2014 is here!

I trust you ushered it in with grace and peace welcomed you.

In the South it is traditional to have black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Years Day. The black-eyed peas represent coin money; the collard greens represent green money. So…if you have those on New Years you will have them during the year! Makes for a good story – I have no idea if it is true but, since I like both black-eyed peas and collard greens I have a pot of both on the stove! Hedging my bets!!

Did you make a resolution? Or two. Everyone seems to  make a couple. After the holidays in any group of folks you might be asked, “What is your New Year’s resolution?” It is assumed. We make them but too soon are defeated. I don’t make them… I make commitments.

Last year I commited to read through the Bible in a year with a group of folks from my church. It was a challenging task – especailly since I was on the road so much. But I did it!! I heartily recommend you do it.  Get a Daily Walk Bible in the New Living Translation. It makes it so much easier to read. But even so some of it was tough going. Like Leviticus! And then we rushed through the Gospels and Epistles. I want to go back more slowly this year; dig deeper.

This year I want to memorize more scripture. As I get older, I find memory work so much harder to do. I can recall the scripture I memorized when I was younger far easier than that which I do now. And I was bad about learning the “addresses” – I may know the verse but not exactly where it is found. I feel that that makes me illiterate! I bought the Topical Memory System which is the Navigator’s scripture memory course. They are the leaders in scripture memory so hopefully I will find that  helpful as a launch out more intentionaly.

It is a discipline…I must cultivate. For my spiritual growth but also to exercise my brain. So that is my commitment for 2014…Not a resolution.

What is yours?