I recently discovered a free app to list all my books, music, movies, recipes, and anything else I might want to catalogue. So, the other night, I completed listing all the 120 books I have in one of my bookcases. This included 18 books on various Bible characters, 11 Bible studies, 5 biographies, 15 on Christ’s life and teaching, 29 on spiritual growth, 6 on prayer, etc.

Also included in the list were 23 devotional books. Most of these contain a reading for each day of the year, while others are for 31 days, 40 days, etc. Why do I have so many devotional books? Because at the end of each year, I purchase a new one to start on January 1. This year, however, I decided to pick one I already have and re-read it.

While I sometimes make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or exercise, I often quit after a couple of weeks. Sometimes, I resolve to go through a box of clutter each month, which usually ends after a couple of months. But having daily devotions is something I decide to do each year, and generally, I keep that resolution every day.

One year, I read through the Bible instead of reading a daily devotional. Each day, I kept reading until one particular verse or phrase stood out to me. Then, I would underline it in my Bible and jot it down in a small calendar I kept with my Bible. That was several years ago, and from time to time, I still pull out that calendar full of special verses and reread them. They are still meaningful to me, perhaps for different reasons than they were initially, but God continues to use them to bring blessing, direction, and teaching.

Something you might want to journal

What are some New Year’s resolutions you’ve made? How did you do at keeping them?

Are there any particular books of the Bible, verses, devotionals or pieces of music that stand out to you? Why?