HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Man, I bet NO ONE has posted anything about New Years Resolutions on their blog yet!!! I’m not big on this type of thing…so let’s just say I’ve set some goals for myself to accomplish in the upcoming year. Following are a couple of those goals:

1. Read the entire Bible: I realize this is a popular resolution among Believers…and, admittedly, I endeavored to do this last year. Unfortunately I was not disciplined enough and quickly got off schedule…WAY off schedule. My “excuse” was that in my quest to READ the Bible I wasn’t taking time to truly study and search for what the deeper meaning was. Oh yeah…I also got to dadgum lazy!!! But Robin got one of those “read the Bible in a year” Bibles…so I’m going to try to be disciplined enough to follow that schedule AS WELL AS be a good student of what God’s word says.
2. Run A Marathon: I’ve run two marathons…but as I approach 40, I feel the need to accomplish something physically challenging. I figure this is the cheapest kind of mid-life crisis for a guy to have…as I can’t afford a sports car (as for the other sort of mid-life crisis…Robin has nothing to worry about. I love her more than the day I married her…and besides, no “young thing” is looking for a dumpy dude with a small bank account, a bald spot that resembles a plus-size yamulke and a minivan). Anyhow, back to my goal. Before children, this was a significantly easier thing to accomplish. Not so much any more – specifically because of the amount of time required to train. Granted, the daily runs of 5-6 miles aren’t that big of a deal – I can get those done early in the morning, during lunch, or late at night. It’s the long runs of 15, 18 and 20 miles that are difficult to incorporate. As slow as I run, you’re talking about investing 2-1/2 to 3 hours on a Saturday or Sunday. And then, once you’re done…you’re DONE! You’re outta gas! And my three sons cannot accept their father sitting on the couch recovering. They have to have a playmate that’s in his late thirties, has bad hair and answers to “Dad,” “Daddy,” “Dada,” or any other of a variety of names yelled at a high volume.. So this will be difficult, but I will find a way! (Oh, and I’d like to do one in a fairly exotic place so I can take my lovely wife with me – she can play while I sweat. See goal #4.).
3. Stop Swearing: I know this probably comes as an absolute shock to both of you, but I have the ability to drop a four-letter word occasionally. Granted, I don’t do it in front my children (I let my wife do that!). In fact, rarely do I do it in front of other people. But it’s a terrible habit I’ve battled since high school. So, in order to combat this, I have created a couple of jars (located at home and at work) that will receive a quarter for every tidbit of “unwholesome talk” that proceeds from my mouth. At the end of the year some lucky organization, to be determined at a later date, will receive this money. (Note: This entry is being written on January 3, 2007…and the jar already contains $1.00. I’m off to a bad start!!!).
4. Become Debt Free: Dave Ramsey is my hero. He helps hundreds and thousands of folks each year become debt free. Robin and I aspire to be two of those people…and by the end of the year, we want to be in that position. I’ve got a plan laid out in my mind, which will be on paper soon, and we’re going to get this done. So watch out eBay – HERE WE COME!!!

These aren’t all of my goals, but they’re the ones that I can share without looking like too much of a buffoon or a sap. If either of you have recommendations on other things I should be pursuing I’d love to hear it!