New

I absolutely love New Year's. It's not really New Year's Day per say that I like but the idea of a new beginning. Every year at this time I go through all of my files and records and clean them out to get ready for the next year. I make goals for the year as I am very much goal oriented. I try to model it after Luke 2:52 where Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. I make goals for the mental, physical, spiritual and social areas of my life. But not only do I make goals, I also write them down and review them at the end of the year to see which ones I accomplished and which ones I didn't. In the past I would also have my kids do it but they are all grown now.

Newness is truly of God. Lamantations 3:22-23 says that the mercies of God are new every morning and we can certainly see that. All we have to do is look at the sunrise each morning. There is the newness of spring and the trees budding and flowers blooming. Then there is new life in Christ (II Cor. 5:17). There is the newness which comes with forgiveness and newness of relationships.

Even tennis is the perfect sport for newness. If you lose the first set 6:0 the next set is completely new and you start it all over. Maybe that is why I like to play it so much.

I even get a burst of energy. There are two times of year when my energy level really goes up. One is spring when everything starts to bud out and it is time to plant the garden. The other is the new year when I get to refocus. I know I am kind of a nerd. My kids all tell me that. But I just wanted to share with you a little bit about why I like the new year.