Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a lovely NYE this year. We had a quiet night - though I successfully managed to stay up to midnight this year, which is an achievement! It was fun counting down at 8pm for the kids (they're still a teensy bit young to wait up for the family fireworks, which worked out well because we didn't have to explain the meaning of Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl which blared out during the display). I thought the fireworks were impressive, but it made me a bit miffed that in these times of economic hardship we're spending $5 million on a puff of smoke. I guess it's the same principle that makes cosmetic companies do well at these times - the world seems to be a dark place, so we pamper ourselves a little to make us feel better.

Anyway, I've been thinking about my new quote of the year, and have narrowed it down a little. I've looked at a couple of greats so far: Luther, Foster and Lewis. Some quotes happened to be in a clipart collection I own, so they're all pretty:

I liked this one, because we can have a tendency to worship the bible rather than Jesus. Yes, the bible is indeed God's word that can make us wise for salvation, but we must fix our eyes on Jesus. The bible should always be an arrow pointing us to him, rather than an end in itself.

I liked this Richard Foster quote, because Noise and Hurry are my constant temptations. With small children, finding time to sit quietly with the Lord is an ever-present struggle, and too often I give in to the urgency of the moment rather than spending time with my Creator.

CS Lewis I liked, but it's a bit long. I'm looking for something more pithy:

According to Christian teachers, the Utmost Evil is pride. Unchastity, greed, drunkenness and all that are mere flea-bites in comparison. It was through Pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

Pride is often the "hidden sin". It can make us easily condemn others while missing the plank in our own eyes. It can make us resentful of the successes of others, while doing things for the praise of men rather than the glory of God. It is entirely possible to be completely consumed by pride while convincing ourselves that we are devoted to a lifetime of "ministry". 

CS Lewis is leading the pack at the moment, but I'll look for a little while longer...