New Year's Resolutions

As is currently the tradition, this is the time of year to make resolutions, goals about how we wish to improve in the New Year.

I spent my New Year's with some of my closest friends. We laughed, played games, did crosswords, watched a movie, talked well into the wee hours of the morning... and then slept the next day away (well, part of it, anyway ;) ).

These are some of my resolutions for the New Year:

1. I will be more decisive.

I have this unfortunate tendency to put off decisions until the last possible moment, or until someone else makes them for me. In fact, I have perfected the art of conversing in such a way so that I don't have to make decisions. The truth of the matter is that a lot of the time, I don't have a preference. But the other truth is that I am not excused from making a decision because I don't have a preference. At the very least, I would like to get to the point where, even if I don't have a preference, I can offer a suggestion. "What would you like to do, Tara?", "Well, I don't really have a preference, but maybe we could do this." So, no more I-don't-care's.

2. I will remember that physical activity helps with stress management.

Walks are good. Skating is good. Racing to the end of the path/the bridge/the sign/the car is good. When I am stressed, something needs to be working, and more often than not, I let my mind run, rather than my legs. While running legs (or other physical activity of choice) works off the stress and helps to put it in perspective, running thoughts usually just add to the stress.

3. I will breathe Scripture.

It has been ages since I have dedicated time and thought to God's Word. Yes, I have read it. Yes, I have even studied it a little. But I haven't dwelt in it. I haven't spent the time that I ought and I haven't been working to make it a part of who I am. When someone dwells in poetry, for example, the lines become a part of themselves and they breathe it out as they go through life. Lines from favourite poems will accompany thoughts and sights and sounds. That is true for me. I would like to work towards that experience with Scripture.

4. I will find a stronger rein for my tongue.

Silence and gravity are probably words that were well-applied to me when I was younger. I have found a certain amount of freedom as of late, to say what I think and feel, and to be open and honest. However, as with most everything, there needs to be a balance. I need to find a stronger rein for my tongue, or a better filter to put in between my brain and my lips, or better yet, to revamp the course that my thoughts usually take so that I double my thoughts before allowing words to leave my mouth. I would like to bless rather than frustrate, encourage rather than criticize, build-up rather than tear-down. Even just little things like joking sarcasm, or sharing an observation about someone that they may not wish to be known, are things that I would like to avoid doing.

5. I will not be afraid to make mistakes.

I read a quote from an 85-year-old women. When asked what she would do differently in her life, she said that she would make more mistakes. Mistakes, I wrote later in my journal, are among the things God uses to teach us. If we never made mistakes, we would never fall, but we would never improve, either. It is not a sin to make a mistake.

6. I will choose to live joyfully and full of hope.

In the worship song Blessed Be Your Name a line goes, "My heart will choose to say/Lord, blessed by Your Name." Jesus Christ is the basis for my hope and my joy and I would like to choose to live my life out of that hope, and in that joy.

7. I will have fun.

I'm excited for this next year, to see what it holds, what will happen. It is also my last term of my degree (provided nothing unexpected happens), and after that, the start of something new. There is much to be done, much to be excited for, much to plan and hope and dream.

May God's blessings be on this next year and on all of my readers.