Clean Slates With Resolutions Dont Have to be Epic FAILS and Disappointments

Its a New Year which means a clean slate... and as Ive always been a huge fan of clean slates... I gear up for yet another amazing challenge.. As I perused my resolutions for 2010, I was surprised to find that I fell quite short.. I chickened out another year from getting my wisdom teeth pulled, I avoided planes like the plague.. I was a few miles short of my running goal.. my "budget" was an EPIC FAIL.. so no "WINNING" for me...

But.. as I said this is a New Year.. and this year.. I wrote approximately 10 resolutions (i.e. goals) and called it a day.. but while reading this years Rick Warren devotional, I was challenged to go a step beyond that.. wow?.. Well he suggested I pray for these resolutions.. hmm.. good suggestion.. because I don't think I did that once last year..

So this year, during a Wednesday night prayer service.. I did just that.. "Lord, pray for me to have the courage to go get my wisdom teeth pulled"... then the next day.. I was challenged to actually write down the obstacles that have kept me from meeting my "resolutions" in the past.. wow!.. ok fear.. anxiety.. money (they are expensive).. laziness?

Then it hit me.. those "obstacles".. are my giants... Fear.. anxiety.. slothfulness.. time management.. These very real giants in my life have been stealing my joy.. have been holding me back.. from attaining a dream..

I make sure that I let everyone know about all the things I achieve in life.. but I never stop to realize the many many more hurdles in my life that I avoid.. skip over.. delete.. place in my "to-do" box.. but never click "finish".. and then I settle... and brush it off....

Now, my resolutions are not life and death.. they are simple.. they include to run a 10k.. go to the dentist.. jump on a plane.. clean the house more.. trivial.. but the obstacles that keep me from doing these things tell such a greater story of the challenges that truly "reign" in my life..

One of which is the lack of prayer.. how many times have I just jotted down some "dreams".. they are filed in my notes on my phone.. only to be looked at a year later.. and these "dreams" become "disappointments"... "lackings".. I brush it off and start again.. not this year.. this year.. in prayer.. and with God's strength.. I will embrace these resolutions with a new perspective.. and someone a lot bigger than me.. to help me win..................