Every year it is the same. As the new year rolls around I think about what I can do better this coming year. What healthy daily habit can I start on January 1st and try to faithfully do throughout this new year. And every year it is the same. 

Read God's Word. 

Exercising is great. Eating less sugar is helpful. Getting enough sleep or wasting less time will make a difference. But nothing will be more important than regularly saturating myself in the truths and challenges of the Bible. 

I have learned that life lesson the hard way.

At the end of our first 4-year-term in Japan I was a mess. Struggling with depression and spiritually, emotionally and physically exhausted. I woke up each morning in tears, feeling like I just couldn't face the day ahead of me. I was unconsolable and regularly feel apart. 

There were a lot of factors that added to make each day a struggle; we had 3 little ones, age 5 and under. We were generally tired from intense language study and cultural adjustments. We were homesick. We were trying to figure out how to get our babies to sleep and on our own with no grandparents down the street to babysit. 

I look back and realize that I should have rested more. I should have taken time for myself. I should have made exercise and things that replenished me a priority. I should have realized my limitations  and done less. 

But most of all, I should have fed myself the life-giving promises of God's Word. I allowed Satan's lies to onslaught me and I forgot to grab my sword of the Spirit and hide behind my shield of faith.

Those were difficult days that showed me that if I wanted to last in ministry overseas I would need to make some changes. So I planned some just-me-away time. I started running. I found some hobbies and outlets that inspired and energized me. I gravitated to life-giving people that replenished me. 

But most of all I read God's Word. I began to realize that yesterday's nourishments weren't enough for today's tasks. I needed it every 24 hours. It is what would keep me steady and sane, grounded and secure. God's Word is what brings hope and healing, life and longevity. It is what keeps me going in the desert of missionary life. If I don't feed myself, I will starve. 

So this new year you will find nuggets of Scripture tacked up. Precious promises discovered. Reminders of what is true and who God is. You will find a stack of books to greet me at the breakfast table. A Devotional, hymnal, prayer book, journal...and most of all my Bible; scribbled and tagged, underlined and noted, highlighted and bookmarked. 

Again this new year I will try, and soon fail, to read God's Word daily. I will forget and stumble, get side-tracked and struggle. I will return and remember. I will soak in and swallow up. I will read and meditate on God's Word which is what I need for this day and for this year.