Normally around this time of year, I’m trying to figure out my New Year’s Resolutions.  It is something that I neither want to do nor enjoy doing.  Resolutions sound so punitive to me – harsh and unforgiving.  They seem a little like starting the year promising to climb Mount Everest – something I lack the physical stamina and the mental endurance to accomplish.

Just recently, a pastor told me to bag the resolutions and think of this time of year as a season of renewal.  Now that I could do.  Resolutions remind me of whips used to beat myself until I finally give up.  But, renewal speaks to me of serene retreats, peacefully slowing down to examine my life in a positive way and coming away with a doable roadmap.  Renewal means thriving in the life of Christ and coming to know more fully the realization of His life in me.

I’m not a Bible scholar, so I’m unsure as to whether it speaks of resolutions.  Renewal, though, is mentioned many times.  One of my favorites is 2 Corinthians 4:6 – “This is why we never lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” In Jesus, God will meet our every need, through Jesus we will be given every provision, and from Jesus we will receive every blessing God can give.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t need discipline to reach my personal goals and my divine purpose, but it does mean every step of the way, God is with me.  In fact, during this season of renewal, my goal is to cast all worry, care, burdens, anxiety and concerns on Him.  I’m cleaning out the worries of the world and welcoming new management into my heart.  I want 2011 to be the year that I can hang a banner over my heart that reads:  “Under the Management of the Prince of Peace.”

As we end 2010, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog.  While I’ve enjoyed your comments and your encouragements, mostly I’ve enjoyed doing life beside you.  I look forward to sharing an abundant life with you in 2011.  My prayer for you in this season of renewal is:

May you set your sail of faith to capture the trade winds of the Spirit’s sweet communion. May He carry you into the strong currents of God’s grace, to the harbors of Jesus’ comfort, to the ports that abound with blessings, and to the warm waters of the Father’s love. And may the Captain of your Salvation, pilot you through troubled seas, quieting your heart when rolling waves beat against you. May you daily be kept from drifting away from the course He has set for you. May He guide you to safe havens, fill your vessel with eternal treasures, and bring you triumphantly to heaven’s distant shore.