Making room for the new

Statistics tell us that 15% of New Year resolutions are ever really kept.  So instead of hyping you up to make a series of promises that have an 85% casualty rate, I’d like to share a word that will help you reinforce your most important choices that you will make this year. 

I can hardly think of a Christian who didn’t face a fight in 2008 and if you were like me, you’re glad that it’s over.  In fact, I tell people that the best thing about 2008 is that it’s gone and I’m still standing and that alone is enough to shout about! 2008 is a done deal, it’s in the history books and it’s time to move on. So as you prepare to move forward make sure that you’ve taken time to mentally, physically and spiritually bring a close to 2008.

My advice to you for January is to make room for the new.  Making room for new things takes a clear cut decision to refuse to carry unnecessary things from the past into a new chapter of your journey. I’m not saying to completely forget all that’s happened to you (good, bad and ugly), rather prepare to use your past year experience as a rudder that helps navigate instead of an anchor that only holds you back.

Some people let go of the old and embrace the new by starting the year with a fast, a cleansing or implementing a new work out regiment.  I’m a pack rat, so one of the most freeing things for me to step into the New Year was to take a trash can and purposely throw away everything on my desk and in my office that I didn’t have a need for going into 2009.  Now some of you are thinking “No-Duhh” but my other pack rat folks know what I’m talking about.  Everything from an old newsletter to a magazine article that I said I’d read one day to books & CD’s, ministry promotional material, flyers etc. If I wasn’t using it, my goal was to trash it or store it (and I made sure I kept very limited storage).

Result?  Freedom!  I can’t tell you how good it felt to let go of things that I knew were in the way, but I attached a sense of obligation that only hindered me.  So coming from a pack rat who finds sentimental attachments in every scrap of fabric, paper or even a broken pencil (yea, I’m that bad…holding on to broken pencils) let me share a word of encouragement while I’m on a cleaning spree high: “Clean out that old stuff and make room for the new!”

God has so much in front of you, believe me, you don’t want to miss out because you’re holding on to something that held you to the past!  Paul said it good in Philippians 3:13, "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching toward those things in front of me." Don’t let anything hinder your ‘reach’ for 2009!  I believe that God definitely has a blessing out there for you; all you have to do is ‘reach’ for it!

Now before I start preaching on that point (that is a good spot to get my ‘hoop-on’), let me share a practical way to ‘make room’ from a technical point of view.  I have two resources for you to check out.  One is online storage. Online storage, also known as file hosting services or online media centers are Internet hosting services specifically designed to host static content, typically large files.  They have become very popular and very secure.  If you are a mobile youth worker, always eating up hard drive space, then try some of these sites: ADrive, Flipdrive, or if you have a gmail account, you can use your gmail space as online storage space for free.

Another resource that will help you keep your hard drive organized is by using a program that graphically shows you where all of your hard drive space is being used.  The program is called windirstat and you can download it from their web site.  Pretty fun stuff that helps you keep your computer running at it’s best without old files slowing you down. 

This is the year for great things to happen so make room for some new things, new folks, and new opportunities for the New Year.

Sharing the gospel from ‘Street to Street’

Fred D. Lynch III
GodStyle Productions

Fred Lynch is the founder of GodStyle Productions. A ministry committed to changing youth culture. For more information on Fred, go to www.godstyle.com or check out his latest project The Script (the gospel of John translated into rap) at: www.gettheepic.com.