New Year

Well, here it is, another new year, and what am I going to do with it? I've really become disenchanted with the whole idea of new year's resolutions, which is why I have largely ignored the whole idea in recent years. Even this year, I'm not really making resolutions or setting goals so much as I am just trying to make my life count a little more. I know the way you're supposed to do it. You're supposed to sit down and figure out what you want your life to look like six months from now, and then you set goals for yourself, and then you develop an action plan to meet those goals. But, I don't know, that just doesn't seem to fit my personality. I have no idea where I will be in six months, let alone what I want my life to look like. And I don't really have a problem with that. I can be a pretty inflexible person. If I make my goals and action plans too rigid, I become very uptight when those plans get upset. I understand the whole argument about failing to plan is planning to fail, but somehow I don't think planning always has to be done in the prescribed way. In fact, I wonder sometimes if our plans don't get in the way of God's plans for us. I don't know that this has been a big problem for me, but I could see how it coiuld become one. I think it has been a problem with my family at times.

So, even though I'm not following the usual planning process, I do have a few ideas for this new year. I would like to drop about 35 pounds. I don't have any definite ideas about diet, although I think I will try to eat less and better. Maybe cutting out grazing would be a good first step. I do plan on working some exercise into my schedule. I'm setting apart a definitive hour for personal devotions, as well as time for family devotions. I have time specifically designated for reading and interacting with Elijah. I'm moving my clean-up time to the evening so that I will have a little less crazed morning. I'm hoping to add a little sleep to my schedule this year as well. Another big change is the addition of an hour of reading time each day. There are quite a few things I would like to read, but I usually spend so much time on TV and video games that I don't get much reading done. I have not really allowed myself much other leisure activity during the week, so that may be problematic. I guess I will really have to maximize my Sundays as a day of rest. That can be a problem, too, on those Sundays when we hold missions services. I think on those weeks I had better make a Sabbath of my Mondays.

The hardest part of my new schedule is that so much of my day is tied up with missions fund-raising activities. I dread almost every part of this process, but if I don't just bite the bullet and do it, we will never get to the field. Hopefully, if I go at it hot and heavy, 3-4 hours a day, we will have our church schedule filled up, and I can do some other activities during my day.

I can tell already that when Monday rolls around I'm going to want to watch movies and just do these other things as time and commercials allow. I simply cannot afford to fall into that trap. I cannot let another year slip away. I'm already approaching the top of the hill, and I have accomplished so little of value. I want my life to count this year.

I have some other goals. I would like to run our financial records a little differently this year. I want to be able to file my taxes with greater integrity. I want to be more hospitable, a better family member and a better friend. I need to better communicate with Tiffany if that is going to happen, and I need to be more of a contributing member of the family with household chores.