In the past, I have been known to become a little too attached to items of clothing. No -- not like that; nothing weird here. Just simply liking to wear, say, a certain shirt or sweater, more often than I should have.

I remember a ski sweater, blue and white and maroon. It was so very comfortable. When I wasn't at work, and if the temperatures allowed, I had that sweater on. I wouldn't have noticed it if it had not been for the videos my kids made us for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2006. The sweater was seen several times in that montage. It showed up quite often once again in the montage presented by the same offspring for my 50th birthday back in April of 2007.

I don't know how the people around me handled looking at that sweater all winter long. Looking back, the best thing I can say about it was that it was warm. Everything else about it was horrible.

The same goes for the old Mizzou Tiger practice jersey I wore for several summers back in the early '80s. It fit wonderfully. It was one of the most comfortable shirts I owned at the time. Yet, it seemed to be ever present in those days.

The old jersey finally succumbed to the sharp edge of a canoe on a youth group float trip down south. We literally burned it in the evening campfire to make sure it wouldn't surface again after some expert mending.

Truth is, we all have clothes we feel more at home in than others, more comfortable in than others, or even more confident in than others. It's not uncommon for any of us to have our favorites when it comes to what we wear.

It's the same with habits. There are things we do "just because." We act a certain way, often without thinking, because -- much like the old clothing we would rather not part with -- it just feels right. Too many times, those habits may be hurtful to ourselves or to others. At times, they may fill voids better filled with prayer, friendships, or some other, more healthy activity.

As we begin a new year, many of us need to rethink those habits, much like taking inventory of our closets, to see what can -- and should -- be discarded. I'm sure we'd all find a few things we need to pitch and to finally be rid of.

Take it from a man who knows, it only hurts for a while.

"I'm packing up my old clothes, and my old and foolish ways.

They just don't seem to fit me anymore.

I can see the light of morning through different eyes today,

and I'm giving my tomorrows to the Lord."*

* From "Old Clothes" by Randy Stonehill.