Have you seen the commercial where the kid describes his goal for the new year? My New Year’s “Revolution,” he says, is to eat more jelly beans.

I think he’s on to something. Not the jelly beans. The revolution.

While there’s never a bad time to focus on what changes will help change us, the new year is a natural time to do that. So, if you’re considering what things to commit yourself to in 2014, let me suggest these:

1. Read. The Bible. Thoughtful stuff. And good stuff. Something that doesn’t have Fabio or a sports hero on the cover. In the Bible, I’d suggest reading through one of the gospels (try Luke, which we will be spending some time studying at Fern Creek Christian); a New Testament letter (Colossians is a good short one; Hebrews is a bit heftier); and an Old Testament book (how about Genesis, for starters?).
2. Pray. Not the simple and familiar: God bless me and my family. Try the revolutionary: God change me. I need You. Our world needs You. If prayer has been predictable for you, make 2014 the year when it moves into the life-changing. Make this the year when you move from saying nice prayers into saying necessary prayers. The kind your life depends on. After all: isn’t that the point of prayer?
3. Connect. Prayer is vital for the journey. So is having the right traveling companion. If you don’t have someone in your life with whom you can share life — I mean, really share life — then find one. If you have one, carve out time this year to spend with them. Let them kick you in the butt when you need that. And let them throw an arm around you when you need that. It’s this simple: do you want to grow deeper in the the life God has for you? Then you will not do that without someone in your life to challenge and encourage you.
4. Love. Your family. Your annoying neighbor. Your boss. The lady who walks her dog by your house everyday. The guy who serves you at your favorite restaurant. Find ways to grow, and touch others, by choosing to intentionally love those in your life. And as you do, remember that love is action before it is affection. Remember that love is what you choose, more than it is what you feel. And wouldn’t 2014 be a great time to choose to be fully engaged with and available for those in your life?

Let’s not settle for a 2014 that just happens to us. Instead, let’s live revolutionary lives — ones that are changed, and ones that bring change to those around us.