diff --git a/log.go b/log.go
index 828619f8..ac04b203 100644
--- a/log.go
+++ b/log.go
@@ -15,14 +15,11 @@ func init() {
 	Reset()
 }
 
-// You might want to call this after resetting tendermint/go-config.
-func Reset() {
-
-	var logLevel string = "debug"
-	if config != nil {
-		logLevel = config.GetString("log_level")
-	}
+func SetLogLevel(logLevel string) {
+	resetWithLogLevel(logLevel)
+}
 
+func resetWithLogLevel(logLevel string) {
 	// main handler
 	//handlers := []log15.Handler{}
 	mainHandler = log15.LvlFilterHandler(
@@ -42,6 +39,17 @@ func Reset() {
 	log15.Root().SetHandler(mainHandler)
 }
 
+// You might want to call this after resetting tendermint/go-config.
+func Reset() {
+
+	var logLevel string = "debug"
+	if config != nil {
+		logLevel = config.GetString("log_level")
+	}
+
+	resetWithLogLevel(logLevel)
+}
+
 // See go-wire/log for an example of usage.
 func MainHandler() log15.Handler {
 	return mainHandler