In case you don’t know me quite that well, I am a planner. Since high school, I have purchased a shiny, bright new planner every year. I also keep a journal and have kept all of those on my shelves—again, since high school. I also have a daily to-do list and check everything off meticulously.
In other words, New Year’s resolutions are my jam (does anyone say that anymore)?
But this year…I’m not sure. There is another part of me that simply wants to say, “Your will be done, Lord.”
Do you know how hard that is for a planner? Hard, really hard.
For several days, I told people that I wasn’t going to make any resolutions this year. I was just going to go with the flow.
But that’s not how God made me. I truly believe we should be who were were meant to be—unless that natural tendency goes against God’s will. I mean, I have a tendency to think a lot of men are cute, but my husband is the one God made for me.
And God made me a planner.
At the same time, I do want to follow the Lord’s will. So, I prayed about it.
And here are the resolutions gave to me (with some made a little more vague since y’all don’t need to know how much I weigh):
1. Pray first thing in the morning.
2. Work on writing a devotional.
3. Show hospitality.
4. Teach less.
5. Be home more.
6. Buy a new bike and ride that bike.
7. Eat more vegetarian food.
8. Get to… pounds.
9. Write a story for our local group’s anthology.
10. Love other people more.
Now, these resolutions (most of them) go against the goal-setting rules. They aren’t precise, they don’t have a timeline associated with them, and I haven’t categorized them according to the different domains of life (physical, spiritual, work life, and social). If you want to write “good” goals, then those are some tips.
But I’m not about writing good goals at the moment…I am about being a “good” person. Now, I know we don’t have to do mighty works to be saved…but I want to do things for God’s glory. And I believe He will show me what he wants me to do, how He wants me to do them, and when. (By the way, the picture above is from the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Catherine in Brussels).
Now, if I can just relax a little…
PS. This blog (Christina's Corner) is going through some changes. I am no longer with Celebrate Lit (I was tired of the constant reviewing and they didn’t like it when I didn’t finish reading a book I didn’t like). I think this is God’s way of saying that He wants me to share more of me. I’ll still have guest bloggers, but just not as many (maybe--I just posted a sign-up and a lot of great authors are signing up--so look forward).
Blessings,
Christina
PSS. Do you make resolutions? If so, do you keep them?
I enjoyed this post. As a fellow "planner" i get it. I love getting my hands on a new planner and journal each January! Your list sounds very doable and sometimes vague is what is needed. Blessings in 2024.
Hi Christina. I am not a planner, unfortunately, and I do not make resolutions. I do try to keep goals in mind, although I'm striving to get better at writing them down. I have also chosen a word for this year: Purposefulness. My goal in choosing that word is to have a clear and measurable reason for doing what I do, if that makes any sense! I wish you much success with your goals for this year. May you find exciting challenges and be richly blessed in 2024!
I do not make resolutions. I have found that picking a word a year is better for me. After all the loss and changes that I went through last year, the Lord laid on my heart that my word this year needed to be Trust. God bless you. Happy New Year.
That's a lot of good planning, good luck getting everything done.