New you or better you?

This year as I hear all of these comments on creating a "new you" for the new year, my heart hurts. I'm just as guilty as anyone with using the beginning of a new year as a way to redirect my attention to positive changes in my life. At what point do we stop attempting to recreate ourselves and just try to improve ourselves? Personally, I engage in some spiritual activity at the beginning of every year, not out of habit, ritual or wanting to change who I am, but out of a desire to let God have the first of my year to chart the course of my life for the next twelve months and to shape me into who He created me to be. I do not seek for a "new" me to emerge, just a better me. There is so much about myself that I treasure and love – I would never want that person to disappear. January offers so much more than just a time to "get fit" physically, emotionally or financially – yet EVERYDAY we have the opportunity to make the choice to change something. Maybe you seek to eat better, date more, save money, drink less, quit smoking – whatever your desire is for 2012 shouldn't hinge on the fact that a new year offers the chance for a new you. Lamentations 2:22-23 says "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." That scripture doesn't say "new every year." It says "new each morning." Each day you awake and are able to place your feet on the floor – you have an opportunity to change the course of your life. Why wait until the beginning of a new year? Why not make a conscious decision each and every morning to try something new, eat better, love more, share often, and be positive. If you wait for tomorrow, you may find yourself never having arrived. Set goals – yes, work hard –yes; but do not trick yourself into believing a failure one day will not lead to victory the next. Keep trying.

I realize this post is all over the map today. There is so much I want to share with you about the revelation God is giving me, but I can't do so yet. Let me just leave you with the thought that you are abundantly blessed and ridiculously loved by your Creator. God cares for you more than you or anyone else ever will. Give Him the best of your effort and watch Him bless the rest.