Setting New Year’s Resolutions (or “Revolutions”, as I’ve chosen to title them) is quite often just an excuse to set one’s self up for inevitable failure and disappointment.  Sharing them publicly may just add insult to injury, giving those within earshot of one’s intentions reason to hold you accountable, at best, otherwise judge and criticize you, at worst.  So, writing about mine and posting them as my first blog for 2019 may be a very risky affair.  Yet, not having goals or focus areas and not sharing them may also enable me to be less determined and desiring to try.

Here are my top 5 priority areas for 2019. I’d love to hear examples of what yours are.

Faith

Without a doubt this area of my life is the foundation that gives meaning to everything else I care about or care to do.  It’s my compass and my frame of reference for my very being. I’ll continue to guard, nurture and strengthen this with great care.

Family

My faith has given meaning and depth to the value I place on human relationships.  My most treasured of these is my Happiness – my wife, Christa.  Despite having known one another for over 30 years we’ve only been married since 2011.  We have one of the coolest love stories!  She is my Everything here on earth.  We don’t have kids of our own, so we’re deeply grateful and protective of our exceptional extended families, treasuring and honouring our respective heritages deeply.  Every element that defines “family” will remain a top priority to me in the year ahead.

Friends

Having lived on two continents and travelled to five, Christa and I have made many treasured friendships over the years.  Although keeping in touch with everyone should supposedly become easier with the proliferation of social media, it still remains challenging to do justice to distant friends.  Nonetheless, we continue to love meeting new people, nurturing continuing friendships and placing a high priority on relationships as much as our capacity, time and lifestyle allow us to.  We will continue to strive to appreciate the gifts of friendships life has given us and embrace those we’ve yet to encounter!

Fitness (wellbeing)

A recent quote I read stated “no matter how slow you go you are still lapping everyone on the couch”.  I guess that’s true and encouraging.  Unless the guys on the couch are resting from their recent lipid-shredding workout, in which case I’m still hopelessly behind.  But, once again, I hope that 2019 will be the year of reduced strains and muscle tweaks replaced, instead, by renewed progress on the health and wellbeing spectrum.  Rowing, kayaking, cycling, skipping or even just walking.  I’m aiming to make some progress here.

Function (work)

War and civil unrest will leave many who pass through the gates of 2019 merely hoping to survive another day.  Our hearts are stirred and broken for these countless nameless and often faceless Creations.  In the province where I live unemployment continues to rise due to different socio-economic pressures and political short-sightedness.  For many, life has been reduced to eking out an existence to try to make ends meet.  Others may merely be trying to justify an existence.  We were designed and created to work, to add value, to find our niche or passion and do that thing well.  With the help of wise counsel, creativity, awesome people-encounters and Godly wisdom I’m expecting to be intentional about making 2019 a year of life-giving hope and prosperity that goes beyond my traditional small world of influence.

I hope you’ll enjoy journeying with and checking in on us regularly.

Happy 2019!