Why I Never Keep My New Year's Resolution

How many times have I actually carried through with my New Year's resolutions? Let's see...

• One year I resolved to quit drinking coffee. That lasted almost three months, when random cheating lead to complete failure.
• One year I resolved to floss my teeth daily. I didn't do it then. I only do it now because I have braces and I want to have teeth left when the braces come off.
• One year (it was this year) I resolved to stick to an exercise routine. Uhhh... I still can't run farther than two blocks at a time.

I always know what I need to do. I know I need to listen more, be more flexible, work harder, give more. Knowing is not my hang-up. My hang-up is doing it.

When I read Romans chapter 7, I find the apostle Paul had the same problem. He said, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (v. 18). He goes on to echo more of my thoughts: "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (v. 19). Exactly, Paul, exactly!

By verse 24, Paul gets to the question I have asked so many times: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Tell me, Paul, what is the answer?

"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Wait a minute, Paul, is that an answer? You are thanking God? For what? For being a miserable wretch who can't even do the good things you want to do? I don't get it.

And I didn't get it for a very long time. I didn't get it until I realized that I can't do anything good on my own. That it takes a work of Jesus Christ in me to change me. That no matter how much better I might become that I'm still going to be mostly rotten. That Jesus Christ has paid for all my sin, past, present, and future. That more than wanting me to try extremely hard to be good, he wants me to try extremely hard to stay close to him. And I can do that.

Even now, even though I still am unable to do the good things I want to do, even though I still do things I know I shouldn't do, I can say along with Paul, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Words

When I was born, I was like an empty glass, ready to be filled. And since I was a very little girl, what I wanted to be filled with was words.

I remember when I was five years old that my dad read to me from a book, a chapter book. My imagination was stoked by the words. I begged him every day to read to me more. He was a busy man, though, and he couldn't get through it as fast as I wanted him to. That's when I picked up the book and finished it myself.

After that, my glass must have sprung a leak, because no matter how much I read, I could never be filled with all the words. There were always more books with more stories. I read anything I could get my hands on, rather indiscriminately, I might add. I read through volumes of the encyclopedia. I even tried to read Gone With the Wind. (It was one of my first failures: too long.)

With all that reading, I fell in love with words. There are a vast number of words. There are short ones, long ones, simple ones, complex ones. There are words to express any thought. One book, the dictionary, can even tell you exactly what all the words mean, and how to pronounce them. (I learned to use the pronunciation key because I wanted to use new words without my parents laughing at me.)

What is it about words that hypnotizes me? Is it that the knowledge of great minds can be passed to me through their books? Is it that the authors have the ability to connect with my thoughts and feelings, and in some ways assure me that I am not alone? Is it that I can leave my somewhat boring life for a few hours and be lost in another time and another place? I think all these are true.

All kinds of animals can communicate with one another, with sounds and behaviors. Still, humans are specially gifted with words, and with the ability to record those words forever, as long as the writing is preserved. This, to me, is a wonderful gift from God.

Words have made me richer, stronger, and wiser. I hope my glass never gets full.

My Grown-Up Christmas List

In the spirit of Christmas, I now offer you... my Christmas list.

1. I want all my students to come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. He changed my life, and I want them to know Him too. He offers freedom and forgiveness, love and comfort; everything we need for living an abundant life.
2. I want to be a better friend. I want to take time to really talk to people, to hear what they say and to be there for them.
3. I want to get enough sleep every night.
4. I want to be truly thankful and joyful throughout the day. God has withheld no good thing from me, and there is no reason why I should be bitter or malcontent.
5. I want to have a husband and start my own family.
   
6. I want all my brothers and sisters and "adopted" brothers and sisters to get off to a good start in life, to be happy and serve the Lord in whatever they choose to do.
7. I want to have my house finished and ready to live in soon.
8. I want to be content with what I have and ready to give to others what I have freely received.
9. I know this is against #8, but I really want a new Apple laptop.
10. And last and least... I always want... itunes credit.
    

The Real Meaning of Christmas

The Christmas Wars have begun. I've just heard another person griping about people using the letter X in place of Christ's name in Christmas. This is actually a very old tradition, and was started because the first letter of Christ's name in Greek is the same as the English letter X. It has nothing to do with removing Christ's name and was more of a space-saving measure. (See this web page.)

But my question is, when was Christ ever in Christmas anyway? Nowhere in the Bible are we asked to celebrate his birth. We are asked to celebrate his death through the Lord's Supper, but that's it. Christmas (and Easter) are purely man-made holidays. If you research their roots, you will find they began when the Catholics christianized pagan holidays in order to make conversion for the pagans more palatable.

I'm not against Christmas at all; I'm just tired of the war between Christians and humanists about what Christmas means. Why do Christians think they can convert the lost by harping on and on about Santa Claus and lights and the word Xmas? Let's stick to the Gospel, folks, and let Christmas be.

See Romans 14.