Happy New Year!

So this morning it's 2010.

A whole new year.

A whole new calendar.

A whole new date to write on my checks!

(and to think I was finally writing 2009 with ease :)

Truth be told, I'm having a hard time with it all... believing it's already 2010, that is.

I mean, just yesterday weren't we singing & grooving to

Prince's ever-popular hit, 1999??

And weren't we preparing to usher in a whole new millenium??

And weren't we preparing for Y2K and other unexpected surprises??

Um, no.

But it sure seems like we were.

It's funny-- every year I struggle with this...

the whole passage-of-time thing.

you know, that one tiny facet of God's creation plan that requires that

children actually grow up.

That I grow older.

That the days seemlessly pass from one to the next.

I just can't seem to fully accept this tidbit, and with each new year I always wonder,

how did that happen??

And, where did the time go??

Ah well. Ready or not, it's time to face the facts.

It is indeed 2010;

there are no two ways about it.

And since today truly is the first day of a new year,

I'm betting that the minds of most normal folks are already churning & burning

over a lengthy list of those ever elusive, yet always hoped-for,

resolutions!

I know mine usually is.

It seems that every year I make them, and every year I break them...

because for some reason or another I never seem to muster the determination

needed to see the bulk of them through to completion.

But each year I try-- surely, this year will be different, I always say.

But it never is.

Maybe it's a discipline thing with me--

perhaps I just don't have enough of it.

Or maybe-- and more likely-- it's not really a discipline thing at all,

but a focus thing.

Maybe my focus is/was wrong.

Maybe the things I've been seeking to change aren't really all that important

in the grand scheme of things.

Maybe, just maybe, all those projects I tackled, all those errands I ran,

all those decisions I made... maybe all those good things that monopolized my time

were just that... good.

But not best.

"Martha, Martha," the LORD answered,

"you are worried and upset about many things,

but only one thing is needed.

Mary has chosen what is better,

and it will not be taken away from her."

Luke 10:41-42

You see, I'm beginning to think I'm a bit like Martha.

Busy, busy, busy--

serving in countless ways--

but rarely wise enough to choose as Mary chose...

to simply sit at His feet-- amidst the chaos, amidst the noise--

and soak up His every Word.

I don't think Martha's choice was necessarily a bad one,

it just wasn't the best one.

And oh, how I could learn a thing or two from her example.

More precious time at the feet of my Savior.

More quiet time in prayer.

More regular feasts upon His everlasting Word.

So... perhaps this year, it's time for a new plan.

A new adventure.

A new opportunity.

A new commitment.

With no resolutions.

No decisions to eat less & exercise more.

No conscious decisions to finally get all those house projects done or

to ultimately please that one person who never quite approves.

No... perhaps it's time to finally focus all my energies on a goal

that has absolutely nothing to do with empty promises and worldly desires,

but everything to do with one single relationship--

the one I share with my heavenly Father above.

You see, this year I'm gonna get it right.

Because when the Father is in His proper place--

at the top of my priority pyramid--

everything else falls into its proper place.

Just as it should.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen.

"For what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal"

2 Corinthians 4:18

One day at a time, one choice at a time, one prayer at a time.

And by His power & grace, it'll happen.

It'll be a whole new year.

One last little thought--

the other day I picked up Priscilla Shirer's latest book, And We Are Changed,

and before I even reached the table of contents, I read through her dedication page,

just out of curiosity. Now sometimes I read such entries, and

other times I just skip right over them. This time, I chose to read the words

she so thoughtfully expressed to her brother,

and I was impressed. In awe. A bit envious, even.

To Anthony:

For living a life of unbridled devotion to God

For stepping out and away from the crowd

For being different

For never acquiescing

For using your talents for Him and Him alone

For not straddling the fence

For leaving the cocoon of mediocrity behind

For living radically and outlandishly for God...

Wow.

Oh, to think that one day... just maybe...

someone might be able to say those very things about me...

Could there be anything better than that??

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12: 1-2