changes is good thing. So why do people make resolutions? Resolutions are made with the hope that the future doesn’t reflect something that the past does. This sounds deep but could be as simple as, eating less happy meals or calling my mother more often, some could be bigger resolutions like quitting a habit that isn’t good for your health either physical or spiritual.

What in 2009 would have you done differently? What does that mean for you looking into 2010?

I leave you with a verse and this encouragement as you set your goals for 2010…to seek God even more in the new year resulting in a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Him.

Happy New Year.

        

this past april headed into the studio to start work on recording my first CD ’scattered’. my prayer has been and continues to be that people will be drawn into a closer relationship with God our creator because of it.

keep ’scattered’ in mind as you’re thinking what will bless your love ones, friends and co-workers this season.

Godbless and Merry Christmas
joel slater

free shipping…click here

        

So, you may be wondering if, after 32 hours of travel and a whole bunch of money to get to our destination, “Is it worth it?”…you betcha!

Just over 6 years ago I left my home for the USA; God had laid something on my heart that really scared me. I had a consistent, prolonged desire for years that God wanted me to leave my home and trust him wherever He may lead…told you it was scary.

Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (emphasis added)

However the even scarier part was not following what was clearly laid on my heart. Even though leaving the familiar was unnerving, the thought of staying where I was comfortable just because of fear bothered me more. I could live near my family, I could have the same friends and sit in the same old chair at church and continue playing the piano every other week; but, I’ve learned that a life lived in obedience to God is far richer.

I finally got to the place where I thought…“what if, just what if I followed through with this crazy idea that was tugging at my heart and just see what God can do?”

That led me here northern VA and the greatest discomfort I’d ever felt. I suffered a great turmoil every day for years, I simply wasn’t comfortable. When my six month visa was about to expire I was ready to leave, happy God had closed the doors on my time in the US. But a week before my flight outta here my ‘religious visa’ was approved; this took me from a tourist visa to a working visa which snow-balled into a green card. Today I’m on the road to dual citizenship! It seemed that God wanted me to stay and that’s why I’m still here.

Being comfortable can be dangerous, it’s leads us to being complacent, being uncomfortable puts us in a better place to depend on God for our ‘all’. I’m not saying that everyone needs to leave their hometown and set out on a voyage like I did, but I am saying that we need to be in tune, listening and ultimately obedient to what God wants us to do. There would be nothing worse than being at the end of your life and looking back and saying…“If only I had…”

Take time today to seek what plans God has for you. God never called us to be comfortable, He called us to be obedient and even willing to die for our faith…nothing comfortable about that.

As I fly home shortly I’ll feel an element of normality as I’m with my Australian family and friends, sleeping in my house and eating all my fave foods. Sure it’s good to feel comfortable, but it’s no contender for being obedient to God and seeing him act in your life powerfully.

Living in the same town
For all these years
Doing the same old things
Hanging with the same crowd
And it’s starting to get crippling
You’ve never felt in place
And you tell yourself it’s all okay
But something’s different today
You want to run the opposite way

And it seems like you’re locked in a cage
And you need to find a way of escape
When everyone is setting the pace
It’s okay to run the opposite way

The Father sent His Son down
The light of men
The cross He bore was crippling
Rejected in His own town
They couldn’t see the sun shining
He knelt in the garden and prayed
Father, let this cup pass from me
It’s not Your will for me to stay
Your will for me is the opposite way

And it seemed like He was locked in a cage
And He couldn’t find away of escape
But through the cross He conquered the grave
My Jesus ran the opposite way

Oh, and through the cross He conquered the grave
Oh, He ran the opposite way
Yeah, through the cross He conquered the grave
So you could run the opposite way

        

i’ll lay it down next time i’m in the studio.

verse1
i got my feet back on the ground
i wipe my eyes and look around
it’s funny to see how everything is changing

i see my mum and my step dad
they’re waiting where i get my bags
they’re looking great even thought they’re in there sixties (sorry mum)

chorus
O how i love this place
adelaide

verse2
i’m walking to my ol’ front door
it’s looking bett’r than ev’ before
i can’t believe that it’s been nearly 3 years

i’s getting close to 5 pm
that it when i’ll see my friends
ben and andrew
don’t forget matty newman

chorus
O how i adore this place
adelaide

bridge
they say the grass is always greener
the usa has come between us
believe me cause i mean it
when i say that i still love

verse3
twenty days is not to long
that is why i write this song
i’ll remember you every time i play it

i check my bags and shed a tear
it may be 3 to 6 more years
til i’m back where everything is normal

chorus
O how i’ll miss this place

adelaide

(c)joelsong09