It’s that time of year again! When everyone laces up their new runners, purges all of the leftover Christmas sweets to “get serious” about their new year’s resolutions.
For many, it’s a time to “start fresh,” “get healthy” and take advantage of a “clean slate.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m fixin’ to get in shape with the best of them this year. But I have some new year’s resolutions that I hope to make priority over my lousy attempt at running a mile every day.
Being a Millennial Mom, I know that the future of our world rests on my generation’s ability to share the gospel and introduce others to Jesus. So, while being fab, fit and fun in 2024 sounds tempting, here are Seven New Year’s Resolutions that will actually leave a lasting effect on your year.
7 New Year’s Resolutions
Boldness
This isn’t the type of boldness that comes from a Lumineers music video. Our generation tends to gravitate to this “YOLO” (yes, I did just use the 2012 word of the year) mentality. Running away from responsibility and falling in love, or doing something juvenile in the moment “because it feels right,” should not be mistaken for boldness.
Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us who can ever be against us?” God calls each of us to be bold—to speak out in courage for what is true and righteous. To be bold means to go against the grain, to step out in faith and to lead in ways that honor the Lord. Boldness comes from your confidence in Jesus Christ. I pray that 2024 is a year that we, as Christians, and Millennials, will go boldly in the direction that God has called us to.
Heartbreak
If you’ve ever had your heart broken by a person, you know that it’s a feeling you would never wish on anyone. So it probably sounds silly that I would hope to be heartbroken this year.
But, having your heart break for what breaks Jesus’ heart…that’s something that will CHANGE THE WORLD.
I pray that in 2024 you would let God break your heart for what breaks His. For the hurt, for the lost, for the broken, for the children, for the homeless, for the rich, for the disabled, for your fellow brothers and sisters who desperately need the love of an all-knowing and all-consuming savior.
In turn, I pray it sets a fire deep in your soul, and you remain forever changed. Heartbreak this year is one of the big resolutions we should all be striving for.
Connection
Not a wireless one.
Connection is everything. We long to know and be known, all while living in a microwave society where we can have just about anything at the click of a button. Literally. Amazon just released those.
In 2024 I hope to have a connection that can’t be found in the newest piece of technology. A connection to God with prayer, connection to others with authenticity, and a dis-connection from the latest Netflix original series that allows me to procrastinate the connections my heart longs for.
My heart longs to be closer with Jesus and with those who He’s strategically placed in my life at this very moment. As a Christian Millennial, I would bet that you long for the same. I pray that 2024 is a year of connectedness.
Journalism
Growing up as the ’90s kid that I am, I remember everyone from Lizzie McGuire to Amanda Bynes having a super secret diary that could NEVER been seen by anyone EVER! And of course, the one person to always read it was a sneaky little brother.
In 2024 I want to have a diary, but not one that’s private. I guess as an adult, we call that a journal. There are a lot of times that things in life don’t feel like they’re going right. The best thing to reflect on during those times is a journal of the incredible ways that God has already gone before you and blessed you, pulled you out of a mess and saved you.
Start with a simple list. Write down 25 things that you are thankful God has done. It can be anything from breathing to the job you have the privilege of working. I bet you’ll find that 25 lines isn’t enough. Not even close.
Don’t keep your journal private. Use it to give God praise, to help others, to revel in the Lord’s miracles—big and small—and to look back on when you feel far from God.
Take this year to write. Document. Blog. Do whatever it is that will let you live in constant reminder of the valleys you’ve survived, the mountains you’ve climbed and the UNBELIEVABLE love that God delivers every time. You will NOT be disappointed.
Health
I know, I know, this is on everyone’s list of resolutions, but this one is different. Health is not limited to a treadmill routine and kale for lunch. In 2024, I pray that you would have a healthy heart, a healthy mind and a healthy spiritual life.
Having a healthy heart sounds easy to do, but Lord knows this life is hard. Satan knows how to use the junk of this world to make your heart hard. DON’T LET HIM. Keep your heart healthy by letting things go and forgiving others. Focus your efforts on God—not the pain and hurt of this world—and release your heart of anger and resentment. Holding tight to that junk is like drinking poison and expecting it to kill the other person.
Build a healthy spiritual life with the foundation of a healthy heart, a longing for connectedness and a discipline of seeking the Lord, daily.
And for goodness sake, get your mind healthy this year by getting Satan’s lies OUT OF IT. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.”
Those nasty thoughts you have about yourself, the criticisms you repeat without hesitation…they ARE NOT FROM GOD. So make it one of your resolutions to get them out of your mind before they destroy you.
See, 2024 can be a healthy year, without even lacing up a pair of running shoes.
Authenticity
The older I get, the more I find that authentic people are difficult to come by.
I don’t think it’s their fault. I know that Satan is really good at convincing people that they are not enough. As a result, people have become really good at working too hard at “being enough,” and losing everything that makes them authentic. I’m just as guilty of this.
I pray that 2024 would be a year of authenticity. That you and I would strip ourselves of what we think we need to “be” for others, and trade it for what God has made us to be—authentically me, authentically you.
When we are authentic and real, we find community that is also authentic and real. Being that we long to belong, I believe that authenticity is the only place to start. Go be you.
Inclusivity
Y’all, the church has a bad rep when it comes to exclusivity. It’s easy to say “come as you are,” and then turn around and judge someone for doing just that. I know, I’ve done it.
I pray that in 2024 we would be inclusive. That we wouldn’t judge people based on their appearance or past, but that we would love them the way Jesus does.
Christ didn’t hang out with the righteous. He was in community with the liars, cheaters, adulterers and outcasts. If we are to live a life like Christ, then it is a privilege to be inclusive.
I usually like to entertain the idea of new year’s resolutions, and like the rest of the world, I usually suck at keeping them. The good news is, there are 52 Mondays in a year to “start fresh,” and 365 days in a year to start over. I pray that my 2024, and yours, is packed-full of every single one of these. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
