1) Read. More. Last year I read... I don't know. This year I shall aim to read at least 12 books, that's doable.
2) Read. Bible. Honestly I think it's my authority for living and my invitation to meaningful encounters with God. I want my diary to demonstrate this.
3) Guard. Thoughts. So in a few days of lazy thinking I know how quickly I can be robbed of my joy, thrown into inner turmoil and left several steps back from where I'd like to be. To guard my thoughts I first of all must guard what goes in and how I allow the content to swim around. TV shows, opinions, secular statements. I can't withdraw from the world and nor would I want to but it's important that I don't allow myself to be preached at. Preaching is effective often simply because it isn't dialogue, it's one way and I know that without response or counter-balance I quickly feel the weight of the water bearing down on me.
4) Holistic living. Break down compartments, embrace all of life as God-honouring and kingdom implementing. From breakfast to TV to nappies to sermons and Alpha to grocery shopping. My life isn't made meaningful by how many notches I accrue for the gospel but I bear fruit simply by abiding in him. Abide therefore in all of life.
5) Produce more. Not babies, I think I have enough of them for now. No I intend to be less of a consumer of entertainment and information and more of a doer of it. Even if it's just for me and my family I intend to make more albums, write more blogs, do more household DIY projects. Life is made meaningful by leaving a mark, using our hands to do and build and be and make.
6) Fear rightly. So often I do and say what I do and say simply to keep the invisible imaginary ideas of what a particular person or two would want me to do or say or be or do. Fearing man like this is a trap, good only for thing - to trap me. I will aim to fear God more, that is I aim to live with 'that day' in mind. How in practise that works out is that I aim to do nos. 1,2,3,4 & 5 out of and in relationship with the Father. It means that by God's grace I stop at each crossroad and choose gospel centered living and speaking over man centered abdicating and silence.
7) Lead. With conviction. Humbly yes but decisively as well. Deliberate, discuss, seek counsel be open to change but don't limp between extremes, choose only to discuss the finer points.
8) Checkout less. Engage my brain and creativity at home with the family and not just in my own world online, at work or in the church or 'mission'. I feel how easy it is to allow home life to tick over to be an assumed constant rather than an ongoing project. A lot of my life I treat like a project but my home. A project requires thought, creativity and energy, I don't feel I put enough of this into my family. The irony is that I want to finish this post before tending to the crying baby next to me...
done.
2) Read. Bible. Honestly I think it's my authority for living and my invitation to meaningful encounters with God. I want my diary to demonstrate this.
3) Guard. Thoughts. So in a few days of lazy thinking I know how quickly I can be robbed of my joy, thrown into inner turmoil and left several steps back from where I'd like to be. To guard my thoughts I first of all must guard what goes in and how I allow the content to swim around. TV shows, opinions, secular statements. I can't withdraw from the world and nor would I want to but it's important that I don't allow myself to be preached at. Preaching is effective often simply because it isn't dialogue, it's one way and I know that without response or counter-balance I quickly feel the weight of the water bearing down on me.
4) Holistic living. Break down compartments, embrace all of life as God-honouring and kingdom implementing. From breakfast to TV to nappies to sermons and Alpha to grocery shopping. My life isn't made meaningful by how many notches I accrue for the gospel but I bear fruit simply by abiding in him. Abide therefore in all of life.
5) Produce more. Not babies, I think I have enough of them for now. No I intend to be less of a consumer of entertainment and information and more of a doer of it. Even if it's just for me and my family I intend to make more albums, write more blogs, do more household DIY projects. Life is made meaningful by leaving a mark, using our hands to do and build and be and make.
6) Fear rightly. So often I do and say what I do and say simply to keep the invisible imaginary ideas of what a particular person or two would want me to do or say or be or do. Fearing man like this is a trap, good only for thing - to trap me. I will aim to fear God more, that is I aim to live with 'that day' in mind. How in practise that works out is that I aim to do nos. 1,2,3,4 & 5 out of and in relationship with the Father. It means that by God's grace I stop at each crossroad and choose gospel centered living and speaking over man centered abdicating and silence.
7) Lead. With conviction. Humbly yes but decisively as well. Deliberate, discuss, seek counsel be open to change but don't limp between extremes, choose only to discuss the finer points.
8) Checkout less. Engage my brain and creativity at home with the family and not just in my own world online, at work or in the church or 'mission'. I feel how easy it is to allow home life to tick over to be an assumed constant rather than an ongoing project. A lot of my life I treat like a project but my home. A project requires thought, creativity and energy, I don't feel I put enough of this into my family. The irony is that I want to finish this post before tending to the crying baby next to me...
done.