Happy New Year!!! I know – it’s eight days late! Maybe I should have made a New Year’s Resolution to be prompt, punctual and on time in 2015.

Speaking of New Year’s Resolutions: Did you make one? The research on New Year’s Resolutions is very interesting. Allow me to share some of it. About 40% of the population make them. And the most popular ones? Bet you could list a few. They relate to improving something: physical well-being like eat healthy, lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking, etc. Others relate to improving finances, improving self (more organized, reduce stress); volunteering, and spending quality time with family,

Now for the bad news… In one research study sampling over 2000 people in 2014 found that two out of three people failed at their goal setting or New Year’s resolutions. The majority of participants were confident of achieving their goals at the beginning. The study found that sharing their intentions and getting support improved their chances of success. But the question is why is it that about two thirds of the people fail? Did they set unrealistic goals? Too many goals? Did they forget about their resolutions?

Is it possible that in setting New Year’s Resolutions we are focusing on external changes before we address internal issues? We think that we have the resolve to do it alone; it’s about “ME” and we are strong enough to go the 365 days by ourselves?

On this eighth day of the year, might I suggest that we focus on a daily resolution to start our day? Why not start each day with one verse from the Bible that will be the focus of our thoughts and meditation for that day? There are so many ways you can go about doing this. For a period of time, you could focus on verses relating to a theme or topic like love, forgiveness, or blessings. You could focus on verses from a specific book in the Bible. Think about doing that with one of the Gospels, or the Psalms.Take time to focus again on very familiar but powerful verses (Psalm 23; John 3:16). If you madehttp://home.dailybibleguide.myway.com your homepage, there would be a different verse on your screen each day you logged unto your computer that could be a focus for prayer and meditation.

I encourage you to give it a try, and I’m confident that at the end of the year you will be amazed at the change you will experience.

Some verses to start 2015:

January 1: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want! Psalm 23:1 (Wow! What a promise to start the year!)

January 2: …His compassions they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23

January 3: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

January 4: There shall be showers of blessings! Ezekiel 34:26

January 5: Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1