So Many Resolutions
January 2007

The January article is always the hardest for me to write. Everywhere you turn is a pep-talk for the new year. Some of this info is very good, some is not, and some gets old. At a certain point, I reach my max and tune out. That being said, I enjoy the thought that some people actually read this, and the last thing I want is for you to tune out. So making the January article both relevant and engaging can be difficult...let me know how I do.

As I stated before, advice is all over, especially in January. It's as if every self-help book has been released simultaneously! How to save money, lose weight, or fix a relationship. We are inundated with advice. Life goes on and this too shall pass. Usually the end of January closes the self help books, and we return to our regular schedule. If you're like me, you relish the return to normalcy. Since October we have been decorating, baking, eating, shopping, and planning. Some people call it the post holiday let-down. I just call it freedom!

The return to routine after all the cleaning and undecorating is a welcome release. From now until June is the most routine schedule I have all year...and the most complacent. The start of the New Year begins with high hopes and expectations. By February the new is gone, the expectations have been lowered, and we (me anyway) have relaxed into a cherished routine. There I sit until summer forces a change. I don't think I'm lazy, I'm just tired. The race of the holidays can be so overwhelming that who wants to step straight onto the treadmill?
The problem becomes, how do we harness the excitement of the New Year, and balance it with some practical and reasonable expectations? What drives us to push through and start yet another race? Whatever motivates you is, well, up to you. For me it's the fear of regret. I believe that life is precious. That we should enjoy the journey rather than fear it, and that regret is a choice made in our daily lives. I ask, "What do you want out of life, and what must you do today to make this happen?"

Routine is nice, but it is also dangerous. One day becomes two, two days become a week, weeks become months. You get the idea.

I don't know what your resolution is, but I pray you have one. Our lives are a gift from God, so let's enjoy them and cherish them. Use the energy of January to do something you have always wanted to do, and do it to the glory of God.

Chris Jones
Director of Recreational Ministries