It’s here!  Twenty sixteen is off to a great start!  What will YOU do with a brand new year that God has given to you?

There is just something about having a fresh start, a clean slate, a white canvas on which to paint your masterpiece this coming year.  You can do great things this year.  You have it in you.  It is in all of us, too.

Did you make any resolutions?

Are they like most that will be hitting the gym to get in better shape or going on a new diet to lose some weight?

Or, have you gone deeper and want to strengthen your relationship with Jesus?  Are you going to start reading your bible more and praying more often?  That is a GREAT resolution, by the way!

Maybe you’re tired of the senseless drama that certain people bring into your life so you’ve decided to distance yourself from those people.  Please know that there is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself and staying clear of those that try to bring you down.  You do NOT have to tolerate foolishness in any way, shape, or form.  Just as you shouldn’t tolerate disrespect either.

Perhaps you’re vowing to reconnect with friends or loved ones that you’ve lost touch with along the way.  This may just be the very year that you let old grudges go and allow peace, forgiveness, and love to take its place.

This is YOUR year.

Let go of hurts from the past.  Likewise, let go of anything you cannot change.  If someone did something to you in the past, forgive them and move on.  Carrying hard feelings with you will only hurt you more.  It doesn’t do a single thing to the one you’re holding the grudge against.  That is like drinking poison and hoping someone else will die from it.  It doesn’t work that way.  Harboring ill feelings in your heart hurts YOU, not them.  Let it go so you can live in peace.

If you have a bad habit that you’d like to break, start today.  Little by little, you CAN break that habit.  Give yourself grace if you slip back into it, though.  When you are ready, nothing will stop you.

This brand new year is yours.  There is so much potential before you.  This is YOUR year.  Make it wonderful!