Happy New Year!!

Ok, so I admit that I'm a little late to the party.  It's already 5 days into the new year, so please forgive me for being a little late with the new year greetings.  I've never been real big into celebrating the beginning of a new year.  That's not to say I don't enjoy spending time with friends and family ringing in the new year...I do.  I guess I don't get all caught up in the new year resolutions and stuff because I know they most generally don't stick.  I also don't really get the thought that the new year offers all of us a clean slate and a chance to do things differently in a new year.  For one thing habits are very hard to break, and just because a calendar tells us we can start something new doesn't magically mean all our habits go away!  I guess you could say I'm a scrooge when it comes to the new year!  Although I positively love all the football on!
I think I don't get to caught up in the new year hoopla because I'm too old to stay up to midnight!  HA!  Seriously though I know that we have a chance to start over any time we want.  I also know we have the ultimate power to help us make any changes we want at our disposal any time of the year.  Jesus is always waiting with open arms to welcome us back to him.  He wants to hear our regrets and our shortcomings.  He will offer us forgiveness and the strength to make changes if we ask and IF we listen.  You see the easy part is declaring what we would like to change and then asking Jesus to help us.  The tough part is listening to Jesus and then making the necessary changes in our lives to actually see change happen.  Sometimes we want Jesus to magically change us, when what we really need is Jesus' help in making the changes for ourselves.  That's why I think new year resolutions are so popular and also so easily broken.  As soon as we sense some work, or tough decisions, in keeping the resolutions we tend to give up.  If we honestly and earnestly ask Jesus to help us make changes, and we honestly and earnestly do our very best to listen to what Jesus has to say to us to help make the changes and again do our best to implement them, even if they're hard, then we'll be a lot better off and a lot better at making the changes.  So let's do away with new year resolutions and instead ask Jesus to help us make the changes we want.  Or better yet, let's ask Jesus what changes we need to make!