I won my first hand of poker with a straight. It felt really good to collect all my chips. Winning was a high. I think January 1st is a type of high too. The year is clean, no huge mistakes to feel guilty about. Just 365 days of blank pages. You can imagine my disappointment with myself when at 2:30 pm I am still on the couch covered in fudge crumbs. Yah, productive, not exactly. My brain went to a bad place. "You have already ruined your diet goals and productivity goals before dinner." Then, I had a revelation.... PAST FAILURES SHOULD NEVER KILL FUTURE HOPE. As long as I am breathing, there is still time to make positive change. So, I got up, took a shower, and determined to finish out my day stronger than I had started it. The first thing on my agenda was to read my Bible. God's goal for my whole life is my sanctification. If I want to me more like Christ, I need to know where He is leading me. He uses His word to speak to His children. My Bible reading in 2013 was poor. My goal this year is very simple. Read until He speaks to me. I was awed when my Abba father met me this afternoon in Matthew 2 and 3. After that, I wrote my resolutions and lots of affirmations in large black marker. I need truth around me constantly. The rest of the day was spent going to dinner and cleaning my house furiously. If you feel the Lord pushing you towards growth, in any area, my encouragement is this- MOVE FORWARD and when you mess up, MOVE FORWARD, and when you succeed, MOVE FORWARD.