I Resolve!

I'm batting .250 on 2011's New Year's Resolutions. I really only accomplished one out of four, although all of them were certainly within my grasp. However, I am proud of the one resolution I fulfilled, which was to read four classic books I had never read before. I think I devoured seven. My new Nook allows me to download a lot of classics for free.

However, I am resolving to start 2012 anew, with a brand new vigor, fresh vision and determination to change for the better. I've been more excited about January 1st than December 25th, to be honest. So, here we go again, with a list of resolutions for the new year.

1. More Bible, Less Facebook.

The Bible can change my life for the better. Social Networking leaves me frustrated and aggravated with people and their constant drama, bickering, lack of morality and filthy language. How much better to allow God to speak into my life next year? I've already taken the first step by creating a private "get-away" prayer room at the church where I can be alone a couple hours a day for study and communion with God.

2. Get Healthy

I've learned that I need to concentrate on my overall health, not just my weight. I enter the new year with arthritis in my hip, a certain sense of confusion in my heart, and a pot belly. All three have got to go in 2012. Prayer and fasting will be part of my regular routine.

3. Financial Stability

My days of labor have passed the halfway point. Should God delay His coming and I live long enough, I don't want to be working 50 hours a week at the age of 70. We WILL dig out of our financial troubles this year and put away for retirement.

4. Ordination

I finished the requirements for Ordination with the Assemblies of God this summer, but in order for me to feel that I can go ahead and apply for the 3rd and highest level of Ministerial Licensing, I have to get resolutions #1, #2, and #3 in order first. It's one thing to earn it through study, it's quite another to deserve it through living.

5. Cook Like Robert Irvine

Of course I'm being a bit silly with this one, but I do want to be a better cook. I would like to prepare more homemade, low-fat healthy dishes other than my amazing pancakes. And they are amazing, I might add. I watch Robert on Food Network, and he makes cooking fun, tasty, and above all... simple. More food from scratch, less food out of a can. Sounds like a good idea to me.

And there you have it. In short, I want to end the year as a new person who doesn't recognize the one who began it.

Here we go.

Sorry, Charlie

It was the best of books, it was the worst of books. And I've given up on it. I admit it... I just don't understand "A Tale of Two Cities." I've been picking away at it since sometime in January, and I finally admitted to myself that I'm not going to get through it anytime soon. I had an easier time with Shakespeare back in High School. There are a few breakthrough moments where Mr. Dickens' writings cause my jaw to hit the floor... the poetry and prose are just that good. But I'll be doggoned if I understand a word of it.

So, I'm back to reading my favorite classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird." I vowed I would read four classic books this year. I don't recall absolutely stating they would be four classics I'd never read before. Although, I suppose that was the intent .

Here it is the first week in June, and I'm finally on track again with my New Year's Resolutions. By now, I had hoped to have reached my weight goals, have surpassed my expectations by having read 12 or more classics, and be well on my way to reaching the other two unspokens. How's that working for me? Not so good! By the first of the month, I was one pound over my 2011 beginning weight, and Mr. Dickens seemed to have me permanently stuck on book #4 for eternity. But you know what? I feel renewed. Maybe it's a sense of frustration, or maybe it's just the break in the weather. I finally feel "on track."

I've lost 5 pounds this week, and actually feel the confidence that I can get my eating habits back on the track I strayed from. Believe me, I can tell when my self-confidence is waning, and when it's at its peak. I finished up my internship for ministerial ordination, and I'm off to Church Leadership School for a week starting tomorrow: Both part of my two aforementioned unspoken resolutions.

So, time will tell. Check back in September and we'll see how it goes.

Does anyone have a copy of War and Peace?