Dear Friends,
I know, I know. You probably don’t’ want to read about making New Year Resolutions. I can hardly blame you. Resolutions are hard to keep. Most of us have good intentions with our resolutions to eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more, etc., but we find that within a month or so we have already failed to keep our resolutions and we simply give up. A tongue-in-cheek article suggested that we need “realistic resolutions. If you set the bar low enough, you’re bound to succeed.” So what kind of New Year Resolutions did this article suggest?
· Gain at least 30 pounds
· Stop exercising. Waste of time.
· Read less. Makes you think.
· Watch more TV.
· Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
· Spend more time at work.
· Take a vacation to someplace important: like to see the largest ball of twine.
· Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
· Start being superstitious.
· Get in a whole NEW rut!
Well, these resolutions would be easy enough to keep, but they wouldn’t lead to any personal growth, which is the whole point of resolutions!
Even though resolutions are difficult to keep, they are important for our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being. You will probably hear on talk-shows, in the news and in other media, resolutions in most of these areas. However, you may not hear much in the way of resolutions for your Spiritual well-being. How can you help yourself grow spiritually in 2011?
I’m glad you asked! Most of the resolutions you already know about – regular worship, Bible study, prayer, participating in Sunday School. These traditional approaches to spiritual well-being usually work. But perhaps there are some new things you could try. Here are some ideas to get you thinking: turn off the radio and use time in the car for prayer … read one Christian book of non-fiction and one Christian book of fiction this year … find another Christian to do weekly devotions with … fast once a week … volunteer with a non-profit organization that helps people in our community … sponsor a child in one of the poorer countries … commit yourself to pray for our church on a daily or weekly basis.
The above are just a few suggestions. There are so many other ways to develop our spiritual well-being. Make a New Year’s resolution to pick one that fits you. And ask God to help you to stick at it. To be sure, New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, but with God, all things are possible.
Happy New Year!
Pastor Jim
I know, I know. You probably don’t’ want to read about making New Year Resolutions. I can hardly blame you. Resolutions are hard to keep. Most of us have good intentions with our resolutions to eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more, etc., but we find that within a month or so we have already failed to keep our resolutions and we simply give up. A tongue-in-cheek article suggested that we need “realistic resolutions. If you set the bar low enough, you’re bound to succeed.” So what kind of New Year Resolutions did this article suggest?
· Gain at least 30 pounds
· Stop exercising. Waste of time.
· Read less. Makes you think.
· Watch more TV.
· Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
· Spend more time at work.
· Take a vacation to someplace important: like to see the largest ball of twine.
· Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
· Start being superstitious.
· Get in a whole NEW rut!
Well, these resolutions would be easy enough to keep, but they wouldn’t lead to any personal growth, which is the whole point of resolutions!
Even though resolutions are difficult to keep, they are important for our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being. You will probably hear on talk-shows, in the news and in other media, resolutions in most of these areas. However, you may not hear much in the way of resolutions for your Spiritual well-being. How can you help yourself grow spiritually in 2011?
I’m glad you asked! Most of the resolutions you already know about – regular worship, Bible study, prayer, participating in Sunday School. These traditional approaches to spiritual well-being usually work. But perhaps there are some new things you could try. Here are some ideas to get you thinking: turn off the radio and use time in the car for prayer … read one Christian book of non-fiction and one Christian book of fiction this year … find another Christian to do weekly devotions with … fast once a week … volunteer with a non-profit organization that helps people in our community … sponsor a child in one of the poorer countries … commit yourself to pray for our church on a daily or weekly basis.
The above are just a few suggestions. There are so many other ways to develop our spiritual well-being. Make a New Year’s resolution to pick one that fits you. And ask God to help you to stick at it. To be sure, New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, but with God, all things are possible.
Happy New Year!
Pastor Jim
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