New Year, New You?

The Christmas decorations are down and the gifts are put away. The company has gone home and the holiday leftovers are gone. Today we are six days into the new year...how are you doing? Beginning a new year is a great time to give some serious consideration to areas in which you need to see some growth and change in your life. If you haven't already done that, it isn't too late! Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea or something warm to drink, grab your journal or notebook and a pen, and find a quiet spot.

Since I am getting older, I decided to pay particular attention to the area of my health this year. God gave us our bodies and health, and we have a responsibility to take care of ourselves with the ultimate goal of being able to better serve Him. While I am a high-energy person, we were not created to continually go at the pace that many of us are used to going. I am trying harder to slow down and to get more rest, which is not an easy thing, especially with the demands of ministry. Along with that, although I am already a healthy eater,  I am trying to eat less (I said less, not no!) sugar. I am surprised that after just a few days, I am already noticing the benefits of that. I am especially excited about the new workout plan I have begun this year. Since my husband began going to the YMCA following his knee surgery last summer, I decided to also become a member, and so I have been going for early-morning workouts 3-4 times a week along with taking a fitness class there.

I also want to fill my mind with the right things, and to challenge myself to read more books, spend less time online, and to learn some new things.

If you set some new goals for this year, are you on the right path to fulfilling them, or are things already starting to slide? I commented to my husband last night that I have lost track of how many times in the last few days I have seen the slogan, "New Year, New You." I have seen it used in advertising programs and products by countless companies, organizations, and stores. And as I was thinking about that, it made me wonder: Just because it is a new page on the calendar, will it really be a new me? The answer to that is, in a word, no. Because unless I am changing on the inside through the grace and power of Christ, and growing in my walk with Him, I can implement all the life changes I want on the outside, and they will never result in a new me in the ways that matter.

In my last post, I told you about the Scripture verse and the special word that I selected for 2016. Along with that, I spent some time praying about how I can enrich my devotional time with the Lord. As my husband reminded our congregation and I tell our ladies, if you don't have a plan, you will not do it. There are tons of good Bible reading programs and resources out there. I know many people like to read through the Bible every year, and while that is a great goal, personally I do not get a lot from that. I find that I become too consumed with staying on the schedule and do not really dig in and study the Word the way I like to. However, for the next 3 months I am doing a 90-day challenge in which I am reading through the New Testament in 90 days. And in order to help me to read purposefully, I am combining that with a study on grace. Every time I find an example of God's grace as I read, and there are lots of them, I write it down in my journal.

The point is - if you really want a new you this new year, you have to go about it the right way. That is by giving priority to the most important part of you - your spiritual self. Some of my favorite verses that go along with this thought are found in Jeremiah 9:23-24: "Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glory, glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."

Did you catch that? It tells us as Christians what our most important goal is to be. We might increase our knowledge, but we can't really rejoice in wisdom and intelligence. We can eat right and exercise to grow stronger, and we should, but that is not what we are to delight in. We can acquire possessions, but we can't glory in them, either. What we can delight in is that we truly know our Heavenly Father in a personal way. That is His delight - and ours as well. That is my prayer - for myself, and for you.

Till next time,
Kathi