New Year's Thoughts Part 2

This time of the year, everyone is talking about resolutions - lose weight, get in shape, get out of debt, reach out to others more, eat healthier, etc. I think that it has almost become a joke to see how long you can actually keep them before you fall right back to where you were. We have managed to become desensitized to what it means to actually set a goal and then work hard to keep it. I have set my share of these goals, some I have kept and others, well, let's just say some I didn't! But as I get older, I find myself thinking about things in different ways than I ever have and honestly, I find myself more and more holding up the mirror of God's Word to see how my life looks in that reflection.

So, as I come to my intersection with the end of 2008 and the start of 2009, have I thought of resolutions? Sure, but I am looking at it differently this year. I have looked back over the events of 2008 and reflected on things I did wrong, or didn't do as much as I wanted or did more than I wanted. Reflection is good if it is done through God's eyes and not with the glasses of this world.

There are always things that I want to do to be more like God and what He wants me to be. I want to follow Him more closely than ever and follow the path He has for me. I want to reach out to "the least of these" more than ever and love them as Jesus did. I would love to get in better shape. Getting out of debt would be awesome, too.

But these things really aren't about New Year's resolutions. Yes, that is a great place to start, but they require more than a "start the new year promise" - they require a waking up each day, committed to do my best that day - whether it is Jan 1, May 1, Sept 1 or December 31. I want to live my life in such a way that every DAY is a new opportunity to live my best, give my best, be my best for Him and for His purpose in my life. That is truly my goal! And that is how God designed it, really. His mercies are new every day! We get a "new year" every day to start over and try again! He is so good! We don't have to give up because we make a mistake - it is a whole new start the next day. That is not a license to do wrong, though. Each day should be lived as our best for God as if our life depended on it - because it really does.