Do you make new years resolutions? I gave them up a few years ago as being unspiritual. Some of things I put on the list were just embarrassing… such as read the bible every day… pray every day… How shameful that I was not doing this already!
In the last couple of years, I have come back to resolutions with a new attitude. My resolutions might seem frivolous but I believe that the silly things are important to God because all things are important to Him.
How did I change my idea of resolutions? Through having a son. I love Joel and I think that everything about him is wonderful and important. If he were to make new years resolutions I would want them to be: Always ask mommy’s permission, always obey mommy without complaining, and stop throwing things at mommy. Don’t tell mommy I don’t love her.
Joel is amazing, but at four, he is not about to write this list. However, if he did write a list, whatever it included, I would think was wonderful and charming, intelligent and amazing. I would care about everything on the list and I would want to help him to keep his resolutions.
I think that God feels the same way about us. He is excited by all our resolutions because He is excited about us. We are his creation in whom He delights, just as we delight in our children and in all the trivial things that they do.
I think that in prayer God sometimes answers our prayers exactly as we ask him to, and other times meets the needs we don’t know we are expressing behind the prayer. In the same way, I think He sees our resolutions for what they are, and sees the unspoken needs behind them.
One of my resolutions is to go to Target only once a month. That sounds like an unspiritual resolution. Does God care? I believe he does. He knows I can’t go to Target without spending at least $100. He wants me to be a good steward of the resources he has blessed me with; therefore, He probably cares about my trips to Target.
What resolutions do you have? Do you want to lose 10 pounds before that wedding or that beach vacation? I think that God cares about this too. He wants us to treat our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Does God want us to keep our resolution if it will involve abusing our bodies or our families or friends? I think not.
One thing that I want us to do this year is get Joel and I involved in some sort of outreach activity that is age-appropriate. Another thing I want to help him with is to nurture relationships that feed his spirit. Every year I examine my friendships and decide which relationships I want to cultivate. I think that we have to be intentional with friendships or they disintegrate. I choose relationships that encourage me and help me keep Christ at the center of things. A friendship that feeds my spirit is a gift I give myself and one I think God blesses. Joel also needs the same thing, and it is part of my job as his mom to set up play dates, etc., and help him nurture his relationships.
So, make your resolutions. I believe God cares because He cares about you. If what you resolve is what God wills for you then He will give you the strength to accomplish it. I also think that sometimes God uses our resolutions, whether in success or failure, to teach us how we can better follow Him.
In the last couple of years, I have come back to resolutions with a new attitude. My resolutions might seem frivolous but I believe that the silly things are important to God because all things are important to Him.
How did I change my idea of resolutions? Through having a son. I love Joel and I think that everything about him is wonderful and important. If he were to make new years resolutions I would want them to be: Always ask mommy’s permission, always obey mommy without complaining, and stop throwing things at mommy. Don’t tell mommy I don’t love her.
Joel is amazing, but at four, he is not about to write this list. However, if he did write a list, whatever it included, I would think was wonderful and charming, intelligent and amazing. I would care about everything on the list and I would want to help him to keep his resolutions.
I think that God feels the same way about us. He is excited by all our resolutions because He is excited about us. We are his creation in whom He delights, just as we delight in our children and in all the trivial things that they do.
I think that in prayer God sometimes answers our prayers exactly as we ask him to, and other times meets the needs we don’t know we are expressing behind the prayer. In the same way, I think He sees our resolutions for what they are, and sees the unspoken needs behind them.
One of my resolutions is to go to Target only once a month. That sounds like an unspiritual resolution. Does God care? I believe he does. He knows I can’t go to Target without spending at least $100. He wants me to be a good steward of the resources he has blessed me with; therefore, He probably cares about my trips to Target.
What resolutions do you have? Do you want to lose 10 pounds before that wedding or that beach vacation? I think that God cares about this too. He wants us to treat our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Does God want us to keep our resolution if it will involve abusing our bodies or our families or friends? I think not.
One thing that I want us to do this year is get Joel and I involved in some sort of outreach activity that is age-appropriate. Another thing I want to help him with is to nurture relationships that feed his spirit. Every year I examine my friendships and decide which relationships I want to cultivate. I think that we have to be intentional with friendships or they disintegrate. I choose relationships that encourage me and help me keep Christ at the center of things. A friendship that feeds my spirit is a gift I give myself and one I think God blesses. Joel also needs the same thing, and it is part of my job as his mom to set up play dates, etc., and help him nurture his relationships.
So, make your resolutions. I believe God cares because He cares about you. If what you resolve is what God wills for you then He will give you the strength to accomplish it. I also think that sometimes God uses our resolutions, whether in success or failure, to teach us how we can better follow Him.
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