2010 in Review - Part 2

Tonight, I want to look at the last of the spiritual resolutions that I made for the year and begin looking at some of my personal goals. 

4.  Read through the entire Bible.  Sadly, I must admit that I have never accomplished this task in a single year.  I don't become frustrated where you would expect -- in the Laws and the prophets -- since I find these passages fascinating.  Where I struggle is when I hit the familiar stories that I've heard since childhood.  I find myself getting bored when I know what is coming next.

I've tried so many different approaches to reading the text that I now struggle to find one that I think might work.  I have stumbled upon one that I plan to use in 2011.  It's published by Discipleship Journal and has only 25 selections each month;  the absent days in the schedule allow for the inevitable period of getting behind in the reading.  I'm not trying to study Scripture with this approach;  I simply want to get a good overview of how things are put together.  I am really praying that 2011 will be the year that I finally do this and stop feeling guilty about it.

5.  Travel to one U.S. city I have never visited.  There were no problems accomplishing this one.  In addition to my normal visits to Houston and Los Angeles, 2010 also took me to three new cities -- Honolulu, Branson (Missouri), and Frankfort (Kentucky).  Obviously, I loved my time on the island and treasured getting to explore its landscape with a dear Pepperdine friend, Tiff.  I think we even saw a rare red whale that had gotten washed ashore.....or maybe not......my memory is fading! 

Branson was a berg that I had always avoided.  I pictured a place filled with geriatric patients on walkers listening to lots of country music.  What I discovered is that Branson is a charming little place that has something for everyone.  The food was great and I thoroughly enjoyed the Chinese Acrobats show.  I'm already scheming to see if I can escape for another weekend soon.

Frankfort was a business trip - one of three job interviews I had in 2010 - so I didn't get as much time to explore as I would have liked.  However, I was fascinated by the city and hope to get back there as well when it's not quite as cold so I can walk the historic downtown area at a leisurely pace.

6.  Schedule one event each week for my personal enjoyment.  This was more difficult that I thought it would be.  Holding three part-time jobs makes a balanced schedule an impossibility at times.  I will gladly admit, though, that I did a much better job of taking care of myself this year than I have in the past.  I consciously found time to attend movies, operas, plays, and readings as well as frequently scheduling mini-vacations throughout the year. 

I plan to keep this resolution for another year, but with some modification.  Movie nights at home can suffice (thank you, Netflix!) as well as quiet afternoons in the park, bookstore, or library.  What I learned is that by attempting to define "personal events" I had backed myself into a corner and made what was supposed to be relaxing another source of pressure.  Lesson learned!

7.  Lose 20 pounds.  Most of you know that I have struggled with my weight for most of my life.  I've never considered myself morbidly obese, but carried enough extra weight that I didn't feel good and battled low self-esteem as a result of my body image.  Weight Watchers was not something I enjoyed necessarily, but I accomplished the goal and lost 20 pounds early in the year. 

Sadly, life happens and focus shifts.  As life became more frantic and my parents grew less disciplined in their weight loss efforts, we all resorted to old habits and regained some of the weight.  I'm not back to my heaviest, but some of the clothes that I bought to reward myself for losing the weight are beginning to feel a bit tighter.  That means that January 2 will be the beginning of another round of Weight Watchers.  I'm expecting more success this time since I know I can lose the weight.  Now I just have to determine in my mind that I am going to finish what I started. 

That's if for tonight.  Tomorrow night I'll take a look at the final 3 resolutions......and we'll ALL find out if I finish the novel I'm reading right now and the cross-stitch project that is in the hoop.  (Always so dramatic....I'll do ANYTHING to keep my loyal readers in suspense, won't I?)