I won't speak of things I need to work on as "resolutions" anymore. It never allowed me to resolve anything and in fact gave me slight bit of nervousness during the entire year. From now on I'm going to refer to them as goals; things I would like to achieve this year and if not that's okay. The term "goal" reminds me of it being some sort of sport and I'm not good at sports anyway so even if the chances of me succeeding in this list is a 5 out of 10 I would say that it is going to be a good year.
1. Main Thing To Be Main
My main goal this year that would encompass all other goals would be to draw closer to God so that He in turn will be true to His word and draw near to me. I fear I had been slacking a lot in that area and I desire to have a more sensitive heart to what He desires, rather than selfishly pulling away to do what my sinful flesh may desire.
2. Sharpen Skills
As I have grown older the days seem to be getting shorter. I no longer have the same amount of 24 hours as I had 5 years ago. With that in mind, and looking back this past year, I've noticed a significant amount of procrastination done on my part in relation to growing in the gifts that God has given me. Sure, I may not be great at math, nor mix any chemicals to create a piece of gum, but I do like to draw and I've been told I'm okay at it, so I'm going to start nurturing that side of me once again. I miss painting and perfecting each stroke and color with as much precision as I can and I hope to do that once more with a mindset of glorifying God in all of it.
3. Wiser Financial Choices
With my previous statement regarding me being horrible at math, I am also pretty bad at managing my finances. I'm going to try and get a better grasp at saving and spending wisely. As a child I used to love saving and had multiple piggy banks around the house but at some point it just didn't seem like a big deal to me. Money was just paper and to be greedy of paper didn't seem reasonable in my mind. Of course as an adult in society, I do see the necessity of it (to a degree) but I still have that detached mindset of money being ridiculously worthless, which I still have to see if it is a healthy way of thinking of finances in general.
4. Hoard Less; Give More
Majority of my life has been related to moving around or simply staying in a cramped area. Because of my sinful tenancies I started to hoard. Not hoard useless things but things that are indeed necessary but are not needed at a constant rate. For example I would hoard a lot of art supplies; papers, paints, easels etc. I could probably open up shop with all these items. Majority of the books I had I didn't read them anymore simply because they are already stored away in my brain or because as an adult it no longer speaks to me a specific way so I have brought it down to a low "one shelf amount". I don't have that much clothes either but it's overwhelming at times to think about the amount I do have. My goal in relation to that this year is to get rid of as much junk in my life as possible. Whether it be giving it away or selling it to someone, anyone that is willing to take it off my hands. Life is short, I cannot take anything with me when I die, plus Jesus said to give away one tunic to those who have two. So I pray that with an obedient heart I may follow through on getting rid of at least 50% of what I have on hand at this moment by the end of the coming year.
5. Time Management
Alongside not being able to measure the weight of money, I also have a difficult time managing my time in a more productive manner. I am more exhausted yet sleep later and in turn have a deprevation of sleep. I should get off my phone more and really dive into doing more of the first two goals I mentioned. Phones are just too comfortable and quick. Enough to captivate my patience lacking mind. It needs to change and fast. May the Lord grant such wisdom in my short life.
Pretty basic things I need to work on just like anybody else yet due to the people I've surrounded myself in the recent months I am horrified and humbled to see just how much focus, stability and patience I lack in my life compared to those around me. May the Lord grant me sanctification and draw me closer to Himself...
