Eighth Day of Christmas - New Year's Day

(Giovanni Bellini, The Presentation in the Temple, c. 1462.
Tempera on panel)

"On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before He was conceived." - The Gospel according to Luke 2:21 (NIV)

A Christian New Year's Resolutions


How can I use the New Year to better serve my Lord? I'll read the Bible every day, and be the more in accord. I'll find new ways to serve others; I'll love my neighbor, too. I'll focus on "give" instead of "get" in everything I do. I'll forgive the people I'm mad at; angry feelings I'll discard; I'll try to love my enemies, even though it's hard.


In the New Year, I'll lift people up, instead of pulling them down. I'll fill my ear with love and joy, and never wear a frown. I'll let go of my worries; I'll put it all in His hands; I'll repent and try to sin less, and obey all His commands.


These New Year's resolutions are difficult, at best, but there is something I can do each day that will put my soul at rest: I'll love my Lord with all my heart, with all my mind and soul, and if I do that essential thing, all the rest will be in control.


- written by Joanna Fuchs