Resolve

Ah, a new year. Although there's really nothing different between yesterday and today than our observance of this passage of time, I like the idea of using the annual changing of the calendar to recharge and take stock of what I'd like to accomplish. Sure, this can be done at any time of the year, but there's something especially appealing about having twelve fresh months ahead to switch things up.

I haven't necessarily been one to make resolutions or put them down for posterity's sake, but I could use something to blog about today and a small way of motivating myself. What follows isn't anywhere complete, but it should be a good start. So, I present some resolutions for 2011.

-Lose weight/get in shape again.

I might as well put first the resolution most people have on their lists. I lost a fair amount of weight a few years ago and have proceeded to add it back on. Enough is enough. A recurring theme in these resolutions will likely involve making time for something. I need to make time for exercise and for preparing food better for me than whatever junk is easier to grab. I've done it before. I can do it again. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

-Read The Bible all the way through.

Four years ago I was given The One Year Bible, which is arranged in such a way that you read a portion each day and have finished it all by the end of the year. I kept up with it for a month or so, but I eventually fell behind and then stopped. The book has been sitting there waiting for me to pick it up again. Since it starts on January 1, what reason do I have for not giving it another go? I've wanted to make an effort to read more, so setting aside a few minutes for devotions also puts me on the path toward achieving that goal.

-Read more.

Sorry folks, reading pieces on the internet is not the same as reading a novel. I read plenty online, but it's entirely different from becoming absorbed in a book. I have a Kindle and plenty of unread classics, so there's no excuse for me not to be successful with this resolution. Back in the fall I felt a lot better if I read something on the Kindle for 45 minutes or so during lunch. That in and of itself is a habit well worth carving out time for.

-Give more to charity.

All right, this one is going to be a challenge, but it shouldn't all be easy, right? My parents tithe or come close to it, which is something I've always found intimidating. I'm not setting myself to that standard, but having given more to charity last year than I ever have--settle down, it wasn't an impressive amount--I'd like to make that more of a habit. I don't really know how I'm going to go about it, so this might be interesting. I have a church that I attend--infrequently, as it turned out last year--but I'm not involved. (Let's put it this way, I doubt anybody there could name me, and that also applies in reverse.) So it won't necessarily be a weekly offering. Honestly, I'm thinking out loud with this one.

-When it comes to media consumption, aim for more depth among the breadth.

I suppose this applies to music the most. Rip the CD to iTunes, transfer it to the iPod, listen a few times, and then mostly forget about it because something else has come along. I've read others who seem to feel like they don't listen the way they used to, when you'd get an album and listen to it until you knew it backwards and forwards. I expect this is a product of a time in which there's so much readily available to us than we can ever consume. Still, I've got a plethora of music--I've filled the iPod--and could stand to be better acquainted with plenty of it.