Hey Family,

Welcome to 2023.

Today is the first day of February and I am wondering how our New Year’s resolutions are going. Research shows that 80% of people have usually abandoned their New Year’s resolutions by February, so I’m hoping that we are all in the 20% whose goals have actually become a part of our lifestyle.

Pastor Craig Groeschel shares that one thing that we can do to help us build better habits, is to place “who goals” before “do goals.” Instead of focusing on what we want to do, he encourages us to focus on who we want to become. By prioritising who we want to become, our identity shapes our actions.

So rather than setting a goal to lose weight, we can set a who goal to become a healthy person. The flow on effect is that healthy people eat healthy and exercise regularly, and the result is that we will lose weight. In the same way, we can set who goals to be a patient mum, a financially free dad, a loyal friend, a generous giver, a kind neighbour and so on.

In John 15:5 Jesus says, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus tells us that the key to achieving our who goals is for us to stay connected to him. When we are connected to Jesus, he will give us the love and the power that we need to transform into the kind of people that we want to become.

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai