Its a New Year...

I don’t know about you but now that we are 19 days into the New Year have you already broken your New Year Resolution. Maybe you were one of those people who vowed to lose weight, stop smoking, stick to a budget, save money, find a better job, become more organized, exercise more, be more patient, eat better, and ________ (fill in your own resolution).

New Year's resolutions have been with us for 4,000 years, ever since the Babylonians began celebrating the start of each new planting cycle. The Babylonians were the first to have New Year's resolutions. The most common promises were to return borrowed farm equipment and pay off old debts. I'm all for New Year's resolutions. But do I keep these resolutions? And what about you? Do you keep your resolutions?

If the Roman god Janus were around today, he'd have a thing or two to say about this. Enshrined in ancient mythology, he was the god of change, transitions, and beginnings. The Romans named the first month of the year after him. Janus was often pictured with a set of keys, in keeping with his role as warden of gates. Shrines to him typically took the form of archways, gateways, and arcades. As for his physical appearance, well, Janus had a face only a mother could love. That's because he had two faces -- one looking forward, the other backward. This showed his ability to watch entrances and exits. Symbolically, it signalled the need to balance our hopes for tomorrow with a keen awareness of what happened yesterday. It strikes me that Janus might know why so many resolutions are forgotten by February. Could it be that we're only looking forward -- when we should be looking back in equal measure? We have New Year's resolutions. What about Old Year reflections?

Christianity is about the opportunity to start again and a second change. As we start 2012 may this be the time for you to experience a new beginning to experience the change you desire to see in your life. I hope that this New Year will be a year of new opportunities and relationships. To explore the new beginning and the chance to change that Christianity offers then why don’t you consider attending the Alpha Course, we start running the new course on January 19. On this evening we run “ A Taste of Alpha” evening to which you would be very welcome to come along to. More info: ring 312037