New Years Resolutions...

I know what you're thinking-"isn't it a little late for New Year's resolutions?" Well, maybe...but I guess by starting late the odds are better that I'll keep going for them longer than most people.

I saw an interesting story/survey on Foxnews.com the other day titled:

Not Just Another Manic Monday - Jan. 22 named 'Unhappiest Day of Year'

Isn't that an uplifting story to start your day with? The story begins by saying that researchers say a combination of rotten weather, holiday bills, people's realization that they likely won't live up to their New Year's resolutions and a few other factors make January 22 'Blue Monday'. But it advises people to take comfort in knowing things likely can't get any worse.

I found it interesting that the people who took the survey said that they HOPED to make themselves happier by clearing their debts, paying off their mortgage and achieving financial security. Also in their plans for the next year were reduce their working hours or retire to improve their quality of life. No details were given on how they planned to pay off massive debts while cutting down on their work and moving into retirement. The two goals seem a little conflicting to me.

Nevertheless, I think it's time we make some New Year's resolutions of our own.

Ross- put the dishes straight into the dishwasher, rather than putting them into the sink where I used to think that they were magically transported to the dishwasher (it turns out it wasn't magic-it was Taya).
Complete Toastmasters Competent Communicator and Competent Leaders Track
Read 12 good books (But don't start any new ones until I finish the 6 that I'm already part way through).
Take a college course.
Learn conversational French (I keep telling myself that this shouldn't be too hard because I'm Canadian, and French just comes natural for Canadian's doesn't it? j'espère).

Taya- she's a pretty consistent person, so there's not really any need for her to throw out a bunch of lofty dreams and ideas just so that she can get motivated to complete a few of them. I do enough of that for both of us. She'll keep working to get caught up on her scrapbooks and she also really wants to continue getting to know the people in our neighborhood.

Together- we would like to visit four different countries this year.
Explore some of the fun areas of Arkansas like the Ozarks as well as the highlights of the other cities we'll be working in- like the Three Rivers of Pittsburgh and nearby Amish country, The historical monuments and Philly Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, ride the cablecar to Ybor City (a cuban-american village) in Tampa, and visit the parks and river in Spokane.

Lastly, we would like to look back on 2007 as a year where our devotion to God grew substantially. We've been reading in 1 Timothy and 2 Peter where it says over and over again to "pursue godliness" and "add godliness" to our lives. This year we really want to be encouraging each other to recognize and invite God into every area of our lives- our relationships, our daily tasks, the trips we take, the work we do, the shows we watch on tv, the way we spend money... We think that is the one resolution that will have the greatest impact on us and on those around us this year.

A couple of fitting quotes:
"True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it."~ William Penn

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things."~John Burroughs