Happy New Year 2013! Will This Year Be Different?

New Year's Eve is upon us and soon it will be 2013. Sure, many people make--and then break--their New Year's resolutions, so this year I am going to call them "Things I Want to Do Differently in 2013." 

By not calling them resolutions, I think I have a better chance of making real and lasting changes in the next 12 months.

How about you? It doesn't have to be hard or complicated, but take some time to think about how you want the next year to be better. Pray and talk to God about what you want to GET RID OF and what you want to ADD and what you want to KEEP.

Get rid of
Like, I want to get rid of some pounds. So I will set a specific number and ask God to help me to do what I cannot seem to do on my own--lose this weight once and for all. Maybe you want to get rid of a bad habit or finally clean that closet that's been bothering you for months. Whatever it is, it's time! Out with the old, in with the new!

Add
OK, so you want to shed some things in your life. Now what do you want to add to your life to make it better? Do you want to have more joy? A better attitude? Increased income? Or, maybe closer friendships or a life partner? Once you know what you want, you can list some specific steps you can take to get there. We do our part and God does His part--He empowers us, gives us the strength and willpower (or won't-power) to accomplish things we never thought we could do.

Seriously. Prayer is the biggest thing to add to your life in 2013. Without God's help, we often remain stuck in our old ways. And that's not what we want for this new year. Nope! We want things to be different, better, happier, and more abundant! At least, I do.

Keep
Finally, ask yourself what you want to keep on doing or being in 2013. What's working well and should continue? Like, you want to keep being nice to people even when they treat you poorly (again, that's where prayer comes in!) You want to keep on serving the poor or opening doors for others or supporting worthy causes or...You fill in the blank for what's on your list.

I think 2013 is gonna be a good year. With positive expectation and hope, I will pray this prayer for myself and all my readers:

Prayer for 2013
"Lord, we come before you at the start of a brand new year---we are hopeful and expectant. Will you show us all that you have for us in 2013? I ask for blessings and favor, peace and abundance. Bless us Lord, so we can be a blessing to others! I ask for healing and good health, and wisdom to make right choices. I ask for open doors and new opportunities that a good and exciting--and the energy to accomplish them. I ask for love, connection and community with friends, family and those I have yet to meet. May this new year be better than I expected--for me and for my readers--so next year at this time we can share our praises with joyful thanks to You! I ask believing. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Amen!

Happy New Year to You! Many blessings!

Jackie M. Johnson 

Lesson from a Snow-Flocked Pine Tree

 

Snowfall on tall pines,

Sunrise and stirring
Of quiet and big dreams
As a new year awakens.

Dark-covered winter with

Dormant believing

Leads joyfully into
Spring’s hope-filled returning,
 
When flowers and faith
Resurrect from earth’s slumber
Alive and reminded
Of God’s faithful goodness.
                     -Jackie M. Johnson

New Beginnings

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” – Seneca


Life is about endings and new beginnings, but I don’t always like it. Sure, some endings are necessary. You have to leave high school to get to college. You have to leave college to get a job. You may join the military, get married, move to another city, or start a new business. Things end and new things begin. I get it.

But the hard thing is when endings happen that you didn’t choose. You didn’t want it, and you sure don’t like it.

It could be disappointing—not a big deal, but something that annoys you—like being late for a meeting because of road construction, or finding out that the guy you met over the 4th of July forgot to tell you he has a girlfriend.

Or it could be big-time discouraging, like an unexpected bankruptcy or a miscarriage. Maybe you’ve had a messy relationship breakup, a death in the family, or a divorce. Or, your job suddenly ended because the economy tanked. Could it be that you’ve lost money in the stock market and your 401k now feels more like a 201k?

Whatever it is, you can choose how you deal with endings. I’ve heard that Chuck Swindoll says, “It’s not always what happens to you, it’s how you respond to it that makes a difference.”

You can choose to ignore your pain, numb out, or do nothing. Or, in the midst of your pain and darkness, you can look to the light of God’s truth for hope, healing and wholeness. Either way, it’s your choice. How you handle endings, or don’t, will determine how you move forward.

What will you choose?

To take things into your own hands,
or wait on God for His way, His will, and His timing?

To lean on what you can grasp with your human mind,
or believe that God really does know what He’s doing, even when you do not?

To believe the lies that say, “My life is over. It’s too late for me.
I’m too old, too broke, too far gone, too _____ (fill in the blank)”
or reject the lies and have hope?

Hope, that maybe one day things really could be different.

Hope, that the One who knows and loves you most could already be at work with good plans specifically for you, “plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)

Whether you chose your ending, or it chose you, a new beginning is possible.

Consider the acorn—the little cup-shaped thing with a hat that falls from an oak tree. From one small seed grows an amazingly tall and strong tree. Beauty and purpose (like shade and wind protection) spring up from this small, hard piece of potential.

Your new beginning is like an acorn, it’s filled with possibilities. Dreams surrendered to God, like an acorn planted in the soil, will grow. Held solely in your hand nothing happens. Nothing.

As you surrender and release your desires and dreams to God, He grows in your life new things…new opportunities…a new life.

Small beginnings, big results.

It’s time to begin again.


Photo credit: Dave Frahm