New Years is my favorite holiday. I love spending it with my family and friends. Expectations are low. You don’t have to bring gifts or cook for hours on end. You just get to be together. Laughing. Enjoying one another’s company.

The past few years we have gone to one of my sister’s bowling alley to celebrate. This year we instituted a new tradition of playing for a bowling pin/trophy.

But what I love most about the New Year is the feeling of an old year passing and a new one beginning.   I get to say good-bye to the old year. And get to thank God for all that He did in me, through me, and for me.  And I get to shout at the top of my lungs “ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one”…and welcome in the New Year  and all the promise and hope that it offers with shouts and noise makers. What’s not to love about New Years?!?

The New Year is the wonderful feeling of new beginnings and hope. Hope that this year really will be the year you lose that 30 pounds or the year your finances will finally get under control or you will run the 5k you’ve been wanting to run or your house will get organized or this will be the year you climb Mount Everest 😉 …the possibilities of a new year are endless!!

And the fact that my birthday is January 10th and the new year is accompanied by a new age for me just adds to the excitement!

I look at the previous year and see where I’ve been. And I look to the new year and see where I want to go. Where do I want to be at the end of 2013? What areas of my life need to grow? Change? Die? So I spend some time setting goals.

What’s the difference between a goal and a resolution? A goal is an aim; a result or achievement. A resolution is a course of action that one determines to reach goals. I set my goals around one of my life verses.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

Each goal I set has to fit into one of the four areas mentioned in this verse; heart, soul, mind, or strength. Some goals overlap. I try to set 4 goals a year. Anymore than that becomes harder to accomplish. This year is an exception, though. I have set six goals.

Pastor Jim (my pastor/mentor/boss) preached this past Sunday on the theme of our church for the year. The theme is B2B (back to the basics). It so reinforced the goals that I have set for myself this year.

Last Thursday night I was listening to John Piper (one of my favorite authors/theologians/preachers) speak at Passion 13 via live stream. It was an incredible message. The part that challenged me the most was his knowledge of the Word. Not the understanding (though he has a lot) but the sheer amount he has memorized. I felt God challenge me to make memorization a priority. It is a discipline I have gotten out of the habit of doing. The next day I read one of my favorite blogs. The author had written about memorization and what she does to accomplish it. So my #1 goal of 2013 is to memorize the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7). It is 111 verses. Roughly 2 verses a week. I can do that.

If your goal is to draw closer to Jesus in 2013. The basics are where it’s at…reading the Bible, praying, going to church, committing to a Bible study…

If your goal is to live a healthier lifestyle, exercise and eat right. It’s all about the basics.

If you want to get your finances in order, spend less than you make. Basic math.

I am looking forward to all God has in store for me, my family and my church in 2013.