"I went to the woods, because I wished to live deliberately..."
Henry David Thoreau

I rarely do resolutions finding them both negatively ritualistic and unrealistic. In the past I've quit something, stopping something unhealthy or unhelpful in my life. This year, as I examined my past year as a husband, parent, son, and friend, I've decided to actually pursue things in my life to make me, and those around me, better. I'm tired of wishing that I would have done something differently, or at all; as my father once told me, "If you don't have goals to reach, that's exactly what you'll get." (At least I think it was, Dad... I probably wasn't really listening.)

So, here are my goals, as I endeavor to better myself in the year 2014: 

• Read 1 book a week (52 book challenge). 
• I attempted this last year, only reaching 20, but it's a goal I would like to reach.
• Read 5 Psalms and 1 Proverb everyday.
• As suggested by N.T. Wright (in The Case For The Psalms, if you haven't read this excellent work I highly suggest it). I rarely read the Psalms, let alone allow them to shape my worldview, so here goes nothing.
• Blog every week.
• I like to think of myself as a decent writer (in the past I've even dreamed of writing professionally), but I'm not a dedicated scribe... One of my creative writing classes in college suggested writing everyday to keep your art in check, so I'm taking baby steps into this whole resolution.
• Confront critical attitudes (of myself and others), attempting to make a positive difference.
• I am a cynic, sometimes proudly so; but, I've found, more often then not, this doesn't add anything to the conversation. So, as a rule, I'm attempting to stifle that reflex and bring helpful ideas and suggestions to whatever I'm mentally critiquing.
• Start making everyday memories.
• Some days are more boring than others. Most of those days are my own fault, as I sit and watch movies for the twenty-third time or play Marvel's Avengers Assemble while trolling on Facebook, and I want to change the way I view my downtime. So, rather then trying to stop these mindless activities (of which we're all guilty of at one time or another), I'm going to attempt to proactively make one memory everyday and write it down. Whether it's as simple as going out to play in the snow with my wife and son, or as time consuming as traveling to visit with long lost friends, at least I'm getting myself into the mindset of making each day count (even for a moment). Next year, I'm hoping to look over all these memories and see how I lived.

So, bring on 2014. I hope, assuming I get to 2015, that this will impact not only my life, but others as well. 

May we all seek to "live deliberately" and "suck out all the marrow of life."