We made it! All the way to 2025. Big whoop, huh? Is it really all that great to merely survive? For some, it probably was a major accomplishment to get here. Congratulations! Really. That doesn't mean things can't get better though, amiright?!? As my friend Jason Ringenberg once said, "The point is dying if we don't live when we're alive!" So, here we go...
- I've never really been into making resolutions, but starting the calendar over does seem a good time to start some new habits or recommit to some old ones. I have decided to read the bible through again this year. I have done it many times, did it for quite awhile every year, but it's been... awhile. I actually think m'Lady has begun to do the same! We are using this original The One Year Bible NLT (though we have the paperback version from 1996). There's a newer/cheaper paperback edition now, as well as an app. This isn't my favorite translation, though it's far from my least, but I prefer using a paper book instead of digital. So far, so good!
- One thing I've discovered just in the first few days of reading the bible from the start is how alive it really is. I mean, I've read it a number of times, but already I've noticed things I either completely forgot, or I simply never noticed. In particular, I really want to look into Genesis chapters 5 & 6 right now. That's some funky sh... stuff.
- Speaking of books, I did finish The Narrow Path by Rich Villodas. I have to say, I was a little disappointed. To be fair, I don't think it's because it's a bad book. Mostly I think my expectations were a little too high. I did a lot of reading on spiritual practices this year, and this just happened to be the last one (for now). So it's probably a really good book (it got a lot of great reviews!) and it was just not a good time for me to read it. It is very readable and I like his writing style and the format of the book. I've just started Eugene Peterson's 1993 book Where Your Treasure Is. As he writes in the preface: "I have written a book for Christians who want to do something about what is wrong with America and want to plunge into the center, not tinker at the edge. I have chosen eleven psalms that shaped the politics of Israel and can shape the politics of America, and I have taken them seriously in the way that they were intended to be taken seriously, as prayers that shape national life." I'm looking forward to this, and hope my expectations aren't too high again. ;)
- As to how I am feeling at the start of 2025: I actually feel pretty good. I'm much calmer and at ease with where I am mentally, physically, and spiritually (maybe even occupationally). I feel rested, relaxed, and like my present pace of life really suits me. I feel very "grandfatherly," and I mean that in the absolute best sense of the word. It's nice. I hope it stays...
- "Lord, help me now to unclutter my life, to organize myself in the direction of simplicity. Lord, teach me to listen to my heart; teach me to welcome change, instead of fearing it. Lord, I give you these stirrings inside me. I give you my discontent. I give you my restlessness. I give you my doubt. I give you my despair. I give you all the longings I hold inside. Help me to listen to these signs of change, of growth; help me to listen seriously and follow where they lead through the breathtaking empty space of an open door." (from Common Prayer, p. 552, "Major Life Transition")
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