As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,] my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

Galatians 6:14-16 NLT

Hey everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Last week I was spending time with family for Christmas so I took a break. During that break, I wrote and spent time with family. Then I got the urge to do something new. Not drastically new like cut my hair or quit my job, but something subtle and small. I wanted a new logo. As I was asking God what my new logo should be, and the design above is what He gave me. He brought my attention to the other two hobbies I love doing, Writing and Archery. He showed me that not only do they have my love for them in common, but something else. The decision to start and finish, is up to me.

In Archery, I can make a choice, and start by picking up the bow. Then it’s an easy decision to get into my stance. I can even nock the arrow tight. It might be tough, but you know what, I can even decide to draw the bow back. But in the end, to finish, I have to release it. I have to follow through. If I don’t, I’ll be stuck in that drawing postion, carrying all that weight and tension till I break.

In Writing, I can have an amazing concept and idea. I can choose to pick up the pen. It might be a hard find, but I decide to start with a word, then a sentence, then a paragraph. Soon, I’ve written a page and then multiples of pages. But then in the middle, I’m hit with the question, how do I end this? And I get stuck, because there can be so many ways to end it. It can be happy, or tragedy, or funny. And then I start to wonder if my theme got through, if my characters make sense. I get distracted by questions. If I don’t choose to finish, to keep moving forward, to follow through, I’ll just have another unfinished piece stuck in a moment.

The scripture in Galatians doesn’t stop at just being transformed into a new creature. It goes on to say: “….all who live by this principle.” We are new creatures fully invested in God and His mercies are new every morning….if we live invested in Him. If we don’t let things of this world, weights or worries, or anything get in the way of that investment. You can be a new creature all day, but you have to keep living as one. If a butterfly started to walk around as if it was still a caterpillar, how would its wings grow in strength to take it away from predators? It has to act like a butterfly to be one.

So during the start of this new year, don’t be quick and eager to start. But be ready to live, to follow through, to finish. Ask God, let Him guide you and invest in your future. Replace start with one of those three: live, follow through, or finish. Would those resolutions be the same?