I wish you every blessing in Christ, for this year and all ages to come. (Can I hear a “Come, Lord Jesus?”) Happy New Year!
To be honest, this time of year makes me angsty. How can I do better? Um, a billion ways. What should I work to improve? Um, every category. How can I do good while avoiding my tendencies toward self-righteousness, vanity, and neglecting my duties at home? Ah, yes, stop sinning. That would work nicely. 😉
Ok, I’m not actually as angsty as this may come across. It’s just another time to face the tension between encouraging good while striving to not live life burdened by the law because of the sin in life. There’s good stuff and there’s good we really should do. There’s discipline that can benefit all sorts of people, ie. me and neighbors. Still, quick fixes are lacking and my many weaknesses can get me down.
Thanks be to God that my weaknesses are not the last word! Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.
Back to writing. How would I like to start off a new year regarding my writing projects?
- Clean up my computer files organization
- Make a “Top Five” projects that I can open whenever I just feel like working on something.
- Include articles, essays, random notes
- Include due dates for the year
- Exclude grand opuses until you are currently adding stuff to them
- Maintain the number five even when you’ve moved something out of the folder
- Make a big goal from the following options
- Chose a project and aim to either write a proposal or send it in somewhere
- Again, include articles! (And remember that the Lutheran Witness has now posted the themes to come!)
- Chose a project and aim to either write a proposal or send it in somewhere
- Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and space to breath
- Do NOT have big goals for more than two projects
- Don’t make writing, or fixations on writing, life or death: the Gospel of Jesus Christ is life
- DO plan a few ways to relax
- A cup of something hot
- A taste of something sweet
- A walk/run/hammock, etc.
Happy New Year, everybody! It’s another year of our Lord!