Resolutions & Christmas Decorations

I just finished taking all my Christmas decorations down.. it's kinda sad to do that. It's always so bright and festive and pretty with the red and green and gold... and the Christmas tree lights. I love Christmas time, and I'm sad to see that it's over. It always goes by so fast, I feel. Maybe it just seems to go by faster here since it's not cold and snowy?

I remembered Christmas in Germany this year... The cold, the gorgeous pine trees everywhere, the Christmas markets filled with shoppers buying trinkets and ornaments as well as eating typical German dishes for the season. I remembered the Gluhwein (hot spiced wine) that would warm you right up and the dampfnudel (delicious dumpling filled with berries and covered in an anglais sauce), the reibekuchen (like a homemade hashbrown with green onion and served with apple mouse on the side-which I did not eat), the hot cider, hot chocolate, waffles, people in my town gathering around the fire to get warm and listen to the town brass band play Silent Night. Everyone would sing. No one would say that it was politically incorrect to sing Christmas songs in an open square on Christmas. Not even the atheists would argue that Christmas was not about Christ. I remember having friends over for Christmas Eve dinner.. friends that became family, and being invited on Christmas day. This year we had actual family. Blood family.. haha.. What a strange concept! Both are great, though.

And now the new year has come and it's time for resolutions. Today we had another "Rekindle" event. A women's monthly gathering for fellowship, worship, a devotional, and focus. And today's theme was "Keeping your Hand in His" and we all had to set spiritual resolutions for this year. Not silly goals, that may or may not be beneficial- but extremely important goals.. like how do we draw nearer to God? What can I do to know Him more? So I wrote my goal down on an index card, and am going to place it somewhere I look everyday. And I even have some ladies that are going to call me and check up on me to see how I'm doing on my goal. How cool is that?

Have you set a goal for this year? How about a spiritual resolution?