I resolve to eat less and exercise more. I resolve to watch fewer TV programs. I resolve to spend more quality time with my family.

The quest for these admirable goals begins with high hopes and good intentions until resolve slips a little...then a lot.

I’ll eat less and exercise more... right after lunch and a nap.

I’ll watch fewer TV programs... but that doesn’t include CSI, American Idol, and Eli Stone. Oh yeah... the bowl games. I’ve got to watch all the bowl games.

And of course I’ll spend more quality time with my family... just as soon as I finish doing all the things that I want to do.

When the realization of my failure sets in, oh well. Resolutions are made to be broken anyway; aren’t they?

Yes, in human strength, resolutions dissolve and failure triumphs.

But success doesn’t depend on high hopes, good intentions, or my resolve no matter how firm. It is only in God’s will and by His Spirit that I can accomplish anything at all.

So for this new year as I ponder my hopes, dreams, and plans, my goal is to seek God’s will. Because it’s "‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty," (Zechariah 4:6) that I can turn my resolutions from nuisance into anything of value.

Happy New Year!
May you meet The Divine in 2009
Linda