Have you heard the saying, new year new you? My son, Alex, said it the other day while referring to one of his friends. As I was reading the Bible this morning, in Hebrews, my mind was going nuts about the new information I was understanding. I am also reading another book called The Subtle Art of not giving a [bleep] by Mark Manson. This book is also adding new understanding to my repertoire. I will never get tired of knowing something new. I will never get tired of caring for the new me.

The most fascinating thing about “new” is that it replaces”old”. Don’t miss this. It REPLACES the old. Old is boring and [don’t mind my lack of diction] OLD. It is stale and unproductive. No matter what you believe, it is not right, it is wrong. I know you are thinking, “Hey, I like the old! It’s comfortable. It’s sustainable. It works for me. It’s EASY.” Well, despite you’re comfort level in the old, every nanosecond you are becoming new. Every nanosecond the world is becoming new and you are staying old. 

Since I became a Christian, the Lord has been changing me. Sometimes, to be nakedly honest, I hated it. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord in February of 2003. In 2019, it will be 16 years of change, more change, and even more change. It has been filled with sorrow, pain and trials giving birth to this new me. Using the world’s standards, I see this new me as a failure. I have done nothing significant. I spend a significant amount of time changing my mind. From the outside [since no one can see my mind, except Jesus] it looks, to me and to you, as if I have done nothing and as a result gone nowhere. I fight the battle of the “failed life” every day. I spend a lot of time thinking about who I am NOT. 

2019 will be my naked “who I am” year. I am throwing off the old black outfit. Don’t get me wrong, I have been nakedly honest all my life, but only about my negative experiences. I do not mind getting naked about my failures, but my successes are a whole new outfit. I care about my failures because they lead me straight into my success, but they are old, moth eaten and not a flattering colour for me. Every nanosecond I am made new by Jesus. Every nanosecond His mercy covers me. He created me to be clothed in white, but I am continually dressing myself in black. I am going to be a success, throwing off the black this year, and clothing myself every nanosecond in white.  

I will remember the black pile of clothing on the floor behind me but will look upon the white I wear. I want you to see the white also, knowing that it came from stripping off the black, thread by thread. I break Jesus’ heart every time I sew black threads through my white garments. How am I going to combat this habitual sewing of blackness? I think I will end the day with a “Note to Self” answering the question, “What have you been successful doing today?” Since I hate not knowing the answer to any question, I will be sure to provide myself with an answer. 

Happy New Year everyone. What were you successful doing today?

Kathleen is a Christian who has been improving her life skills since her life with Jesus began. In her own revolutionary style, she is using this knowledge to teach and to write novels that teach. 

She is beginning the Hope Devoted Women’s Ministry this year to serve the women of Essex county with what she has learned from Jesus about living the abundant life through improving her own life skills. Her first book in the “Crown for Life” series entitled The White Picket Fence, Crown for Life Pursues Biblical Boundaries has been published and she is writing her second book The Path to Somewheresville, Crown for Life Pursues Biblical Planning in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. 

Kathleen has raised four children and is now spending time loving on her grandchildren. Each day she learns something new about Jesus and her relationships with her family and friends. She has a full life and is proud to be called a child of God.