Resolutions

Today was one of those days where I felt everything had purpose. I was debating going to church this morning because my day way so full already, and besides, I go to church at night anyways ;) I woke up and felt like I should indeed go so I went about my morning getting ready. Lately I have been feeling the need to draw closer to God, a sense of longing you could say. On my way to church I had a few lines of a song learned when I was a kid stuck in my head.
"Create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit within me"
Right off the bat I knew I had made the right decision in going to church. The first passage read was 1 Peter 1:1-11.
(vs. 5-11)
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Since the first time I read this verse it made sense to me, and I think of it often. The message today talked about all of the resolutions people make, and how without desire most of them fail. He challenged us to make this our New years resolution, and I thought it was a great idea. Then the kicker. He gave us a bunch of verses to reference how we could increase our chances of keeping this resolution and gave psalm 51:10-12.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Umm...wasn't that just stuck in my head right before church??

Tonight message was on gratitude and thankfulness. God commands us to have a spirit of thankfulness in ALL things...whew.
I am deeply grateful for so much, but I was challenged by the question posed of what that looks like from day to day. I have been delighting in the gifts God has given me, especially lately with all of His crazy provisions. The key though, is delighting in the giver, and that's where I can pinpoint my longing for more, I need more desire to know God.
The connection between the two messages seems to get deeper the more I think about it. In 1 Peter, the idea is that we already possess all of those things, we just need to add to them. To me this makes sense, a constant cycle of perseverance, goodness, love, etc... How can that not be a good thing? Then throw is a life that portrays indescribable gratitude? Sounds like a recipe for a good year (and I'm sure for much longer than that)
So there you have it....my New Years Resolutions, to increase and add to my faith, get to know the Giver, and to have a spirit of gratitude in ALL things. Think people will look at me funny when I tell them that??