I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to slip away and play a round of golf with some good friends. We’re rarely able to all get together because of our crazy schedules, but it worked out one Tuesday morning and we met at the course for a day of, well, entertainment more than anything else.

Aside from being good friends, we always enjoy playing together because we’re all admittedly lousy golfers, so none of us feels pressured to compete or embarrassed by our bad play.

Now, I have to be honest. When you’re a lousy golfer, the first tee is always intimidating. There are usually people waiting their turn to tee off behind you, so everyone watches you drive the ball. I think I’ve prayed for a good drive off the first tee a thousand times in my life. Most of the time, it doesn’t work. Maybe it’s God’s way of keeping me humble.

But another reason I enjoy playing with this group of friends is that we all agree that a mulligan is allowed on the first tee. That’s a do-over, a free pass, to hit another drive if your first drive stinks. Now, that takes the pressure off, because you always get another chance to redeem your dignity and start your round off in a good, positive way. Believe me, that makes a huge difference in how the rest of the day goes!

You know, I think we all could use a fresh start from time-to-time…a clean slate, allowing us to begin again and make things positive right from the get-go. And there’s no better time than right now to do just that.

But how do we do it? How can we make sure we get off to a good start today or this year? Well, we’ll look at God’s Word and God’s plan to make sure we can have: A Fresh Start for a New Year. That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today.