Skip to main content

At the Well - Resolutions For A New Year

Today's At the Well is being hosted by Laura Lee at LauraLeesLifesong.
The questions discussed today are:
1. What is your favorite "resolution" in the Bible?
2. Do you do a New Year's resolution? Why or why not? Does
your family make a resolution together?
3. Usually a resolution comes as a result of regretting
something you didn't do the year before...how do you let go of the regret and
move forward?
4. (optional...only if you wish to share) Have you ever
made a resolution in the past that you didn't keep and wish you had?


My favorite resolution in the Bible -was the response of the Israelites to Moses before they received the 10 Commandments: "Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Their answer sounded so sincere and diligent. Later on, they would disregard their words and do their own thing which resulted in sin.

In my life, I love new beginnings! I get energized over New Year's, the beginning of a school year or any "new" timeline. With new intentions, plans fly high in my mind, yet seem to spiral downward once the "newness" wears off!

After many years of half-heartedly making New Year's Resolutions, I have stopped putting concrete resolutions in front of myself and setting myself up to fail. But as we all know, we need something to aim for - a purpose or goal to keep us motivated. I try to reflect on a quality or characteristic that I would like to see developed more in my life.

This year, I am striving to be more kind. The motivation behind this is the pattern I am noticing in myself of being grumpy, irritable and giving short answers to my family. This happens when I am tired, stressed etc. The kindness I am seeking is the kind that flows from the heart and touches everyone I am around, regardless of how I feel or the circumstances I am in. I do regret how I have been behaving and have determined not to beat myself up over it, but move forward. Each kind word instead of a snap, each smile instead of a scowl, etc. is a step forward.

Another area I am striving for improvement is through Bible Study. God's Word is so powerful and is able to change lives, attitudes, circumstances and it brings hope, peace, joy and strength as nothing else can. This year I desire God's Word to be alive in me and to point others to Him as I go along each day.

I can't think of any specific resolution that I didn't keep but wish I did, although I'm sure there are some. My hope is to follow the apostle Paul's encouragement and face each new year with anticipation and hope: "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."


Comments

  1. I think those are wonderful goals! I'm pretty sure our family verse is going to center around treating each other with respect or kindness...or not arguing, something. Lots of nitpicking and petty conflicts going on lately. Anyway, great post and so glad to meet you at the well today. You were very KIND! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. i like your post..very straightforward and simple :)

    thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Most excellent goals! May God bless you as you seek to serve Him by accomplishing these things in your life. I truly enjoyed this post and wanted to thank you for being so faithful to visit and encourage me on my blog. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh how I am familiar with the unkindness that sneaks out when I am tired! I've been asking God lately to fill me with his gift of kindness so I can exhibit some even when I'm lacking sleep, because it sure doesn't come from me. :) Great goals.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unkindness is one that lurks in my life, too. That verse (Phil 3:13) is perfect for this time of year!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your commment. It is a joy and blessing to hear from you and your words are appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We...

WFW – Write It On My Heart

This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel       after that time, declares the Lord.    I will put My laws in their minds       and write them on their hearts.    I will be their God,       and they will be My people.  Hebrews 8:10 On a recent field trip to a museum featuring the days gone by, we sat in an old schoolroom as the teacher introduced us to the quill pen and bottle of ink.  She cautioned us to use extreme caution using the ink and told us that if it got on our skin or clothes, it would not come off. This reminded me of this beautiful promise from Hebrews.  God told His people he would put His law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  This is a covenant which cannot be broken.  He loves us and wants us to know Him through His Word.  As we read more and more of His Word, it becomes w...

Construction, Challenges, Chaos

 Who knew something simple could erupt into something chaotic so quickly? A broken file cabinet forced us to purchase a new one. We found one online, ordered it and it arrived quickly with a do it yourself assembly book, complete with 24 part packages and 18 steps of instructions!  As we unpacked the items and compared with the instruction book, we realized a part was missing. Customer service was called, a replacement part was quickly received. Except, the screws did not fit into the holes on the replacement part. We tried again, received another part, same issue.  Meanwhile, the 24 packages of parts are spread out on my living room floor, customer service does not understand my issue, they asked for photos which were sent and now we are again, waiting for a part.  It seems every project faces the inevitable delay. My work place is undergoing a floor remodel. Upheaval, dust, packing, lots of inconvenience and depending on the work crew's schedule dictate the next fe...