Who is making a New Year's Resolution today?
Not me.
I'm done with that.
Back in highschool, our pastor challenged us to make resolutions. I made 3 goals on New Year's that I wrote on a recipe card and sealed in an envelope.  Then on December 31 of that year, we who participated opened them up again to see how we had done.
I remember some vague ones about exercise and eating healthy.  But the one that struck me as a life-changing discovery was the third one.  I wanted to work on being more patient.
When I opened up that envelope and read the "goals", I tried to measure if I had succeeded or not.  The first two I had started to work on well and by year's end, had slipped into slackness.  They were fairly easy to measure if I was exercising and eating properly.  Either yes, or no!
The patience goal was tough.  How do you measure a character trait?
I guess I realized I was struggling with patience.  What I didn't count on was that there were deeper issues in my heart that a mere "New Year's Resolution" couldn't fix!  I didn't discuss the issue with anyone and didn't seek help or counsel.  I remember praying, which was a good start.  But even that had slipped and I was in a pattern of losing my cool and not really doing much about it!
We're all on a journey of personal spiritual discovery.
I see now that I wasn't just an "impatient" person; I was angry and hurt.  I hoped that by setting my will to change that character flaw, I indeed could change.
What I really needed was to allow Jesus in to the parts of my life that were wounded and to deal with the anger at a heart level, not just a behaviour level.
I'm 47 years old now, well out of highschool, and I'm still working on this area of anger and impatience.  Fortunately, Jesus my Healer is patient and kind.  He is changing my heart a little at a time and healing deep within.
So instead of writing down any goals for the new year, I will set my heart on things above and allow the Holy Spirit to do the changing in my life.  If He points out something I need to change, I will cooperate with Him and give Him full access and permission.
Maybe my resolution could be this:
Today and for 2014, I resolve to follow Jesus and obey whatever He reveals to me, with His help. AMEN!