It's That Time Again ...

You know what I mean .. it's time to write out that list of New Year's Resolutions.  Or, if you're like most of us, just pull out the one you wrote last year .. the copy of the one you wrote ten years ago. 
                        Can I get a witness?

Statistics tell us that the top two resolutions on American adults' lists each New Year's Eve are ... can you guess?

             Lose weight

                   Stop smoking

These are most commonly followed by "stop drinking," "exercise more," and "get out of debt."   After that, they become more individual.  And then, within about three weeks (oftentimes less), these resolutions have been broken so many times we give up and the list ends up in a drawer somewhere, abandoned    ...     but not forgotten.  We spend the next few weeks (or months) feeling guilty, weak, powerless ... and live out the rest of the year having made little or no change. 

How many of us don't even bother to make that list anymore?

My dear friend, Dr. Neecie Moore, teaches a seminar entitled, "Making and Keeping New Year's Resolutions That Will Change Your Life."  When I attended this seminar for the first time, I was challenged to give some serious thought to the changes I wanted to make in my life and then take the steps to be sure I would be successful. 

For the first time in my life I looked at my list of

New Year's Resolutions and knew I held the

power to make positive changes in my life!

We're about to step into the year 2012.  What are the three most important improvements you want to see in your life this year?  Write them down.  What will be the benefits if you make these changes?  Write them down.  What will it cost you if you don't make these changes in your life?  Write it down.  Ask yourself, for each of these resolutions, in order to be successful, what will I have to say "yes" to ... what will I have to say "no" to?    Write it down!

Now we have a plan of action.  And remember ... we have Help!  

 

"Now all glory to God who is able, through His mighty power at
 work within us, to accomplish infinitely
more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20 NLT). 

 

"Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." (Proverbs 16:9 NLT). 

So let me challenge you to make ... and keep ... the resolutions that will propel you into a brand new year of living your life with purpose and joy!



Bah!  Humbug!

One night years ago while living in San Diego with my family, we drove through the neighborhoods enjoying the Christmas lights and decorations when .. in the middle of a brightly lit street filled with Santas, Nativity scenes, and giant snowmen we saw a house with one simple message carefully laid out  in lights on the well-manicured lawn:

BAH!  HUMBUG!

We were never quite sure if it was the homeowners' idea of a joke, or an expression of their true feelings during what most of us consider "the most wonderful time of the year."  

The truth is, if we're not careful to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas, the shadow of Ebeneezer Scrooge can come slinking around the corners of our hearts and minds and sap the joy and wonder from some of us with even the strongest Christmas spirit.  You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who loves Christmas more than me.  In fact, I've instructed my family that no matter what time of year I make my entrance through the pearly gates, I want Christmas carols sung at my celebration service and a Christmas tree engraved on my headstone.  But I must admit that during our years of raising eight children there have been a few Christmases when old Mister Scrooge was able to blow his cold breath over my Christmas cheer:

The year my beloved grandfather died and I missed his Christmas Eve funeral to have Christmas with my family.

The year we lost our home and business in the oil-field crash ... and our kids found their old toys, cleaned up and supplied with new batteries, under a small Christmas tree given to us by someone who knew of our situation.

The year Dave got a serious infection and spent the month of December off work, in the hospital, then at home with visiting nurses and IV antibiotics.  The kids got IOUs in their stockings that Christmas.

Old Eb' came slinking around here those years (and there were a few others) but what I've found is that Christmas is a state of the heart. 

"Then the angel said unto them, Do not be afraid for I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11)

Great joy

Yes .. JOY!  It has nothing to do with gifts, financial stress, rudeness of department store clerks, crowds at the mall, or children who don't make it home for Christmas (blowing kisses to my sister).  So many things can rob us of our Christmas joy .. if we allow them. 

                                                   financial stress

                                                   health issues

                                                  broken relationships

                                                  loss of a loved one

 But the angel’s tidings of great joy was the announcement of the birth of a Savior … and He is still with us!  A personal relationship with Christ .. the Lord .. is the source of this joy!  And that is a joy that remains .. steady and unchanging.

This will be our first Christmas since the death of my mother & aunt in a car accident this year .. and I’ve seen Scrooge’s shadow a couple of times over my shoulder .. but he has to slink back to his hole when I begin singing my favorite Christmas carol …

JOY TO THE WORLD .. THE LORD HAS COME!