Resolutions

A friend of  mine on Facebook posted this article titled, "Trading One Dramatic Resolution for 10,000 Little Ones".   You should read it.  I did, and it reminded me of the blog post I wrote last February about sweating the details.  The author writes that most of us only make three or four momentous decisions in our lives.  He said, "you and I live in little moments, and if God doesn't rule our little moments and doesn't work to recreate us in the middle of them, then there is no hope for us, because that is where you and I live".

He argues that one grand resolution at the beginning of the year- to stop smoking, to lose weight, to be kinder to people, to spend less and save more- won't cause drastic and lasting change in our lives.  Soon it becomes February and the resolve has already lessened.  It's the little moments, the 10,000 little moments that one by one form our lives, that define us.  These little moments build and reveal our character.  As Paul Tripp puts it:

What leads to significant personal change?


10,000 moments of personal insight and conviction


10,000 moments of humble submission


10,000 moments of foolishness exposed and wisdom gained


10,000 moments of sin confessed and sin forsaken


10,000 moments of courageous faith


10,000 choice points of obedience


10,000 times of forsaking the kingdom of self and running toward the kingdom of God


10,000 moments where we abandon worship of the creation and give ourselves to worship of the Creator.



So as we enter 2011 and the hope of new beginnings shines bright, my focus is on the little moments in my life.  I will try to always be kind when I speak to my husband, be patient when my daughter is yanking on my leg and whining "MOMMY!!!" for the hundredth time as I attempt to cook dinner, and be an authentic Christian around my friends.  There's no doubt I will fail many times a day, but that's what grace is for! Each day can be a new beginning.