2016 New Year's Resolutions...

My New Year’s Resolutions for 2016:

I hereby resolve to run toward Jesus and away from sin for another year.  Give me the grace to stand in your sustaining strength, Christ.

I hereby resolve to make every effort to passionately pursue people who feel far from God.  Break my heart for what breaks yours, God.

I hereby resolve to fight for congruency between my insides and my outsides.  Make me painfully uncomfortable with duplicity.

I hereby resolve to overcome fear, doubt, and anxiety with the weapon of prayer.  May prayer be my first response instead of my last resort.

I hereby resolve to be more generous and less greedy believing it is more blessed to give than to receive.  I want a selfless and sacrificial heart.

I hereby resolve to love my wife in a way that makes her feel protected, adored, and strengthened.

I hereby resolve to take care of my body with exercise while feeding it things that will help it help me be all that I want to be.  I tired of abusing my body. 

I hereby resolve to lead our church into the future with audacious faith and compassionate conviction.  To lead with a balance of humility and authority.

I hereby resolve to read a book a month to challenge and sharpen my mind.  I want to stay curious and learn new insights.

I hereby resolve to take every thought captive making them obedient to Christ no matter how long that reformation takes.

I hereby resolve to look at life and people through the lens of promise.  Not problems to be solved, but possibilities to be unearthed.

I hereby resolve to clean out the daily residue of disappointment, bitterness, and anger with the choice of forgiveness.  Forgive as I’ve been forgiven.

I hereby resolve to cherish my daughters and sons…to play with them, protect them, and talk with them instead of speak to them.

I hereby resolve to not let hurt keep me from continuing to dream big and live with imaginative hope.

I hereby resolve to make, have, and keep friends a part of the vital ritual of my daily life…to know and be known by good companions.

I hereby resolve to create things instead of simply copying the things other people create.  I was made to create, not simply copy.  No shortcuts, God.  No copouts.

I hereby resolve to rely afresh on the power of God instead of my own strength.  My vigor fades, but the vitality of God gives staying power.

I hereby resolve to rise each day with a “yes” in my spirit and on my lips.  “Yes” to God’s bidding and “yes” to daily life that is constantly screaming “no way”.

I hereby resolve to learn new things and to resist the urge to coast.  To enjoy the familiar, yes, but to embrace the unknown.

I hereby resolve to live with integrity in obscurity.  I want to be faithful in the places I’ll never get rewarded for until I stand before Judge Jesus.

I hereby resolve to give more grace to people who are unlovely, unloved, and seemingly unlovable.  Give me uncomfortable and unconditional love, God. 

I hereby resolve to be more grateful and joyful despite what I may feel based on circumstantial or emotional evidence.  May the joy of the Lord be my strength!

I hereby resolve to make people laugh as much as I possibly can.  I don’t want to take life so seriously that I miss the humor and humanity in it all.

I hereby resolve to let people not only see my weaknesses but to know where they come from and why they exist.  May vulnerability stay in tact even under attack.

I hereby resolve to not cave in to pre-determinism and fatalism.  I want to change the future by creating a new future with my present attitude and actions.

I hereby resolve to let myself fail and make mistakes.  I want my life to be filled with daring, caring and sharing…this means I will fall short, but at least I’ll fall forward.

I hereby resolve to soak in the beauty of nature, art, conversations, words, and music as soul-gifts from my Creator. 

I hereby resolve to bring the fruits of the Spirit into my home through the conduit of my regenerated human spirit.  I want my house to be a home of Shalom.

I hereby resolve to be ok with certain people not liking me for whatever reason.  I must not let the disappointing dislike of so few ruin the lavish love of so many.

I hereby resolve to read these resolutions at the beginning of each week as a reminder of what is real regardless of what I feel. 


In the strength of Jesus, I commit myself to these resolutions with my whole heart.

Comments

We should try to be better each time we face difficulties in our life! Jason, be strong and stay with God always! He is love, He will save us.
With love in Christ,
Neil.

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