New, Fresh, and Different (Part I)

photo by: Christian Holzinger

Recently, my heart has begun to desire a "new, fresh and different" approach in my life.  This “new, fresh, and different” approach has become a part of my prayer life, and my overall expectations for the day.  I am seeking a new outlook for myself, in how I view the world, and also in how I interact with others.  My desire came from the fact that I felt deep down my life experiences had become stagnant and full of repetition.  In having this desire, I wanted to open myself up to how God could express an alternative way of living in my day to day experience.

I am sure that most of you have had that feeling at one point or another in your life. This may come in the form of a desired job change, the dynamics in your relationships with others, an approach to health and fitness, or just how you go about organizing your day.  All in all, this feeling of longing for change is a vital part of growth and transformation in one’s life.
                                                 
“Necessary Methods”
In order for us to actually start the process of transforming our surroundings, or circumstances, we have to look at our thought process.  In my own life, I have wrestled with trust, fear, and anxiety for many years. Therefore, in my desire to have a newness in my life, I needed to extinguish anything that would hinder that transformation from taking place.  Mind you, I did not have a blueprint in mind when I started putting in my prayer requests. However, I knew deep down in my heart that my career, dating life, and finances needed a revamping of sorts.  And if those major areas needed revamping, maybe my overall approach to how I look at life and my daily interactions did as well.

I needed for God to do His work within the crevices of my mind.  I felt that there were parts of my thinking that hindered me from experiencing fully from life what I could on a regular basis.  This is an area that many of us fail to have recognized when we are pushing through the motions of each day.

Now, as simple as it may sound, finding the necessary methods to make changes can be a hard and lengthy process.  There is so much information, as well as communication we filter on a regular basis. Therefore, one may be at a lost in how to approach our automatic manner of processing information.

In Part II, I will share a few steps that I took that may also be helpful for you.