New Year… Old Resolutions

Well, it’s typical. I live my life with the same goals day to day, but even I am inspired by the beginning of a new year –the feelings of renewal and the prospect of improvement. And yet, the resolutions of each  new year never seem to vary much…

1. Lose weight
    Yes, I said it. Isn’t this the #1 new year’s resolution for 75% of the American population? Or at least the female population? In truth, I don’t want to lose weight as much as I want to “tone”. That’s the new thing….toning. Oh yeah, and I want those old jeans to fit again. Whoever said that thing about newly-wed couples gaining weight in their unmitigated joy and contentment…was right.

2. Daily Devotions….daily
   During high school, I used to stay over at my grandparents’ house on evenings of a swim meet or when there was a late after-school event (because they lived closer to the school than our daily 30-mile trek). In the morning, when we would be getting ready to depart, eating breakfast, etc., I distinctly remember feeling my grandfather’s unseen presence in the sun-room (two rooms away from the kitchen where we would be eating) and  recognizing that he was sitting in there with a book or his Bible in hand (never was sure which), reading, meditating, enjoying the view of the trees and the foggy cityscape–beginning his day with a renewed dedication to God. This has always been a mental image of inspiration to me. Spurgeon sits on my nightstand, but these days I only open it every third or fourth morning…or evening. This year, I want to open it daily–twice a day, in fact. You know, the whole “morning and evening” thing. Not only that, but we have received a couple great devotional books for married couples–and I know they are worth a gander.

3. Get a hobby
   I have several person hobbies, actually. I love to read, paint, write (as you are reading), cook, daydream….the simply joys of a self-proclaimed artistic spirit. But when you have moved to a new city and have no company but that of your newly-acquired husband, things can get a little dull (which is not to say that I don’t enjoy Patrick’s company; on the contrary, I think he gets tired of me more easily than I of him ). In the end, it is really a good idea to have a hobby that brings you into connection with the outside world. This was much easier during school, when there seems no limit to the number of group activities occurring on any given day…not to mention the proximity. Things like this are a bit more intimidating in a big city. But, I need to make friends. And it wouldn’t hurt to leave the apartment every once in a while.

**Note: I have since found a book club to join, and am looking into taking up an art (oil painting) class with a local artist.

4. Read More. Paint More. Do more.
    This resolution may be a summary of the previous three. I have a very bad habit of taking up a project…and leaving it unfinished after the initial excitement has worn away. I need a little more stamina when it comes to completing these projects that start out with such a wave of inspiration: finishing the painting(s) that sit incomplete in my “art corner” (although I will make excuses till next week about poor lighting, inadequate materials, bad easel…you get the idea); reading the books that I have bought with such expectation for quiet afternoons spent in savoring the written word; actually getting my butt out of the house to accomplish these resolutions I have set for myself. And most of all, not whining about it. It it so easy to get yourself stuck in a rut when you feel as though there is too much to do and too little time in which to accomplish it. The memorable words of my high school swim coach always come to mind when I feel this sense of desperation, “The more you do, the more you can do.” She is right (as she always was)–procrastination is not really anyone’s ally. The concept reminds me of a particularly good sermon that I heard this past summer (if I find a link to the audio, I will add it) where the main point referred to this verse:

1 Thessalonians 4: 1 “Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.”

That phrase “abound more and more” (ie “to excel) is what struck me in this sermon: we, as Christians, ought to live lives that excel in everything we do. In my notes from this sermon, I wrote “Mediocrity is the first step to apostacy.” And it becomes clear to me how true this is–when we let ourselves slide into a mindset of mediocrity, our life for Christ is in danger of becoming stagnant.

 This is the summary of my New Year’s resolutions for 2009 (and any year, for that matter): to more ardently pursue the Christian life by excelling in any and every activity: whether it be cooking, cleaning, daily devotions, meeting friends in a new city or keeping up with old ones–each and every activity in life must be lived to its fullest extent, in order that it might be an activity glorifying to the God who gave us the ability to do it!