Happy 2024, blogosphere! And what better way to kick things off on this fresh, new set of calendar pages than with a BLOG POST! December 2023 was one of my least productive blogging months in recent memory. So, I want to start this month on a writerlier (??) footing.

And this is not just any blog post, mind you. This is a post on the thoroughly original, highly creative topic of NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS!

Allow me to explain… for the four of you still reading. In the past, I have engaged in the practice of resolution-making. Long lists of habits I wanted to break, habits I wanted to start, attitudes I wanted to adopt, and personal goals I wanted to achieve in the coming year.

I will confess that some years my list of resolutions included a lot of “low hanging fruit.” I have, for example, resolved to match every inhaled breath with a companion exhale. Or to try and ensure that my socks matched most of the time.

No more.

This morning I have decided that my lengthy and boring resolution list can be pared down to ONE ITEM. I have concluded that everything I aspire toward in 2024 can be summed up thusly: This year, I am just going to resolve to be more like my dogs… Rosie and Patrick.

Maybe you should, too!

For starters, I would love to have the unbounded joy and fascination they seem to feel toward their world. Wherever we go for a walk, both dogs are eager and alive to every nook and cranny of that place. Even if it is the 4,239^th time we have been there! They stop and sniff. They dive in and explore. They never take any stretch of sidewalk for granted. You would almost think each walk was a brand new, fresh adventure or something! 

But seriously, isn’t it? As Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us; “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I would also like my 2024 to demonstrate a bit more of the unconditional love of PEOPLE that Rosie and Patrick exhibit. This fondness can be a bit much sometimes as you will discover if you ever come to visit us here in Fort Collins, CO. You will be met at the door with more excitement than the team delivering the Publisher’s Clearing House grand prize. They will eventually calm down, but then will lay at your feet, gazing up lovingly as if to say, “YOU are the best thing that has happened to me today!” 

They don’t judge. They don’t hold grudges… even when you leave home without them. They are never snarky or sarcastic. And even when you’ve had a bad day, Rosie and Patrick will be sure to remind you that you are a treasured and beloved creation of a loving God… unique and unrepeatable in every way.

What if I acted like that? I mean, it IS kind of biblical, too. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12, NRSVU).

The final quality of these wonderful Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers I seek to emulate in 2024 is their unflinching dedication to NAPS. And it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, where they are, how many people are calling, texting, or posting to social media. If it is time for a nap, Rosie and Patrick will just TAKE ONE! No ifs, ands, or buts. They have transcended the need to prove their worth through their productivity and busyness. They are secure in the knowledge that if the thing doesn’t get done today, there is always tomorrow…

Or the next day…

Or the day after that.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I do not plan to mimic ALL of Rosie and Patrick’s behaviors this year. I will not, for example, put any random thing I find on the ground in my mouth and gnaw on it. I WILL use prescribed restroom facilities. I will not yell through the fence at the neighbor’s dog just because he is out in his yard. I won’t cower in fear when the garbage truck comes to collect the trash. 

Outside of those few caveats though, I feel like I may have discovered the perfect models to pattern my 2024 life after…

Oh! And Jesus. Of course, Jesus. 

Never forget Jesus.

Abundant blessings for 2024 and beyond;