Happy New Year! Let's go beyond resolutions.

Resolutions. Millions of people make resolutions. I have learned over the years that while many may think about making New Years' resolutions, very few actually do and even fewer will actually accomplish their resolutions by year end. For me, I look at the New Year differently.

I look at the New Year as a time for reflection on the past year, today and where do I want to be by the end of 2024. In 2015 I decided that I wanted more than just a list of resolutions that may temporarily change some area of my life whether it is the way I eat, the amount of sleep I get, or even how I may treat people. Instead, I wanted to set some true life-changing goals. Goals that would create new habits, goals that never truly have an end but instead promote other changes or create new behaviors not just for 2015 but many years to come.

For me, 2015 was the year I set these 2 goals:

1) Join the "One Book Club" I will be a woman of one book. Which means not only will I continue to read my Bible daily but I will read it before I read anything else (including work emails, social media, or news ). And if I only have time to read one thing today it will be the "One Book". For those who do not read the word I will tell you that there is life in God's words. They never go void. So every time you read them their power is transferred into your life and you are influenced by them to be a better person, to be who God created you to be and God's word isn't controlled by time so it continues to build your life up.

2) I will strive to Never Major on the Minors I will aim to better manage my life by evaluating everything that takes my time. Does this fit in God's plan for my life? Does it contribute to the good of myself, my family or my community? Is this worthy of my time? Once I quit majoring on the minors I will have plenty of time to cultivate my spiritual life, my family, and other priorities. Being a person full of drive is both a blessing and a curse. As much as I am able to multitask successfully, I am also guilty of not being able to say no and thinking I can do everything... all at once. This shifts my focus onto the minor things in life, striving to make them perfect and be successful. The truth is, if what I am focused on doesn't fit into those questions above then I need to never major in them. That leaves me time to major on those things that matter the most.

This 2024 New Year, I can look back and say that 2015 changed my life. I followed those two goals and still follow them today. Nope, I was not successful at following them every single day. Sometimes I had weeks of forgetting to read the word of God first. I even sometimes still say yes to things I really don't need to be doing. That's a hard one for me to break but I am still focused on improving every year. It is my hope that by the end of 2024, and many years to come, I can continue to look back and see the changes that these goals have made on my life, my spiritual journey, and those who I subsequently touched because of the new person I have become. What to join me?