Happy New Year!

I just got back a few days ago from the Williamsburg Conference; it was a lovely four days (as usual). The topic for the weekend was “Deliverance.” (here are the notes I took during the mornings and afternoons and here is the exhortation I gave on Saturday, entitled “Deliverance from Self”)

After the Conference ended, as has been my new tradition over the past couple years, I went out to Virginia Beach for the afternoon, to unwind and reflect on the year. 2023 was without a doubt the most “different” year of all, for better or for worse; as I get older, the years tend to “mush” together. I couldn’t necessarily tell you exactly what year something happened (although my memory still serves me fairly well in that regard), but I can say for sure that I will never mistake 2023 for any other year. A lot changed; some good, some not-so-good.

But this isn’t one of those year-end letters where someone tells you everything they accomplished.

I got back to Richmond that evening and put together a list of goals (not “resolutions”—thanks Mike Winger), 26 to be exact. Some of them were new for 2024, others were simply carried over from 2023 because either I failed to accomplish them, or figured I could do a little better this year.

It’s now January 3, and I’ve fallen back to Earth; none of these goals was going to be achieved on Day 1, or here on Day 3, or even on Day 100, but I’ve hardly done anything to get there yet (part of it, without trying to make excuses, is that I’ve been a little extra tired; I stayed up too late at Conference, didn’t sleep well any of the nights, and began the Conference with a mystery [minor] illness). I’ve gone right back to where I was on December 27, before heading to Conference. Every year before I go, I find it hard to “flip the switch” into being in the right mindset. Yet, somehow, when I leave and the calendar turns to the New Year, it’s easy to flip the switch back to “normal.” It reminds me of the man written about in James 1:23-24, who sees himself in a mirror, then walks away and forgets what he just saw (interestingly enough, one of my goals was to every day read the YouVersion Verse of the Day, and meditate on it for a few minutes, and maybe write a paragraph on it to share at a later time. This verse—James 1:22-24—was yesterday’s Verse of the Day and I didn’t even know it until this morning). I know the context is a little different, but the idea is still the same. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (another goal for the New Year: finish what you start). Actions speak louder than words, and at this time of year it’s very easy to resolve to make changes or set goals without doing anything further; people even joke about New Year’s resolutions because they know that they’re incapable of actually going through with what they resolve to do, humans don’t have a very good track record when it comes to getting things done.

The good news is that it’s only January 3; we’re just about one percent of the way in to 2024. What better day than today, to set some good, positive, helpful goals, and to get started? It doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul; just baby steps. Do one percent better every day and this year will be a success. Make today important. Ask the LORD to help you every day: to make good choices, stay focused, and to give you joy in all you do.

Grace and peace,

Dan