Have you decided on your New Year’s resolutions?  Every year they seem to fall into one of two categories – things we want to quit doing or things we want to start doing.

Maybe yours are like mine, something about resolving to refrain from overeating and to start exercising regularly.  Resolutions usually involve choosing to change the way we have lived and setting a goal to achieve. Could I suggest two resolutions that will revolutionize your life? 

First, take time to read the best-selling book of all time – the Bible. At first glance, the 1,500 plus pages of the Bible could appear a challenge for even an avid reader. Though it may seem impossible to believe, the Bible’s 66 books, comprised of 1,189 chapters, can be read in one year.

Con-sider the following statistics on Bible-reading I recently discovered.  It takes 70 hours and 40 minutes to read the Bible at pulpit rate.  It takes 52 hours and 20 minutes to read the Old Testament and 18 hours and 20 minutes to read the New Testament.  In the Old Testament, the Psalms take the longest to read – four hours and 28 minutes. The Gospel of Luke in the New Testament takes two hours and 43 minutes.

These statistics prove the Bible can be read from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. Websites like www.biblegateway.com or www.oneyearbibleonline.com offer plans to help you read through the Bible in one year.  It only takes 15 minutes a day. You can even purchase a one-year Bible with daily readings from the Old and New Testament along with a Psalm and a verse from Proverbs.

I’ve found it’s easier to start with the book of Matthew and finish the New Testament first, then go back to the beginning in Genesis. Reading the Bible each day will feed your soul words of life. You’ll find wisdom and guidance on its pages to live by. 

There’s a second resolution that will change your outlook on life.  Give of your time to volunteer this coming year.  Many organizations could not operate without people who will give of their time. 

Churches, civic groups, and caring organizations like the Red Cross, Sav-A-Life and Christian Service Centers need volunteers on a regular basis. You can make our community a better place to live through your faithful service. As one writer put it, “The most satisfactory thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of oneself to others.”

The apostle Paul reminds us, “…forgetting those things which are behind (past) and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

As the New Year begins, choose resolutions that will revolutionize your life and make an impact on the world around you.