It’s a new month. A good time to start fresh. A time to make wrongs right, and improve who you are. What are you going to do this month that will be an improvement over what you did last month?
Some people go from month to month thinking “I hope this month will be different” but yet they don’t do anything to make the month different. Your life will not change for the good if you don’t put some effort into it. One definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.” In other words, this month will be no different for you if you do the same thing you did last month.
Joel Osteen had a great message about continually learning to improve ourselves. In that message he said the average person is in their car 300 hours a year commuting from place to place. 300 hours! That is a lot of time trapped in one small location. What are you doing with that time? Are you talking on your cell phone? Listing to the “goober and gomer” show on the radio? Or worse, just sitting there complaining about traffic, which is the least productive thing you can do.
Why not set a goal for yourself this year that anytime you are in the car you will use that time to listen to an inspirational learning CD? Think how many CD’s you could listen too in 300 hours. I started this last year by listen to Joel’s “Become A Better You” CDs, it was so good that I must have listened to it seven times or more and each time I took something new from it. I even bought it for a couple of friends. Anyway, my point is, I spent that time in my car listening to something that I could learn from, I used the time in my car to improve myself and grow both spiritually and emotionally.
So what if you have small children, it is hard to listen to something like that with kids in the car you say. Well, I don’t have kids, but can only imagine what it is like being in a car with them for a while. Why not play a game with the kids, have them look for things in nature that is unique, like a special cloud formation, are even seeing a deer or cow back in the woods off the road. Then say a prayer with them out loud in the car thanking God for the wonderful cloud formation or what ever the creation from God they may have seen. It will teach them to appreciate what God has created, and isn’t that better then them playing a video game?
Sometimes, if you are alone in the car, tired from the day, needing some peace and quite, take that time to converse with your Lord. Talk out loud to Him. Tell Him about your day, what upset you, thank Him for something that may have happened. Listen to Him, he will speak to you in ways you may not realize, even by giving you are extra stop light to insure you are not in that accident that just happened up the road a bit.
Time in the car alone is also a good time to pray for others. Intercede on their behalf. I pray daily for my covenant husband on my way to work and on the way home as well (I pray for him when I am not in the car too). Anytime I see a rescue vehicle flying by with lights and sirens on, I say a prayer for not only the drivers in the rescue vehicle but for the person they are on their way to rescue, as it usually means someone is hurting or not feeling well. I pray for individuals I see a car accident on the side of the road as their day and possibly their life and the lives of their families has changed sometimes dramatically in an instant.
This morning I had switched vehicles and my teaching CD was in the other car so I was listening to the local Christian music station, when I made a turn I was directly into the most beautiful sunrise I have seen in a long time. I took that moment to thank God for letting me see that, and showing me that He lives and will be guiding me though my day. Sadly, I admit that in the past I have not taken in the beauty of what our Lord presents us through His creations. But just seeing that sunrise was a reminder, a small learning experience that I must always stay focused on the “Son.”
How is praying a learning or growth experience? It puts others first rather than yourself, and we all need to learn that. It teaches us to be a little less selfish and self-centered and more selfless.
So start this month, what will you do to become a better you? What will you do to “make this month different than last month?”
Make a goal to change what you do while you are in your car. Take that travel time of 300 hours this year and make it more than just getting from point A to point B. Make it a self improvement journey!
May God Bless you!
Reposted from January 2009 I am pleased to announce this article has been featured on the following site: The Chat at the Cooler April 2009 Personal Change Carnival
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