Resolution

The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

A lot of people like to pooh-pooh the idea of New Year's resolutions, but I'm not one of them. I love resolutions. I love the idea of a new start, and New Year's is the perfect time to do it. Between the Christmas holidays, the New Year holiday, and a few days off of work in between, there is time to think, to plan, to reconsider my priorities and set new goals.

Two years ago, my resolution was simple: to learn as much as I could about Beethoven. I listed some things I could do (read biographies, watch movies, listen, listen, listen, and maybe learn to play a few things on the piano), and I did do a few of them. I didn't become a Beethoven expert, but I did learn more about him. And I now have most of a Beethoven sonata under my piano-playing belt. That all started with a New Year's resolution.

Last year, my resolution was twofold: To be more intentional in life, and to practice hospitality. The Age of COVID was a godsend (literally?) for intentionality ... but not so much for hospitality. Still, while the planned get-togethers and impromptu dinner-invites never happened, I did consciously practice hospitality in other ways, by reaching out to people, delivering baked goods, and beginning work with a local nonprofit. And that all started with a New Year's resolution.

On January 1 of this year, I jotted down some "resolution thoughts" for 2021 in my journal. Like any decent writer, I started with some brainstorming, and that's what you see here. If there is a theme at all, I'm seeing again the theme of intentionality. Focus. Discipline. Scheduling.

Discipline, along with scheduling, is another thing that people like to downplay, as if these things are somehow the enemy of spontaneity or freedom. But it's in discipline that I gain freedom--whether it's discipline in Bible study, in finances, in exercise, or anything else. So I think my New Year's resolution for 2021 is going to have something to do with discipline.

2020 was not a bad year, personally speaking. I enjoyed the time at home. I'm lucky enough to have a job that allowed me to work from home, and we're lucky enough to live in Georgia, which never did have massive lockdowns. But I did get lazy about some things. Even though I played lots of piano and was a champion morning Bible-reader, I neglected writing almost completely, and I started many books that I didn't finish. I also did very little exercise, save for a couple months of walking/running back in the spring. My eating habits also went downhill, thanks to COVID and food shortages. (We discovered frozen foods (pizzas, tater tots, etc.), and we discovered that they were delicious.)

So, discipline. This will hit several areas:

KNOWING GOD: I want to continue my morning prayer and Bible study. I want to more intentionally seek God's will, and be willing to wait for his guidance. I will also be taking a class (starting next week!) on how to better read and interpret the Bible. It will last the whole semester, and I think it's going to be a huge help in my efforts to know God through his Word.

WRITING: I need to get back into my habit of morning pages. My handwriting is getting smaller with age, plus I need morning time for prayer and Bible study, so my goal will be two college-ruled pages instead of three. I also got one of those 5-year journals that has about six lines per day for five years. I want to spend two or three minutes every night writing something in there.

PIANO: I've decided that I'm not going to spend as much time on piano this year, for several reasons. But I don't want to cut it out of my life altogether, so I want to try to play anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes  (or more if I feel like it) every day. I already know this won't happen, so I'm realistically anticipating four or five days a week.

EXERCISE: I've decided to train for a 10K in February, so I've downloaded a training program that will work me to the 10K distance gradually. While I don't have a goal of working out every single day or losing a certain amount of weight, I want to focus on the small, two-month goal of a 10K right now.

HOME & FAMILY: One of my most-hated tasks is cooking dinner. I don't enjoy cooking, and I hate how much time is takes. I despise meal-planning, and I dread trips to the store. I am so glad that I can now order online for pickup. As much as I hate meal-prep, though, it has to be done, and that job usually falls to me. So I've gotten eMeals as a way to help me plan quick, healthy meals.

I'm hoping this tool will help me with another goal, which is to spend more time with family. You would think that, with COVID and lockdowns and all that, I would have spent more time with family. Not really. So that is a goal. We've decided to read together as a family every night. We also need to laugh more. We were way too serious in 2020.

READING: Forty books! I read thirty books last year (my goal was 15), so I'm being ambitious. My reading goal is never a "real" goal, and the number is honestly just a number. I would rather read a single meaningful book than 100 bad novels, so I may end up reading only 15 books this year, depending on what I choose. But I did sign up for the Back to the Classics Challenge, too. You can see my planned books here.

NATURE: My list includes a goal of spending more time in nature. I actually do quite a bit of this already; it's not much, but my daily walk on the nature trail at work is something I really enjoy. That is kind of a discipline in itself, come to think of it. But we are going to schedule more family outings--specifically, more hiking.

SOCIAL MEDIA: I curtailed my Facebook use immensely back in early December. I unfriended the majority of my Facebook friends (nothing personal, really), quit posting, and quit scrolling. I have almost completely quit visiting Facebook, save for some groups I'm a part of, and to donate through Facebook to a couple of charities that use Facebook as their primary platform. Part of my 2021 goal is to continue this social-media fast and focus intentionally on "real life" away from the screens.

HOSPITALITY: This one is still on there. Specifically, my prayer for 2021 is similar to what it was for much of 2020: That God will open my eyes to the need around me, and that I'll have the courage and the willingness to help, and to welcome people into my space.

Is this a big list? Yes. Will I fail to meet all of these resolutions? Of course. But it's a start, and I know I'll make some progress, even if it's not as much as I'd like. It is a comfort to know that, no matter what I plan or what goals I set, it is the LORD who will direct my steps. I can only pray that I'm alert to His guidance and that, where plans are wrecked and goals change, I will see where His hand is in it, recognize that He is still in charge, and be willing to yield to His word.

Happy New Year!

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