My One and Only

Like many others, I've been thinking about goals and resolutions as 2011 draws to a close and we begin another calendar year. I was actually hesitant to post about such things, as it seems like such a cliché to blog about resolutions on the eve of a new January. But then I realized that although I don't really get excited for New Year's or celebrate it in a big way, my favourite part of this post-Christmas holiday is that it is a natural time for us all to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the coming one.

During one of my sleepless nights this week (there have been a few, recently), I grabbed the journal on my nightstand and started making a list of my goals for 2012. There are a lot of them, mostly self-improvement related rather than adventures/activities I'd like to experience, but taken as a whole they make for a somewhat formidable task. Ever the optimist, I usually have a lengthy list of things to accomplish during the new year, the summer, my week off, the month before Christmas, etc. And while goals are healthy and can provide great motivation, sometimes they can be more daunting than helpful when they stack up like a pile of dirty dishes.

Thus, in the spirit of simplicity and to focus on what's really important, I have only one resolution this year. I will not let anything (aside from a true crisis/emergency) get in the way of spending intentional, daily quiet time with God. Too often I choose other things, less important things, over this necessary discipline, foolishly allowing the general busy-ness and seemingly "urgent" matters in life to crowd out what's truly essential. If I wouldn't go a day without eating and sleeping (that wouldn't be healthy!), why would I go a day without feeding and giving rest to my soul (also not healthy)?

To help me stick to this resolution, I'll be following Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading System for each of January's 31 days. There's nothing extra-holy or super-spiritual about this plan over others, but since I usually just work through a book of the Bible at a time during my devos (reading a chapter or so per sitting) and have been doing so for years, I thought this emphasis on reading for quantity so you become familiar with the whole of Scripture would be a nice change of pace. We'll see how I feel after a month, but I've heard a whole lot of positive feedback from others who have tried this method so I'm hoping I will find it as beneficial as they have. For other options, including a very tempting choice which is chronologically organized, you can check out this list by Ligonier Ministries, which includes some of the most popular Bible reading plans.

Psalm 1: 1-3

Blessed is the man
   who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
   or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
   Whatever he does prospers.