And Now For Something a Little Different

Well hey there 2011! It didn't exactly catch me that it was really a "New Year"/2011 until I was on my computer on January 1st, and the computer said "2011." Sure we stayed up until midnight causin' a "ruckus" in the house and having Harry Potter sparkler battles (I WAS hanging out with my sister and some high schoolers, after all), but nothing really felt any different. However, seeing it on my computer made me realize, it's 2011... which means, a NEW year, and a NEW semester (well hello there Spring semester!). With that comes a chance to CHANGE. I believe you can start something new anytime you want, you don't really need a "new year" as an excuse. You can also change anytime you want. However, with a new year and a new semester here, it's a good time to evaluate the last year of life, and the last semester as well. So over the past 2 days, I've taken some time to evaluate where I was, the progression of the last year and semester, where I am, and where I actually want to be/where God wants me to be. Like I said, I believe new things and changes can occur whenever, they don't have to start AS SOON as January 1 hits. So I may start some things right away, and others may be a progression over the next several months or the year.
I also don't believe in "New Year's Resolutions." Most of the time, it's just another broken promise. I generally tend to believe that's because people make their "resolutions" on a whim, without thinking through the pros and cons, and what has to happen in order to achieve that "resolution." They see something on TV, or overhear a friend talking and POOF! I have to do that, too. If you seriously think about it, the majority of the "resolutions" people make are BIG picture goals, i.e. lose # of pounds, not eat ____ food, fix the roof of the house, buy a new car, spend more time with the family, read more books, etc. I think the biggest reason why people never achieve these resolutions or BIG picture goals, is because when making these "resolutions" they don't take into account the small pictures, or steps, it takes in order to achieve the overall goal. Let's take "spend more time with family" as an example. If you just say that, you're left wondering how to do that, so maybe you decide, I'll put off my homework. Without any idea of how to achieve the big, we take the wrong small steps, and eventually give up when it doesn't work. With the right planning, such as, a weekly family game night, eating 3 evening meals together each week, not using the computer between 6-8pm, etc. the big goal has more of a chance of being achieved.
All that being said, I thought about my "resolutions," new things and changes to life that I wanted to see happen. But, I didn't exactly take this lightly. I spent some time praying and reading. After reading through some journals, the Bible, and praying this was the first thing I wrote down:


What do I need to do - what needs to change - for me to follow Christ with more faith, more discipline, more love, more devotion?


Here are some big picture ideas:

1. "Back to the Basics" - read the simple stuff again (Has anyone seen the newest version of The Karate Kid with Jayden Smith and Jackie Chan? That's where I got the following ideas.)
• It's about attitude! do not skip over what you think you already know! 
• The basic message of the Gospel is in everything we do, everything we are.
2. "Spring Clean Continually"
• Block and erase anything questionable from the computer and daily activities
• Always re-evaluate your time management and how time is spent
• Learn to say "no" to unnecessary time commitments that overstep priorities and boundaries
• Assess what's really in your heart and mind - and allow God to touch the deep and clean out the junk
3. "Let it Rain" - healing of the soul
• Open your heart, mind, spirit, soul, and emotions to Christ
• Allow God to bring up the deep and painful things of the past - and be willing to go there with Him for healing that lasts
• Allow God to refresh the soul from its journey in the valleys by taking extended breaks with Him
4. "Pray without Ceasing"
• Be in constant communication with God NO MATTER WHAT! - the good, the bad, temptations, struggles, victories and defeats
• Be in constant prayer for others - God works miracles through prayer.
• "Give thanks, with a grateful heart." 
5. "What Are Others Saying"
• Listen to sermons online
• Take time to read more books
• Be mentored consistently by someone in the church
6. "Sharing is Caring"

                **Why do we tell others about Christ? Why is evangelism important to me?

• Because NO ONE else can love you THIS much with THIS much consistency
• because NOTHING - NOTHING ELSE - can fill what we're searching for - NOTHING ELSE WORKS - nothing else cures, nothing else fills, satisfies, completes - NOTHING ELSE  is ever enough - Christ is the ONLY thing that works!
• For this reason, I need to be more intentional in friendships and relationships. In a dying world, on a campus with tens of THOUSANDS of searching college students - they NEED to know. They long for what fills, satisfies, completes - what cures, what WORKS - what makes them right and whole.

Those are some big pictures goals, followed by either some small steps, or some big goals to go with it. Here are some other small steps, or other goals I have to help improve my quality of life. I believe that NOTHING in life will improve without the above. However, as we all saw last semester, my graduate assistant job became my life by the end of the semester. I was so focused on not failing, that by mid-November I lost focus of everything else in life. The following is a list of goals to help all of me stay healthy: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

• Read AT LEAST one chapter in the Bible each day (started in Romans today, see #1)
• Write in this blog at least once each week
• Starting January 5, 2011 - 1 picture each day for a WHOLE YEAR in my other blog 390:Pictures of Life
• no computer after 10:30PM unless I'm doing schoolwork
• if for schoolwork after 10:30PM ONLY the applications that apply to the homework are going to be used (that means no Facebook and no Skype)
• no university/assistantship work after 8:00PM
• make time - at least 30 minutes each day - to read a book that is NOT a schoolbook or the Bible
• re-read Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia
• Find opportunities to continue K-12 teaching, i.e. private lessons (This is huge right now since I have been, and still am in some ways, very seriously considering dropping grad school for awhile. Finding opportunities to teach kids while working at the university may be a way to stay in school another year and a half without going crazy.)
• Go to the Rec Center AT LEAST 3 times each week (more as a stress reliever than a weight loss plan)
• Have a REAL, TANGIBLE, PHYSICAL budget (I need to get on this NOW!)
• Make use of the Kent Free Library as a study/work space
• Have people over to the apt. at least once each month for a game or movie night
• Become more conscious of what I eat to be a better steward of the body God has given me (Note: this has VERY little to do with weight, and more to do with a firm belief that when Paul states in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are temples of the Most Holy God, and a recognition that this does not just apply to the defilement of our bodies with sexual acts, but also by being gluttonous with how much we eat, and what we eat)

I recognize that in my humanness I will probably fall short at some point in more than one area listed somewhere, and it may happen a lot sooner than I'd like it to. That being said, I also recognize that I belong to Jesus Christ, who has already forgiven me for coming short, and that through Him and His Power alone, I can succeed and come closer to Him.

Here we go, 2011!