Every new year that awakens, we always seem to have a new resolution. Will I become healthier this year, learn a new skill, become a parent, get promoted, move on, help my child through this tough period, get married, etc. This year I ask we all take a new approach. Crazy as this sounds, my suggestion is to announce our intention or vision to the universe, but then sit back, pray, and be silent. Yes, this woman with the gift of gab is asking us to be silent.

The reason is if we are to plan the work and work the plan, we need to know what the plan is. In my experience, when I have been the only director to my dance is when the dance is off-beat, out of rhythm, going in circles, hitting the ground, or plainly making the wrong move. When I’ve been quieted and silenced is when his voice becomes extremely clear.

Now this doesn’t mean you completely slide out of your life plans. God knows your heart. He also knows for the plan to be successful, you have to be focused, committed, and present. What it means is you awaken and don’t solely rely on controlling what you think the plan should be. You pick a vision or word that inspires you, keeps you focused, and keeps you moving forward, but then you allow God to hold the reins. Does this sound scary? Well, it shouldn’t sound scary since God can do extraordinary things with ordinary people. You see it in the bible, but more importantly see it in every day life when people surrender to their purpose and God’s plan. People who I admire such as JoAnn Gaines, a reality star of Fixer Upper, who has said – God knew when it was time to own my shop and when it was time to focus on my family. Oprah has said she learned the bible before she learned nursery rhymes and real fear only comes from trusting in oneself and being fearless is about releasing your own fears to that which is greater than you. What both of these powerful women’s statements mean to me is your resolution is only powerful if you incorporate your biggest fan into the making of your life’s resolution.

From experience, when you’re able to surrender is when the visions become grander, real, and more vivid. My own resolutions, as the comedians make light of, only last a week or two. Yet if God is in the picture, I suddenly feel the earth-shattering, real moments. Last year was the first time, my resolution wasn’t solely about my own plan. When God took the reins, my writing sang on paper, an agent was interested in me, I found the perfect illustrator to draw my vision, and God gave me the confidence to say…yes, this is the path. With my own resolutions, the dream of being an author lasted through childhood, but it stayed a dream. Not only, did it stay a dream, but I was never writing the right material. Now my writing has the chance to be bigger than myself. It has the chance to positively impact lives. It’s foolish of me to think I could have come up with the series idea on my own, but with God anything is possible. For those who don’t believe, I suggest you ask. For every stage of the series, my question to God is if this is to be, then let _ or _ happen. What do you think happened? What happened is God answered how we asked him to answer. He let me ease out of my Director role, he has helped me find the right relationships to begin marketing the books, etc. If it is the right resolution for you and what God has in the plans, then it will happen. The hard part is initially taking the jump, but when you jump having God’s knowledge behind you, is when you jump with eyes wide open and full intention. Otherwise, you jump into the unknown and the abyss.

The other difficult part is if you ask and don’t get the answer you want or expect. This may mean it is not time yet. Maybe God has something better planned for you or wants you to learn something before it is time to take the big leap. Perhaps, he thinks you are after the wrong intention. For example, if my book series was only about the money, then I would miss out on several gifts of truly helping families. The goal is to ask, to quiet your mind, and to allow God to embrace you with your resolution. A good example of resolution is the movie “Brother Bear.” At the beginning, the main character was embarrassed that his selected Native American totem was to be a bear. Then he became a bear and he realized the gift of being a bear. The questions you need to ask yourself if you fail on your resolution, are angry that God doesn’t seem to have the same resolution as you, or wonder if your resolution is the right resolution is “are you after the wrong things”, is “your resolution big enough”, do you need to “learn something”, and are you listening to who “can guide you in the right direction”? What you shouldn’t do is turn the other cheek, ignore God, and say I’m moving forward with my own plan. The only thing your own plan accomplishes is guaranteed failure and more headache. It guarantees your resolution will last two weeks and not a life-time. Sure, it’s easy to give advice when you’ve experienced success, but what people don’t understand is failure, life lessons, and poor choices/resolutions is not directed to only the searching. Those who are successful had to learn to listen. I loved when A.C. Green said he prayed to God whether the NBA was the right choice for him. For many, this was a crazy question. However, for those who understand the greater divine, you want to be part of God’s plan because you know God’s plan for you is greater than what you can imagine for yourself.