2009

Ten years ago, people were frantically getting ready for the end of the world, also known as Y2K. People were stocking up on gold (maybe that's why we see all these commercials now about sending your gold away in an envelope - seriously, who does that?), non-perishables, water, guns and propane. I must admit, that this year feels pretty weighty to me. It is pregnant with possibility and the unknown. I feel like I should be stocking up on something, preparing for something. 2009 will be a year that will change me. It will be a year that I am stretched in new ways. It will be a year where I learn to lead in ways that I have never experienced before. This is the year that Story Church will or will not get off the ground. It's the year that my baby girl will start school. And it's the year that my bride and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. This year will no doubt serve up many challenges. I may be hit with tragedy. I may suffer loss. I may lose some hair, gain some pounds, let people down, be let down. But I sense hope is in the air. My feeling is that this will be the most important year of my life so far. So in order to kind of hold my feet to the fire, let me share with you some of my hopes and dreams for this year. I have always been a goal setter, so resolutions have always sort of made sense for me. But my wife uses the term "aspirations" and I think I like that. Mostly because if I break a resolution I'll feel guilty and bad, but an aspiration is something to aim for, even though I may not get there. So here they are, my aspirations:

Celebrate. Really celebrate life's great moments. My Anniversary this year is a big one.

Get healthy. I know, it's pretty typical for new year's. Let me break this one down:

Part I - Exercising. I'm really starting to enjoy running (which I started last year, not just on New Year's). I would love to get to where running 5 miles is a pretty normal thing for me to do. In the back of my mind I keep thinking about something like a half-marathon. But maybe that's for next year. haha.

Part II - Eating. I'm also realizing I should probably eat better than I do. Not saying I'm going to start loving broccoli, but I can probably cut back on the grease and lard and eat a salad once in a while.

Guitar. I picked one up the other day for the first time in years. I've played the piano my whole life and have occasionally strummed a guitar. I basically know a few chords. But out of necessity I learned some songs in order to lead worship for our church gathering this week. Now I want to really learn how to play.

Story Church. Oh yeah, then there's the whole church planting thing. Sometime this year the goal is to get a church off the ground in a public way. We are currently a small group of people meeting in my home. This may need a whole post on its own, but I have several goals for this community. For now, I'll just say that I look forward to seeing what God does with this dream.

Posted in: 2009,Aspirations,Guitar,New Year's,Resolutions,Running,Story Church