What's Your Resolution...

At the end of each year, usually in the middle of December, our family feels out an individual "New Year's Resolution to the Lord"!

In them we name something we would like to change about ourselves, one thing we would like to do differently for the New Year and one promise we can give to the Lord. Our family surrounds the envelopes and prays over them, in hopes that with God we can accomplish them all at some point in the new year. I then tuck them away at the top of the closet, where they will collect dust until the next December.

Retrevivng last years from the hidding place, we take them out and read them while ringing in the brand New Year.

A few years back I would find myself trying to remember what I had wrote, rushing around to accomplish it before the year was over!  Kind of like the resolution to loose weight..so you start dieting in October, November or even December drastically trying to reach your promise to yourself!


How silly, of course feeling embarrassed and ashamed that I didn't do diddly squat, especially not keeping my promise to the Lord! What good is a New Years resolution if you don't intend to keep it...just broken promises~

So, Three years ago I put a different perspective on things. I looked at things realistically, and only put down what I really knew I would do with God's help and not things that seemed so far off or something I really wouldn't accomplish.

But I didn't want to feel I wasn't trusting in Him, so I added a new question to our Resolution...

What Miracle would we like to see done in the New year?

So at the end of each year I feel I have reached a goal and still left room for God to work were my faith may have been small at the time.

These resolutions have helped my family have a common and individual goal for the Lord each year, and we are all aware of what needs to be accomplished and work toward it throughout the year. Of course having someone remind them of what needs to be done is one of my jobs and I thoroughly enjoy it...ha ha!!

My family has truly grown from this experience. This year we have decided to pray as a family over our resolutions once a month so they will not be forgotten.

We have learned that since doing this, we don't sit around wishing we had done different for the Lord that year.


We know that through Him, we had done something and it makes us feel good when our change, prayer or miracle had come to pass during the year...we realize there had been growth within us. We ring in the New Year praising God for all he helped us accomplish for Him and know that He will do it again!

~Shelly'e