Wednesday; January 1

          Ahhh – New Year’s Day.  Today is a day known for sleeping-in late, football, finger foods and resolutions.  While I like all of these, my topic for this discussion is New Year’s Resolutions.  Now, as I begin this, let me tell you that I believe in making resolutions as long as we are focused on keeping the promises we are making to ourselves.  If we make the resolutions without commitment, they are more than useless, they may even be counterproductive.  You see, by starting off the new year with a pledge that we know we aren’t going to keep we lessen the impact commitments can have on us throughout the year.  (If we don’t intend to keep the resolutions made in January, why should we put any effort in following through with the commitments we make any other time of year?)  So, unless we plan on keeping them, let’s not go through the pretense of New Year’s Resolutions if we don’t have the resolve to make the change.
          Now, having started off with on a negative note, here is a bit of encouragement.  If we want to make the resolutions stick, here are three suggestions:  (1).  Write out the  specific, detailed resolution and place it in locations where the reminders will do the most good.  (2).  Tell someone(s) about your resolution and encourage them to help you be accountable for your pledge.  (3).  Pray about the commitment several times each day because if we are serious enough about it to bring it to God’s attention, we should be serious enough to utilize His help to make it happen.
          We hope you have a Happy New Year – and, if you are looking to making a change, a successful new life.  2020 has a great ring to it, let’s make it all it can be!
          Think About It!

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