or more aptly titled: my struggle to follow Jesus

Each year comes and goes, and each one brings with it an
overwhelmingly popular tradition: New Year’s Resolutions. To be
honest, I tend to dislike traditions in general. I’ve never been a
fan of phrases akin to: “It’s tradition. It’s just what we do.”
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about tradition when
there’s valid reason attached to it, but tradition simply for the
sake of tradition is something I shudder at and tend to shirk
altogether. (You can call it a personality flaw if you like.)
Suffice to say, I haven’t made New Year’s resolutions in a long
time. Perhaps it’s because I felt like it was meaningless
tradition. Or perhaps because it had something to do with the fact
that most people give up on their “resolutions” before the month of
January is out. But more likely than not, it is due to the fact
that I know I will give up on them without proper support. So I
don’t make any to avoid disappointment. Which is, in my mind, part
of the humor of New Year’s resolutions. The base word of resolution
is resolve. The dictionary defines
resolve as follows: …1. A fixity of purpose …2. A legal or
official determination So when I make a New Year’s resolution, I am
saying to the world, “I am resolved to accomplish…” But I’m not.
In reality I recognize the new year, see the opportunity to change
something (or a few things) in my life, and think it might be a
good idea to make some alterations in behavior. But therein lies
the problem. I think it might be a
good idea. “I think it might” and resolve are two completely
different worlds. So this year, I am publishing my resolutions. I
am determined (or even, dare I say,
resolved) to make some changes. So here they are:
…1. I am going to raise my voice less at my kids. …2. I am
going to start exercising again. Every day. …3. I am going to
read through the Bible in a year (or shorter) and blog about it at
the end of each week. The reasoning behind the first two is pretty
plain. And the reasoning behind the third? Well, I can always read
my Bible more, but what good is reading if you never process it? So
it is my goal each week to provide a summary of what I read, and a
few thoughts or questions based on said reading. So there you have
it. An actual commitment to do something. Feel free to ask me how
any of these are going, especially once the month of January is
over.