Thoughts on resolutions

That God Christmas is over. December 25? Check - done - gone. And I'm grateful that it's over. Gifts? Check. Big holiday meals? Check. Christmas music? Triple check. Christmas movies? Check. Christmas feasts? Check. . .the scale.

So I've had a Christmas overload this year. I've traveled - from KC, to NYC, to KC, to Georgia - and I'm officially ready to begin a new year. So I'm really grateful that it's now New Year's eve - today feels really refreshing. It's a day of fresh beginnings; time to, as a Pastor I recently heard said, "leave the trash from the prior year behind." So I will do just that.

Here's 2008, a new year, fresh beginning, full of new promise and new adventures to be lived. Life is fresh, clean, bursting with hope and optimism. And I'm not THAT much of an idealist. I realize that fresh after January 1, maybe even a week later, I'm back into "real life" - commuting, going to work, making paychecks, running a small business, finding time for what's really important. . . but on New Years Eve, the dream is fresh, and alive with promise.

But what dreams should fill my heart tonight as I dream of the next 12 months? Should I dream about finally getting rid of the extra weight? Running a half marathon? Climbing fourteeners again in Colorado? Achieving success? Saving "x" amount of dollars? Getting my life "in order"? Establishing a career path? Making a life for myself? Reading the whole bible cover to cover? Reading 15 books? Writing a book? Blogging everyday? What is a worthy thing to resolve to do? Would Christ love me more if my resolutions were to pray more deeply, give more fervently, encourage more people, make someone believe in Jesus?

Are resolutions even a worthy thing to think about? They lose power after 2 days in the new year, right?

The answer: resolutions aren't just worthy to think about - they are essential. How easy is it to get sucked into the drudgery of life - at times living lives that lack passion, purpose, and hope. Resolutions return me to dream and hope in a faith that has escaped me toward the end of 2007. Resolutions return me to a passionate pursuit of my beautiful wife. Resolutions return me to the desire to be the hero of my boys' life. Resolutions fill my sails with life, drive, and ambition. And I sit here writing - alive, excited, and expectant for 2008.

But all of this is null and void without one underlying fact. I'm reminded that "So now faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13)

So here's my underlying resolution for 2008, the rest is simply white noise: May it be in my life in 2008 that I be a man full of reckless, unconditional, and deep love - for my family, for my friends, for Christ, and all things that He loves.

Happy New Year.