The New York Times released the article “How to Build Healthy Habits” on February 25, 2020, and under the headline, it read, “It’s not about willpower. Good habits happen when we set ourselves up for success.” How do we, as women, set ourselves up for success? Success in our careers, success as moms (if applicable), success as friends, sisters, daughters and as Christians?

How do we expect to succeed if we don’t allow anything in our lives with even an inkling that it will be a failure?

We as women need to develop a habit of believing that we will be successful in all things. The Bible can help us with that.

Colossians 2:6-7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Here Paul is instructing us in some healthy habits that we should be developing.

Paul gives us four things in which we should develop a habit:

• Continue to live your lives in Him
• Be rooted and built up in Him
• Be strengthened in faith, as you were taught
• Be overflowing with thankfulness

How do we do those things?

We need to form habits, so they become routine and part of our typical day.

Continue to live your lives in Him.

• Schedule prayer time. There are many different resources online, in print, and on social media that can help us be more intentional in our prayer time. Here is one idea …
• Label three envelopes with the words – “please, sorry, thank you.”
• During your prayer time, fill out slips of paper and pray prayers asking the Lord for what you need (please), asking the Lord for forgiveness (sorry), and praising the Lord for what he has done (thank you). From time to time, go back and read your “thank you” prayers, remembering all God has done.
• Being rooted and built up in Him
• Reading and studying God’s Word is key to establishing strong roots in Christ. Sometimes reading God’s word is hard, not because we don’t desire to learn more, but because Scripture is sometimes hard to understand. Here are a couple of ideas to make studying Scripture fun:

Bible Journaling:

• Find a bible with margins, patterns, and illustrations. Make reading scripture creative, ask questions in the margins, color, underline and mark it up. Follow up by working through your questions with someone who can help you find the answers.

Write Scripture:

• Google writing plans for scripture by topics, months, or books of the Bible. Get a journal and have that journal devoted to scripture writing. Each day before you write a new scripture, read the scripture from the day before. Reread the scriptures you’ve written in your journal. Let it get ingrained in your mind and your heart.
• Be strengthened in faith, as you were taught.
• We believe in God and that He walks with us daily. We believe that He has a plan for our lives. We have gone to Sunday School, learned the stories from scripture, and heard over and over about the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We have been taught much of what we need to succeed in a relationship with Him. How can we strengthen our faith and that relationship?  Here is an idea…

Scripture Memorization:

• You can hear a song on the radio and know all the lyrics, whether it is a secular song or a praise and worship song. How do we learn all those words? We listen to it repeatedly, and it sticks in our brains. Why don’t we do that with scripture? Imagine how much stronger our faith would be if we could recite God’s promises when our faith is tested. Knowing Scripture helps us appreciate our mountain top experiences and helps us persevere through our valleys.
• Here are just a couple of key scriptures to commit to memory to help strengthen your faith:
  Proverbs 3:5-6—Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make straight your paths.
  2 Corinthians 5:7—For we walk by faith, not by sight.
  Ephesians 2:8—For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
  Luke 1:37—For nothing will be impossible with God.

Activity Idea

As a group, use one of the scriptures mentioned above or a Scripture of your choice and make a song out of it to help you memorize.

Being Overflowing with Thankfulness

Sometimes all the world’s troubles surround us, and we overlook all God has done. Imagine if we developed the habit of being thankful for all things. Imagine if we had deeper gratitude, not just saying “thank you” but contemplating and focusing on gratitude rather than the negativity around us. How do we do that?  Here is an idea…

Gratitude Jar: All you need is a large mason jar (maybe repurpose and clean an old pickle jar or similar container), large craft sticks, craft supplies you have lying around to decorate the jar, and some colorful markers.

Decorate your jar, and each day take your craft stick and a marker and write what you are thankful for that day. At the end of each month, take some time and reread all of what you were thankful for during the month.

As we establish healthy habits and focus on deeper gratitude and a more sincere relationship with the Lord, let us remember that each day is new. Reflect on this statement from the Dalai Lama, “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday, and the other is called tomorrow. Today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”

Today is the day you need to continue living in Christ. Be rooted and built up in Him, be strengthened in your faith, and overflowing in thankfulness. Be encouraged to begin building healthier spiritual habits today.