Some years I make new years resolutions; some years I don’t bother. This year I haven’t sat down and narrowed in on one or two things I’d consider resolutions. Instead I am going to continue on a trajectory I began several months ago—a trajectory leading toward control and simplicity. In a wired, digital world, I’ve too often felt like technology owns me and drives me instead of the other way around. I’ve started to try to regain that sense of control, sometimes scaling back, sometimes changing the way I do things. I hope to continue that through 2009 and beyond.
Here are some things you may wish to do in the new year. I do believe I’ll be doing some of them myself.
- Read the Bible Using a Plan. Justin Taylor offers various ways of going through the Bible in a year.
- Commit to Fasting. John Piper gives advice on how to fast and offers six good reasons to commit to doing it in 2009.
- Pray. Piper dives into the Desiring God archives and offers up good suggestions on how to pray for other people (this year or any year).
- Look Back and Look Forward. Ray Ortlund models this in a reflective blog post.
- Make Resolutions. The Point blog quotes David Jeremiah and gives seven great resolutions you could make for 2009.
- Keep Your Resolutions. Matt Perman gives advice on actually keeping your resolutions.
And through it all, keep your attention focused squarely on Christ. Lydia says this well. “If our 2008 retrospective is focused on ourselves, we are missing the point of discipleship. Cross bearing is about death, not self-improvement. The less we think about ourselves at all, the closer we get to true discipleship. … As we consider our goals and hopes for 2009, how about putting this one at the top: ‘For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil 1:21).”
Comments (14) »
1. Jim
January 1, 2009
3:19 PM
I have wrote a few times about my own issues with resolutions and how I am going to face them in 2009.
2. Martyn Link
January 1, 2009
4:38 PM
Hi Tim,
I stumbled across your site a few months ago and have been enjoying reading the posts. As you mention New Year Resolutions, how about this one - reading John Calvin’s Institutes during 2009? Its basically 4 or 5 pages a day for a year! I have started a blog to track my progress and share my reflections on the reading that day:
http://martynlink.wordpress.com/
Reformation 21 are also blogging the Institutes during 2009 and have some interesting guest writers lined up. Should be an interesting year!
Keep up the good work, I particularly like your posts on scripture memorisation. When I was at Uni I memorised Colossians and recited it to my youth group. Its good to see someone promoting this neglected discipline.
Martyn
3. Brian @ voiceofthesheep
January 1, 2009
6:06 PM
Happy New Year, Tim.
It is interesting that Dr. Lloyd-Jones appears to disagree with some of your list. He says,
“What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say:
I rest my faith on Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone.”
4. KJ Plattner
January 1, 2009
7:26 PM
Like your site. Will have to read through it when I am less tired!
Best thing to do in 2009? Live each and every day as a witness to your family, your friends, you co-workers and even complete strangers - whom are all watching to see if you are for real…..
kjp
5. Jeri
January 1, 2009
9:47 PM
This is really good, Tim, a helpful resource. Thank you so much for your selfless service to the body of Christ in 2008. What you do here and elsewhere is priceless, of eternal value. Blessings to you, Aileen and your children in 2009.
6. Ian Hall
January 1, 2009
10:32 PM
“In a wired, digital world, I’ve too often felt like technology owns me and drives me instead of the other way around. I’ve started to try to regain that sense of control, sometimes scaling back, sometimes changing the way I do things. I hope to continue that through 2009 and beyond.”
I find a good remedy for this particular affliction is just every so often to get completely away from the computer and all other assorted gadgets.
7. CKP
January 1, 2009
11:36 PM
I have hound this helpful:
Litany of Humility
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others…
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised…
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected…
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X
8. Fusion!
January 2, 2009
1:46 AM
“a trajectory leading toward control and simplicity”
I’ve noticed a rise in blogs and websites dedicated to simplicity. I think you’re right. We’ve officially hit media overload. Add food (we eat a lot here in the States) and clutter in general, and we’ve got reason to focus on the virtue of simplicity. Have you read “The Power of Less”? It’s a pretty good (and short!) book on the subject. I’ll have a review of it up at my page soon. Congrats on not being a slave to the digital beast! It is definitely something I’ll be seeking this year.
9. A. Sutono
January 2, 2009
3:29 AM
Piper seems to agree with Brian’s comment.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1571_resolutions_no/
10. Brian @ voiceofthesheep
January 2, 2009
9:38 AM
FYI, that blog post on the DG website is not from Piper, but from his Executive Pastoral Assistant, David Mathis.
11. Demian Farnworth
January 2, 2009
2:42 PM
Last year I read the Bible through using a plan and it worked beautifully. Obviously you have to be committed to it. I also fasted more than I have in my entire life. Both exercises expanded my growth enormously. I’ll keep your resolutions in my prayers.
12. Marc
January 2, 2009
11:23 PM
So… A list of recommended resolutions, containing a resolution to make resolutions.
It’s like a recursive MC Escher painting or something
“The Eternal Resolution”
Woah.
13. Jim Brown
January 3, 2009
8:27 PM
No resolutions for me this year…some long term thoughts
My plan for reading the Bible in 2009 changed yesterday to a five year plan to outline every book. I used a one year plan in 2007 and it was great and I was going to do it again but I realized I need to go deeper this time.
Fasting on a schedule is hard but a few of us are trying a Wednesday daylight fast, we got off-track with the holidays but Jesus may have let us off the hook, at least while we’re celebrating his birth, when he said
Matthew 9:14-15 (ESV)
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Maybe we can extend this to a 24-hour fast by summer. Last year I quit fasting when the days got longer; maybe with more prayer I’ll do better this year.
@8. Fusion!
Clutter is a problem for me but at least I notice it now and I resolved a while back to start ‘weeding’ my life and getting rid of the stuff that I should never have added. Maybe, losing my father in September and seeing all the stuff that my mom will have to deal with was the turning point.
God bless,
-jim
http://ke4juh.wordpress.com/
14. Dan
January 5, 2009
7:17 PM
Resolutions are goals and if they are important goals we should make a real effort in realizing those goals.
1. Focus
2. Make it a priority
3. Make the goal a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time bound)
4. Have an accountability partner that has the authority to hold you accountable (it is often to easy to weasel out of personal commitments [excuses not to].
5. Don’t give up when it gets hard.
In some respects we need to focus on ourselves in order to improve on integrity, discipline, and all the other things we should be doing. It starts with a change of heart, which leads to the changes in behaviors that are necessary to realize any goals. It is not done alone, it is done with prayer, patience and practice.
coachwithheart.wordpress.com