This is NOT my New Year’s Eve/Resolution post. This is NOT the post explaining what God is whispering to my soul as one decade ends and another begins. THAT post is most likely coming, but this is NOT it.

This post IS intended to encourage you to think about commitments vs. resolutions and change vs. sameness. No matter how you feel about making a resolution, we can all agree that a commitment is required for real, lasting growth-producing change. On both personal and environmental levels we can see the blatant needs for change. We all long for things to be better, yet they always seem to stay the same.

My devotional this morning pointed out that the big changes in life don’t happen overnight. Weight is not instantly lost. Relationships are not magically restored. Financial stability isn’t immediate. Physical fitness is not attained upon the completion of even a week of solid workouts. All of these transformations take time and commitment – even and especially when it is hard, tedious and mundane.

Mundane is the word the author of my devotional used this morning. He pointed out we live a life of mostly mundane, ordinary days and that very few of us will have more than a few life-altering days. His encouragement came in the truth that it is in these mundane days that the real spiritual growth takes place The mundane prepares us to be ready for the big days when they come.

So . . . here are few of my thoughts for you this morning, this New Year’s Eve :

1. Pray about it. Ask God what aspects of your life that HE wants to help you change.
2. Set a spiritual goal. This can be tough for me as I struggle with legalism and self-righteousness, but I know it is necessary for me to grow more like Jesus.
3. Seek accountability. My hubby has already been put on notice that I am working through a few things I want to share with him.
4. Take small, steady realistic steps. Remember, as the newness of our commitments fade, whatever we do must be a realistic addition to the ordinary, mundane everyday we live each day in. It is in the little, everyday decisions we make that slowly and steadily the real change and growth comes.

On the heals of that last thought, I also want to recommend the devotional and its writer that I mentioned above. Paul David Tripp’s New Morning Mercies has been a HUGE blessing to me in 2019. I received it as a gift and, have since, given away several copies as gifts. Each day, Tripp provides a grace-centered perspective on life and the gospel in an easy to read and apply devotional. He also provides a scripture reference for further study. No matter how busy life got, this was a simple, easy dose of solid content. No platitudes or cheesy illustrations, just truth, readily digested in ten or so minutes. – Plainly, Tripp shows how the good news of the gospel intersects the ordinary, mundane days of everyday life. This book was and will continue to be a huge catalyst for my spiritual growth.

Please add a comment here on my blog page with what changes God is leading you to tackle this new year or to add a resource that has been influential to your spiritual growth in the past. I would be honored to pray with you as you start 2020 and just might need your recommendation for what God is challenging me with too!

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash