2013 Reflections through Lists

Referring back to this lovely post that I wrote a year ago, here's all the great ambitions I had for the past year:

1. Read through the Bible in a year.  Check!  As I wrote on Monday, I finished this resolution a day early.  However, I was reading this article about resolutions, I wholeheartedly agree that there is certainly an amount of grace you need to allow yourself.  It's okay to fall behind, or miss a day... or even a month... of whatever it is you are pursuing.  Resolutions are not rules that bind us, but should be considers goals to strive for; they certainly don't dictate our value as people and are not tools for judging (read: condemning) ourselves or others.

2.  Gain healthy weight in the form of muscle.  Mega-fail.  The most active time for me is summer, and I barely did any biking this summer.  I didn't work out.  And I probably gained pounds of fat instead.  The problem here was that I dramatically overestimated the amount of free time I was going to have this summer while watching Evelyn.  Oh well.

3.  More blogging.  I only had a meager 26 posts this year, and most of them were Bible Study questions, or favorite verses.  So, I'd say this wasn't much of a success either.

Even if I did only do well with one of my resolutions, I'm satisfied in reading through the Bible (and more) in a year.

Highlights of 2013
1. Evelyn.  Simply put, the birth of my first child is by far the brightest spot of the year.  Of course, she had her moments of frustration - but watching her grow and develop and learn and smile and run and all those other things babies learn to do the first year is an amazing sight.  In particular, I will be fond of this summer that we got to spend together, even if she was only taking 15-30 minute naps most of the days.

2. Spiritual Growth.  I know that I'm growing closer to God's, but some years it is more evident than others.  No doubt through the commitment to read through my Bible, this was a great year for Spiritual growth.  At Good Shepherd, we studied the Gospel of Mark, and we continue to do so.  Personally, I also feel that God has been disciplining me in patience and forgiveness.  I'm blessed to have a Father in heaven who is eager to bestow upon me that discipline, as well as other blessings.

3.  Regents Scores.  After my first year of teaching and performing at beyond disappointing levels, this year's single event of joy was the day I received my test scores - I wrote about it at length here.  To be validated and confirmed in the work that you do is one of the only gratifications people and receive from working.

Tomorrow, I'll roll out my resolutions for 2014.