HAPPY NEW YOU!!!
On a universal scale, 2007 is not going to be different from 2006. If you had the opportunity to scan the world and make a global assessment of this year, you will find that is was not really different from last year.
Yes we had a tragedy that assumed global dimensions - but then, in reality, we have always had tragedies like that. Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Sudan, Liberia, Sierra-Leone are all the same sad story of human tragedy with different expressions.
In Matthew 24:3-8, Jesus already told us to expect those things in the last days. The point here is there is no such thing as a good year or a bad year. Every year is impregnated with both good and evil.
In 2007, there will be summer and winter, there will be cold and heat, there will be seedtime and harvest. It will get light and it will get dark. Genesis 8:22 "If this year is going to be exactly as last year, then how will things change for you?" The only way things are going to change is when you change. If you want to have a better year, you must become a better person.
The winds of life will blow on all of us. Winds of adversity, winds of disappointment, winds of failure, winds of tragedy, winds of prosperity, winds of opportunity, winds of success and winds of favour. What we become is ultimately not the result of the winds that blow, but of how we have chosen to set our sail.
Everybody in life experiences adversity and setbacks. Adversity is no respecter of persons. The rich and the poor suffer tragedies. The righteous and the unrighteous face challenges. So ultimately, it is not what happens that determines how our lives turn out, it is who we are and how we handle what happens.
Next Year is not going to be a better year because some exceptional favour or opportunity will come your way. It will be a better a year because you become a better person.

"Happy New Year" means Happy New You"

Your biggest assignment and ambition in 2007 should be "I am going to become a better person". Now for each of us, that will mean a different thing; and there will be a different way to achieve it.
Scripture and history testify to the fact that some people break through and become successful in the time of global recession. In Genesis 26:1,2,12-14, Isaac became prosperous in a land of famine. How was this possible? Because Isaac became a better person, the year was a great year for him, even though it was a terrible year for most people.

The only way to improve the quality of your life is to improve yourself. The only thing you truly have the ability to improve is yourself. And when you improve, suddenly everything gets better. So make up your mind that you will go to work on yourself.
Start from the inside, then work your way outwards.When people see you in June 2002, let them exclaim "Wow! You have changed". Let that be more than just your physical appearance.

Three Steps to a "Happy New You"
1. Change Your Thinking
You will never rise beyond your thinking. Proverb 23:7. Today you are the product of your thinking from yesterday. Your choices, your pursuits, the things that you allow or disallow in your life, what you consider to be important or valuable, how you respond to crises, how you handle opportunity is all based on your thinking.
Take time over the next few days and review the conclusions you have drawn about life. Why do you believe what you believe? Is your thinking based on your childhood, your experiences in life or the word of God? It is amazing how even believers have built a personal philosophy that is not based on scripture.
One research showed that Christians and Non-Christians do not differ significantly in their choices and decisions. Romans 12:2. Constantly challenge your thinking on every matter and check whether it lives up to the scripture.

2. Increase your value
A lot of people measure success in terms of how many valuables they are able to acquire. Success should be measured, not by how much valuables you acquire, but how much value you acquire. Remember, the key to having more is to become more. Ecclesiastes 10:10 - The most prolific way to increase your value is to increase your knowledge.
Proverbs 24:5,Hosea 4:6. They lacked knowledge because they rejected it. All the information you require to reach your maximum potential in life has already been recorded. Now, it's up to you to go and find it. Others have captured all of the insights that you will ever need to become a better person.
The greatest moments in human history, the richest experiences of human existence, the most sublime success, and the most colossal failures - all have been freeze-framed in the pages of a book.
Answer these few questions truthfully:
Do you have a bookshelf?
Have you read a book in the past 3 months?
Do you have access to the Internet or are you at most 1 hour away from the Internet?
If you have answered NO, to any of those questions you cannot be serious about increasing your value. Real education begins when you graduate from college. The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.
The question is not "how much will it cost to buy a book?" - The question is "how much will it cost not to buy it?" If you think the price of buying a book is too high, wait till you have to pay the price for not buying it. Wait till you receive the bill for continued and prolonged ignorance.
Every 18 months information doubles in the earth. You should aim to increase your knowledge by at least 50% in that period of time.

What kind of books should you read?
The Bible
Christian Literature
Non-Christian Literature
Biographies,
Easy Stuff
Hard Stuff

"You will be exactly the same person you are today in five years time - Except for two things: The people you meet and the books you read" - Charles "Tremendous" Jones

The greatest person to meet is Jesus, the greatest book to read is the Bible. Your pay cheque is not your employer's responsibility - It is yours. Your employer has no control over your value, you do. Don't forget that money is only a reward for solving problems. Money is a means of exchange and a measure of value.

3. Stick with the programme
Most of us know the right thing to do, we just don't do it long enough. Galatians 6:9 The reason why people are not consistent with personal development is that they try to change too many things. Don't forget you are dealing with your flesh - and your flesh abhors change.
Make it one step at a time. Master one or two areas of change first before stepping into another. Remember, change does not come easy. Even if it seems that the desired results are not coming immediately - stick with the programme. Be consistent. We need to disabuse our minds of the myth of instant change.
NEXT YEAR CAN BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET. IF YOU DETERMINE TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN!