Do you ever feel like you're working hard but not getting anywhere? Maybe you see little improvement in your skills or achievements when you reflect on the last five or 10 years. Or perhaps you struggle to see how you'll fulfill your ambitions during the next few years.

Many people spend their lives drifting from one job to another or rushing around trying to get more done while actually accomplishing very little. Setting SMART goals means you can clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively, and increase your chances of achieving what you want in life.

SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting.

To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
Achievable (agreed, attainable).
Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

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The Bible tells us that we are in the midst of a cosmic war. What does that mean for you and me? We know that Christ, through the cross, won the final victory, but are still commanded to get up, suit up, and fight. This week on the Honest Conversations podcast Rebecca Carrell and Liz Rodriguez (Liz Rod-on-the-Pod) talk about the enemy, his schemes, and how we can live victoriously in the shadow of the cross.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.heartstrongfaith.com/podcasts/

If social media reveals anything, it reveals that we are a people who want to be seen and heard. In short, we are searching for significance. Carol McLeod joins Rebecca Carrell and Liz-Rod-on-the-Pod (Liz Rodriguez) to discuss how the world's idea of significance is destined to fail us, and how true affirmation and validation can only be found in one place.

What do you think of when you look up at the sky? Jay Allen says that space particularly fascinates him because it's a reminder that the God who created all of the Universe still deeply cares for us. For him, it's more than a beautiful sight, it's an opportunity for worship.

Say “Please and thank you.” It’s one of the first lessons we learn as children. Usually eager to please, we do as we’re told. Then the surly teen years hit and all bets are off.

Most of us do come back to some semblance of civility. (Granted, some more than others.) As we grow into adulthood the amount of appreciation we express, and our ability to sincerely say “Thank you” has a dramatic impact on how we relate to others.

Recently, I came across a passage in the book of Luke that has really got me thinking. Luke 8 talks about the healing of a bleeding woman and this is how it goes:

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

She had been "subject" to bleeding. That means the bleeding determined what she could and couldn't do; where she could and couldn't go. That got me thinking about the things in my life that I have been or am subject to. 

Food
Approval
Affirmation and validation
Excercise
The appearance of knowing more than I do
What I think other people think of me

When one lives in a kingdom, they are subject to the king. The king determines what is allowed and what is not; what is required and what is not. The things that I have been and still am subject to are cruel, demanding rulers. They insist that I strive and strain and push and twist in order to attain the fill-in-the-blank.

So what is your life subject to?

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We all have things in our past we wish we could erase. And you've heard people say, "Don't let your past define you!" But what if that is exactly what it's supposed to do? Author and speaker Kasey Van Norman sits down with Rebecca and Liz-Rod-on-the-Pod to talk about the power in using your past to propel you in your purpose.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.heartstrongfaith.com/podcasts/

After suffering a spinal cord injury in his teenage years during a football game, Ronnie dealt with paralysis problems for a long time after that and even to this day faces a lot of nerve pain because of that injury. His mother Cathy decided to nominate him because, despite this life-altering injury, Ronnie still decides to pour into his community and be a voice of wisdom to young kids as they participate in athletic events. 

That's why we decided to Make Ronnie's Christmas!