New Thoughts of Resolutions:

I have started the book, “The Well Watered Woman,” by Gretchen Saffles.  This was a random book I found at Hobby Lobby a few days before Christmas.  I had been shopping for the final Christmas gifts, and this book looked perfect to have for my quiet times in the morning post my Advent study series I had done previously.  I say all this to show how God does place certain messages to us.  He knows exactly what we need to hear and he can show it up in unexpected ways.   

I am writing this on New Year’s Eve, or December 31st.  This is the time when a lot of people including myself are starting to write their new year’s resolutions or create their vision board for the new year.  I love creating a vision board for the new year in my Christian planner as well as the goals I want to complete daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly.  The chapter I read today in the book, “The Well-Watered Woman,” was all about resolutions and a new take on making them.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the coincidence.  Reading about making new year’s resolutions on New Year’s Eve.  Then I remembered that with God, there aren’t any coincidences.  God planned this out, so I could complete my vision board in a way to grow myself closer to God. 

Her new tip for making resolutions is to put “The Word Before the World.”  (pg.113).    It sounds simple.  It sounds as though this is a very basic concept.  However, I do not think this is one we often follow.  We do need to put the Word before the world as a Christian.  Similarly, we need to put the Word before our personal new year’s resolutions.  Gretchen will talk about how one year she decided to create just one new year’s resolution, which is to simply put the word first.  She would seek to focus on her relationship with God before she did anything else, whether this came to goals in parenting or in marriage, or with exercise, and work related goals.  

There are many verses about caring about the Word of God and to care about a relationship with Christ.  One of those verses is Matthew 6:33 which says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  This is a good reminder to seek God.  The only way we will really see joy or will know complete happiness is when we seek God’s kingdom and become more like Christ.  All of the other huge desires we had for the world will be taken away or they will not seem as important when we realize there is so much more importance in knowing and becoming like Christ.  

This could be through a few different ways.  Yes, I do believe spending time with God, especially right away in the morning is good.  However, it is more important to let those words we read in the morning permeate in our hearts and in our lives. I am a person who personally struggles with this.  I will spend time in the morning with God, and then within an hour, I am incredibly impatient as I am on a run and there are cars seemingly in the way, or I start to get really behind on my way to work which results in some road rage.

The challenge for the week is to think about your new year of 2026.  This isn’t necessarily to make a list of goals for 2026.  There can be a few goals.  This could even be developing a better relationship with Christ.  This could be reading the Bible every day or even through reading the Bible in a year.  This could be choosing to spend more time meditating on God’s Word or to spend time on a regular basis through prayer.  

I do need to remember that this is a mindset.  It is not supposed to be necessarily something we put as a goal.  It is supposed to be more of a mindset of looking at all things and trying to understand how we can put God’s Word or God’s purpose above the things in the world.  We can still have a goal of reading the Bible more or set a goal to pray more, but it is more important to have a mindset of seeking God in all the things we do.  

Personally, something I want to do is to spend more time reading and studying the Bible as well as spend time in prayer with my husband.  We do a pretty good job going to church together, and spending time in prayer before meals.  I am glad we have already started this habit.  However, I think it would be even more important to put the Word before the world with my partner.