Are you a New Year's resolution maker? Or are you someone who used to make New Year's resolutions but never kept them and so now you don't even bother? Wherever you fall on this paradigm, a New Year is a good thing. It is a great time to evaluate your life and to make adjustments if needed. There is an old adage that rings true, "A life not evaluated is not worth living."

One of the things that has always discouraged me is to meet an unfulfilled dreamer. Someone, who when they were young, had great visions of the life they would live, but then never did anything to make those dreams come true. Unfulfilled dreamers often find themselves discouraged, disconnected and discontented.

My prayer for you is that 2013 would be a year of fulfilled dreams. A year of vision and purpose, a year that you can look back on one day and say, "That was life well spent."

What is something that you have always wanted that you have never taken the steps to pursue? Or maybe it has been so long since you have even dared to dream, like the man who is too afraid of his own laziness to make New Year's Resolutions. My advice to you is to take a moment this month to evaluate. Write down the things in your life that you are excited about, that give you energy; and then the ones that you could do without, the ones that drain you. After that, take a few moments to think about your dreams, where you want your life to be in the next year, five years, and even 20 years. The next bit of advice is the most important: After you have taken this time to evaluate where you are, ask yourself, "What is my next step?" What is your next step? What is the one thing that you can do today or even this week that will get you moving in the right direction? Ask a friend or mentor for advice if you don't know where to start. Finally, have the courage to take that step. Don't make excuses, don't be a prisoner of your fears, take the step.

A year of fulfilled dreams, that has a nice ring to it doesn't it? I pray God's richest blessings on your and your family in 2013 and I am excited about all that the Lord is going to do in your life this year. He created you for greatness, and I have great hope that with him all of your dreams will come true.

Jason Dees is a grateful follower of Jesus Christ, the husband of Paige and the father of Emery Anna. He is also the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington.