Category: reflections

The wonder of birth

This is pretty amazing:

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. – Psalm 139:13-16

In the year two-thousand (and twelve)

(Cue the Conan O’Brien music…)

It’s that time of year again, when we all look towards the future and try and avoid the mistakes of the past.

Laurie and I sat and talked about some of our goals for the year last night and for the sake of holding myself accountable — as dreams and goals come to mind, I like to share many of them on my blog.

We’ll hope they’re more than just good intentions – but instead, real changes in lifestyle that last year after year.

So here are a few of my goals for this year in no particular order…

  • Spend more time with My Life.
  • Spend more time with my boys (and less time worrying about my to-do list while they’re awake).
  • Spend more time with friends over coffee or a meal.
  • Pay off a large chunk of debt by year’s end.
  • Enjoy a special five-year anniversary excursion without adding to said debt.
  • Cook more – eat out less.
  • Eat less meat – eat more vegetables.
  • Buy (and grow) more fresh foods and avoid processed foods.
  • Start a vegetable garden.
  • Continue trying to make my own compost for said garden.
  • Continue walking/jogging at least 4 times a week.
  • Lose 20 more pounds. 10 pounds by Feb. 24th (my 33rd birthday).
  • Live the intentional challenge.
  • Blog/write more. I’ve gotten lapse in my blogging and writing this year. I want to do better – at least one quality post a week.
  • Read more (offline).
  • Read through the Bible again.

So those are my goals for 2012 as of Jan. 3.

A few other things I’d like to see happen but I’m not putting them down as “official goals” yet as they’re definitely not priorities and are each fairly time consuming….

  • Write a 2nd book.
  • Find new revenue streams (see large chunk of debt above).
  • Start another podcast (I have a few ideas floating in my head).
  • Etc. etc.

So what about you? What are your goals and dreams for 2012?

Why December 25th?

If you read the Apostle Luke’s letter to Theophilus and Matthew’s recording of the Good News, they begin early on by telling of the birth of Jesus.

Now Luke and Matthew never make any mention about the specific time of Jesus’ birth. We know there was a census and Herod was King at the time, but there’s little else we know about the actual time of year or a specific date as to when Jesus was born.

But if you read Luke’s letter carefully, he makes an interesting point about shepherds in the region — doing what shepherds do best — watching their sheep (at night).
Continue reading Why December 25th?