I’m not completely against Mondays. I quite like them. Hear me out.

Mondays feel like a fresh start. A reset for my weekly goals. A chance to reconfigure my world.

When Monday also happens to be the start of a new month?

Double like. Heart emoji. Chef’s kiss.

And when that Monday is not just the start of any month, but the start of January or July (the second January of the year)? That to my nerd brain is next-level awesome.

Here we are on the brink of a Monday, the start of a new month, and the start of the second half of 2024. Can you tell I’m pumped and ready to go? As much as I want to high-five you and encourage you for the next six months of the year, my joy is tempered by the realities that lie ahead.

Reality doesn’t get the memo that July is the second January.

Reality meets us with highs and lows, with some expectations that come crashing down and others that exceed our wildest imaginations, with joys and grief, with sickness and health, with the mundane and the extraordinary.

We don’t know what lies ahead in the next six months. We don’t even know what will unfold in the next six minutes. But here’s what we do know from the Word of God: our purpose is to glorify God through all we do, whether we have six months or sixty years ahead of us.

So, instead of asking the question, how can I crush my goals for part two of 2024, here’s something we can ask ourselves:

How can I live to glorify God today?

We are not guaranteed tomorrow. But we have this moment right now. Instead of living for ourselves, can we choose to live for God?

Honestly, I never really grasped this concept of glorifying God. I’m someone who gravitates toward practical examples and concrete steps. So, when I first learned that my purpose is to “glorify God,” it seemed like a vague idea that didn’t have any practical, daily implications on my life.

But as I journeyed along in my faith, this truth began to make sense.

When our purpose is to lift ourselves up, there’s always going to be a sneaking dissatisfaction in our lives. We are wired by our Creator to live for Him. If we live for any other purpose, we will always be searching, always be restless, always be dissatisfied.

Can you take a moment and let that truth sink in?

We are made by God for God.

Sure, it’s helpful to make other goals for the rest of the year. I just signed up for a “step challenge” with a community group. I will be trying to get three workouts in a week. I may plan to publish more devotionals, get started on my book, bake healthy treats for my kids each week, and the list goes on.

But may the underlying purpose of each goal, habit, desire, and plan, be to lift up the name of Jesus.

As each day of the second half of the year begins, may we pray, “Lord, show me how to glorify you today.”

Maybe it will be through how you use your time wisely.

Maybe it will be through connecting with someone you didn’t make time for earlier.

Maybe it will be through consistent time in the Word.

Maybe it will be through stewarding your body by eating healthy.

Maybe it will be through how you speak to your spouse.

Maybe it will be through the things you watch or the thoughts you entertain.

You know the areas where you’ve been living for yourself, rather than for God.

Would you join me in setting aside some time in prayer before the start of part two of 2024?

Ask God to help you reset the priorities and patterns in your life so all of it rises as praise to Him.

When you look back at 2024, yes, there will be achievements and there will be disappointments. But if we live for ourselves, there will be emptiness. Let’s choose instead to use our moments, our days, and our weeks to live for Him.

When people look at our lives, may they not say, “Wow, look at all that she has accomplished.” May we live in such a way that they will have no choice but to say, “Wow, look at all God has accomplished in her and through her.”

Wishing you a blessed July!

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