After CampSample

Yesterday you wrote down the top three things you took away from your camp or retreat. And now that you’ve written down the big things that you’ve learned, you can start to make a plan on how you can really start applying those things in your life. Plans are really important when you want to make any sort of change that lasts. Your plan will help you stay on track, remind you of what’s important in your life, and even cue you on what to do when things go wrong or get off-track. Putting a plan together will help make sure that the things you’ve learned over the past several days stick with you throughout the rest of the year. 

To make a plan, you’re going to have to ask yourself some questions—and come up with some answers to those questions. So take a look at the list you made yesterday, because it’s time to get started. Of the three things you learned, ask yourself:

● Which one do I think is the most important? 

● Which one might be the hardest to apply in my life right now?

Asking yourself these questions will help you figure out where to start as you look at your list of takeaways. Now, ask yourself this question: What’s something that I can do to put each thing on my list into action?

The things on your list could be things you do daily, weekly, or however often you feel like you should shoot for. Whatever the case may be, try to make the action you give each takeaway specific to what YOU need to do for yourself. 

If you know you want to spend more time with God, try to be more specific than just “read the Bible more” or “pray more.” Maybe plan out specific verses or chapters you want to read or plan to pray at a specific time each day. Psalm 143:8 reminds us that God creates each day as a new opportunity for us to trust Him and let Him guide your life. 

You’ll also want to make sure that the action steps you choose and the plan you put in place is doable and something you’ll be able to stick with.

Finally, make a commitment to yourself to follow your plan, and do everything you can to set yourself up for success. Set a reminder on your phone. Leave a note for yourself where you’ll see it. It may even be helpful to ask someone you know and trust to be your accountability partner and hold you to it. Whatever it takes, once you put a plan together, set yourself up to follow through as best you can!