My head is abuzz with a newly scratched out “To Do List” for 2010. It is full of a grand vision, scary possibilities and deep, deep longings of my heart.  And it is a lot of work.  I was so inspired that I had to take a nap.

I figure I might as well rest up first before beginning anything new. Have you ever felt this way? Wanting to quit from the sheer hugeness of a task?  Throwing in the towel before you have even dared to go one round in the ring?

There is one key ingredient that the Lord keeps whispering to me and Chuck as we look down the coming year: Discipline.

Before you groan, listen to the definition. Discipline:  training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.

That doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?  And to throw my own spiritual spin on it, discipline is being willing to be taught a better way.

Isn’t that what we are all hungry for?  A better way to — fill in the blank — get in shape, manage money, improve our marriages, stop addictions, have healthier relationships, perform better at work, etc.? And if we were honest, what we are doing right now may not be working so well.  We aren’t getting the results we long for.

But when we ask the Lord for discipline, we are in essence asking Him to teach us a better way for better results. Now instead of us working it up in our own strength, we are seeking the supernatural, the God Factor.

Last night, John Dee quoted Roman 2: 4  – that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. “Which means,” he added,  “It is the kindness of God, His love and affection for us, that causes us to ‘change our minds.’ Repentance is changing the way you think, to agree with what God thinks.”

So now put these two words, discipline and repentance, together – willing to be taught a better way, and aligning our thoughts to think God’s way – and we have a pretty potent cocktail.

Change is bound to a happen because you have tapped into what God wanted from you all along: His strength in your weakness. Make your lists. Take your naps. Then go after your dreams.  God is with you all the way.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalm 32

“Lord, grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Psalm 51