Saturday, January 1, 2011

How I Approach the "New."

Well Happy 2011 everyone. We celebrate today, a day that only comes every 1000 years...1/1/11. I am celebrating with a cup of coffee, house cleaning, and some class preparation for the new semester.

Some things never change!

Maybe that's the point. We make a big deal of what the new year will be like, we wish for different things, we make resolutions, we look at this day as some golden new beginning...but in reality, isn't it just "another day?" Maybe that sounds rather bah-humbug to some but to me it's rather a comfort. Today will be much like yesterday. I will do what needs to be done, I will follow many of the same preexisting patterns I set down over the last few years. Time marches on and we march with it, not having to recreate our lives each year. Can you imagine if each Jan 1 you awoke and you lived in a different house, possibly with different people? Or your cabinets were cleaned and rearranged, your furniture moved, your job changed, your extended family moved to places you'd never been? None of that happens simply because of the date and there is great comfort in knowing that what was good and solid last night before midnight, will be the same this morning, as the new begins.

What about all those resolutions? Those changes we want to make happen? Well, we have the power to change some aspects but first you have to recognize what you have control over and what is beyond your realm of influence. To resolve to find a better job? May or may not happen in this economy. You have some control but in the end, the choice to hire you or not is beyond your control. To improve you marriage or relationships? Definitely something you can work on! To find a spouse/mate/companion? Not in your power...sorry. We can do what we can but the ultimate power here is God's to connect us to that forever person. We can't change others, we can only change ourselves and our own circumstances.

So, do I not make resolutions? Do I not feel the need to recognize the new start and improve the year to come? Absolutely not. Let's face it, every year we all resolve to eat better, exercise more, lose weight, yada, yada, yada... sometimes it works, sometimes we feel we have failed miserably. I have found rephrasing those resolutions helps me see the process as a whole and not a check off list I have to attend to each day. So, here is my list for all to see and hold me accountable for:

1.I will daily strive to remember that my body is God's Temple and thus deserves my care and respect.

a. This means I will fuel it more efficiently and exercise it appropriately in order for the Temple to stay healthy and fit for His service.

b. This means I will follow my Dr.'s orders in terms of my medical needs, doing what must be done to improve my health and well-being

c. (and possibly the biggest one!) This means I will be good to myself. I will care for myself as God wishes His temple to be cared for. I will confess my shortcomings and fully embrace the absolution of my sins. I will live in Grace and forgiveness. I will accept the relationship with God offered me through Christ's blood and allow that relationship to govern all things. I will love the gift of me God has given. I will recognize my uniqueness and wallow in the mind and soul God has created in me and use it wisely and to His glory.

So, you see...the New Year is not about me, it's about Him and how I tend myself as a product of my God's Grace. Who is the focus of your changes? I find if my focus is in the right direction, I have a much better chance at succeeding. Wanna challenge me on that? I dare you to focus and re-phrase your NY Resolutions on God and see if the year, or your perspective on it, changes...I DOUBLE DARE YOU!

Happy New Year All and my God's Glorious Grace rest upon you each and every moment.

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