As 2008 comes to a close, it is natural to reflect back on the year.  So many are making New Year's Resolutions to lose weight or make more money.  As a Christian, we should reflect to determine where we were able to glorify God and where we fell short of following His commands and plan for our lives.  I call on each one of us to resolve to read our Bibles and pray daily for direction in our lives. But more important should be our determination to take the steps necessary to allow us to fulfill where the Lord leads.

I would like to offer three of the resources that have helped me to fulfill my Christian New Year's Resolutions each year.  I pray they are a blessing to you and your family as well.


* Renew Your Commitment to Read the Bible Everyday
One of my resolutions each year is to read the Bible cover to cover.  I wanted to read the Bible from start to finish each year.  I wasn't sure how much to read each day in order to reach my goal.  I'd start off well but toward the middle of the year, I was never sure if I was on track and found that I frequently forgot to read it that day or that I had left my Bible in the other room (The other room was always the room what I wasn't in at the moment!) 

I found a wonderful resource that has helped me fulfill this resolution this year.  Since I am always online in the mornings when I had found was a perfect time for reading God's Word, I decided to read the Bible online.  Unfortunately most online scripture studies that take you through the Bible in one year do so in a kind of jumbled way.  They don't take you straight through the Bible. Instead they give you a little reading from the Old Testament and then a little from the New.  The I found Search God's Word.org.  They allow you to choose which version of the Bible you want to read and give you the days reading in order without having to go back and forth from Old to New Testament each day.  I have found it much easier to keep my resolution to read through the Bible each year using this resource. 


* Follow the Lord's Leading for Your Life
One of the challenges in following where the Lord leads is listening to what He is saying for your life.  How can we follow what we do not hear the Lord saying for our lives? 

I have found that one of the ways in which I hear the Lord best is by listening to how He speaks to others in theirs.  Grace Talk Soup is my weekly podcast where I interview guests about how they heard the Lord lead them in their ministry.  It has helped me a great deal to be able to recognize the Lord's gentle direction in my own.  Here's how you can listen in live but all shows are archived and you can scroll down to Past Episodes to hear any of the previous shows on demand:

When: Thursdays at 8am PST/11am EST
Where: Join us via your computer http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19736 Or Join us via your phone:
Phone Number: (724) 444-7444 Call ID: 19736



* Resolve to Share God's Word More Often
If you have felt the Lord leading you to become more involved in sharing and defending the faith, I would like to encourage you to take the steps necessary that will lead you more effectively in that direction. One very important step you can take is to get a copy of Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith. These are the steps my children and I have taken to prepare us to more effectively share the Word of God with unbelievers in our own family as well as those we meet.   

We have received such amazing feedback about this study.

"This is such a needed class and I can see how easily both boys are learning some of the ways to respond (and ways not to respond) to some of the common things people say. I can see how they are understanding their faith in new, deeper ways and making their faith their own. This class has also helped to facilitate discussion in our family around the dinner table. You have a way of presenting things in a straight forward way that is so understandable.Thank you JoJo" -Marcie, Homeschooling mom of two

And...this coming January we are going to begin offering ongoing online classes teaching this study. We will be going through the study one week at a time and then starting over again. This means that you can join the class at any time and take the class over and over as often as you like. Soon we will be adding lessons from our upcoming More Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith and Even More Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith!  Because there are so many questions and misconceptions the world has about the Lord and the Christian faith.

Our commitment to our customers is to prepare them to fulfill The Great Commission and you and your family can join us beginning in January 2009!  We will be announcing the details on this class soon so keep watch.


One of the recent stories that came across my desk for my Defending the Faith Review newsletter was about an Atheist (Penn of Penn and Teller) who asked why Christians wouldn't share their faith with him if they really believed his eternal soul was at risk.  It makes perfect sense.  If we really believe that Jesus is Lord, that He commands us to read the Word of God, listen to God's leading for our lives and share the Good News with others so their eternal soul is not lost in the Lake of Fire...why would we NOT follow? 

This year, let's resolve to do just that!  Let's make a renewed commitment to read God's Word, to listen to His leading for our lives and to share His love and His free gift of salvation with others.  Make 2009 the Christian year of action.  Let's all take action to walk the walk and not just pay lip service to what we should be doing as Children of God.