New Year's Decisions

Happy 2013!

Here we are again! If you're reading this, you're as blessed as I am to have lived to see another year. It's always sobering for me to listen to the news and realize that some people didn't live to see a new year because death came suddenly, and unexpectedly, just a day or mere hours before January 1. I'm also very grateful that every one of my family members is still here with me. God has been merciful and kind.

The past year was a difficult one for me. Most people wouldn't be able to tell by just looking. I wrestled with complacency for much of the year, as well as busyness. I had a job transfer that involved a long commute and ate into whatever was left of my evenings. I also went back to school (university for the second time) and initially had a sense of dread about how I would fit back into a lifestyle of projects, study and examinations. And that's just the half of it. 2012 was a difficult year. 

This morning I made some New Year's Resolutions Decisions. I made a list of some simple things that I need to start doing, stop doing, and otherwise adjust. The key thing was that they were not pie-in-the-sky declarations. Just small everyday tweaks that need to be made, for which I know the weight of minute-by-minute choices rests squarely on my shoulders. I know that the little things will add up to major gains in the long term, and make the way for big things to happen. First and foremost is clearing the time in my schedule to once again engage the Bible for deeper topical and word study. It was incredibly refreshing for me to start another one-year daily Bible reading plan this morning (and to have successfully completed one in 2012), but I am longing to get back into more academic study (with all my heart, of course).

This year will hold a myriad of things. There will be difficulties to overcome, and good things to praise God for. I don't even try to forecast or daydream anymore. But I can prepare. So I'll be holding on to Jesus, depending on God's grace, staying in the Word, and aiming for measurable, observable growth.

How about you? Did you resolve or decide to do anything specific this year?