Non-blogger by nature

So the only thing I can think of that's been consistent this past month regarding resolutions is my devotionals. For exercising, I did jog a mile around the track but after the first or two laps I had to slow down and walk to catch my breath for a bit. It's pretty sad, it shows I really am out of shape. I haven't ran for a week now, so I should start doing that again this week. "Should."

On the other hand, my devotional time has been really good and more consistent. I've definitely been getting a lot out of it from been reading from Jesus' parables and the commentary I've been using. The commentary has taught me a lot about Jesus' parables, even ones that I've known since I was a kid. The one I read today though is one that I'm not quite too familiar with. Here it is from NLT version Luke 13:6-9:

Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

So we're the fig tree. I'm the fig tree, you're the fig tree too. What I learned about this parable through William Barclay's commentary is although the fig tree failed to produce fruit the gardener still believe in the fig tree - even when it failed. Jesus has a tremendous amount of faith in what we could become despite the many times we've failed. Or to say it more personally, Jesus has a tremendous amount of faith in me and what I could become despite the many times I've failed.

And that gives me hope.

I normally don't do New Year resolutions simply because I believe if I wanted to do something new for myself, I shouldn't have to wait until New Years to do it. But I realized that shouldn't deter me from doing something new for a change, even if it's the beginning of 2010. Sure, I've failed a lot in my keeping New Years resolutions in the past and chances are I will probably fail again, but I think what I want to do this year will be fun and worth trying. So here we go, my list of New Years resolutions:

Blog more often

Before Facebook and MySpace became popular, there was this blogging platform called Xanga. (Remember that?) It was, at one time, the the medium the coolest thing ever my friends and I used to stay connected with each other. I remember logging in almost everyday or several times a week to stay on top on what's going on in my friends' lives and sharing some of my own personal thoughts. But ever since Facebook and other social media websites came along, my friends and I hardly use it now since FB is much more versatile and can do much more than what Xanga could do. But one thing FB really lacks though is an online environment where you can really get to know a person. At most, you can find out what their interests are, their bday date, their latest activities, etc. FB does have a feature where you can write "Notes," but that's it. This is where blogging really shines and beats FB, depending on the person who uses it. Hopefully I'll use it well this year.

Get back into shape

A year ago I was taking this martial art called muay thai or "Thai boxing." It was the most intense workout I've ever done in my whole entire life. I remember my first day I had to take a quick break to walk outside to get some air because I was so dizzy that I also threw up. But the big motivating factor for me to work out that hard was that it was fun. Unfortunately, I had to stop since I lost my job and the gym closed down due to the recession. I probably won't be able to pick it up again since other kickboxing/muay thai gyms in the Tacoma/Seattle area are incredibly expensive about $100+/month, but maybe start running outside. That's free. But it's going to be hard to stay consistent since I don't have someone yelling at you to keep at it like my teacher Kru in the muay thai gym I went to. But I definitely need to work on my cardio, it sucks. So my goal is run 1 mile, 4 days a week. Ack.

Studying Mandarin

Another hard one to stay consistent at, much like running. It's something I've wanted to master since last year, but hardly stayed consistent. It's mostly because I was learning on my own without any structure using Chinesepod. I'm pretty sure I could get better at it when I create and utilize a structured process. It would be great if I could get some help from other people as well.

Get consistent in devotionals

Of course, last in the list but not the least important. I think overall last year devotionals were slightly more consistent in previous years but this year I'm aiming to not just try to do them more consistently, but share what I've been learning or going through. Hopefully that'll help some people their walk and maybe help mine as well.

Get a job

This is pretty much self-explanatory.

I think that's the Big 4 Big 5 right there. If I can think of any more, will add them here. And will update more this week.

I think snowboarding is the best winter sport ever. Tomorrow will be my 6th time this season. Hopefully the 6th of many, many times this year. =)