with all that said, i've heard from some men that i highly respect that they love taking some time at the end of every year and asking God if there's anything he would have them focus on the following year. eventually i came to the conclusion that i didn't have anything to lose by doing so myself, so about about a week ago i began to ask God a few questions. it had been awhile since i allowed him to speak so freely into my life anyways, so i figured this was good.
what came from this surprised me. it seemed God didn't waste any time, but only revealed a little bit every day for about 5 days in a row. some of this i'm still working out. some are goals i've come up with on my own, while other things have been directed by God. so let's get started.
phrase for the year: calculated risk
risk was the first word God revealed to me, and two days later calculated followed. i actually received some thoughts on calculated soon after. really, the thought behind it is God directed risks. not living recklessly. a friend gave me some good insight on the word risk, sharing that when it comes to God, risk is really just obedience. so, coming out of this is the revelation that God is going to ask some big things of me this year, some things that may seem risky. but the key will be for me to simply grow in being immediately obedient. i'm not typically one who lives life on the edge, at least i don't feel that way. i don't like risk. i love knowing the outcome before i move forward. i also know that God doesn't necessarily always like to give details. he seems to rather enjoy revealing just a little bit at a time to us. so, in 2013 i'm preparing to take some calculated risk, to immediately obey God in some risky situations this year.
monthly fasting: cutting out the crap
i've got so much going on in my life. we all do. but i only have control over me. there are so many different things that distract me from Jesus, that create unnecessary noise in my life. so, i'm going to fast from something different every month this year. i don't have all months nailed down yet, but here are some thoughts. the only one i know for sure is what i'm fasting from is january.
january: pop
i have some friends who are fasting from alcohol this month, so in an effort to support them, i'm fasting from pop. this may continue longer than january; we will see when february hits. i've done this once before, and went an entire year. so a month should be much easier right?february: tv?
i've always wanted to try fasting from tv for a month. this would include watching movies. not really sure how this will look, since my wife/kids aren't make the same decision, so i may have to learn how to be in the same room without engaging the large black box. this will mean much more writing, reading, and maybe learning to bake some new foods. really wanting to try my hand at different soups, and muffins so we will see. this one is subject to change to another month, but i do want to try it this year.
march: books
this may sound strange. but i want to spend an entire month only reading the bible. not books, not magazines. just the bible. this is an effort to simplify the sources that provide information to me. i don't want anything or anyone competing with Jesus in my life.
april: sugar/sweets?
i need to be better about this one anyways. i may end up moving this one to february in an effort to help aid in weight loss goals. i will continue eating fruits and things that naturally have sugar in them. but no sugar in my coffee, no desserts, etc.
may: music
i want to take a month to just be quiet before Jesus. again, this one could move up, and even be repeated if i enjoy it. obviously i will still enjoy worship in church, but outside of that, there will be no music. no music in the car, none in my office, none. i want to open my ears to anything Jesus would want to say to me.
the rest of the year is up for grabs. if you have any ideas or suggestions i'd be open to hearing and considering them. again, this will be a work in progress, and maybe God will reveal some more things to me as i come upon the time to put that into practice.
running & weight loss: time to get my butt in gear
this year has been good in regards to running, but not great. my weight has consistently stayed around 225 until the end of 2012 when it crept up to 230. at 5'11" this is not ideal for an ultra runner. so, my goal this year is to get down to under 200 pounds by the time the north face ecs 50 miler comes around in mid september in wisconsin. my ultimate goal is to get my weight down to 190 or less, but i'm not sure 8 months is doable.
- i want to run a minimum of 1,500 miles in 2013, with my highest goal at 1,700 miles.
- i want to finish the 50 mile trail race i will run in september. previous years i've run the 50k.
- i want to finish my current running streak, getting it to at least 100 days (as of today i sit at day 86). i may take a week off, and then start another streak. we will see.
- i want to continue being the biggest cheerleader for those friends and family who run, or are wanting to get into running.
- help my step brother in law train for and finish his first race, a 1/2 marathon in april.
- i would love to have a professional coach help me, especially from PRSFIT. not sure i'm there yet where i can afford it financially, but i've heard they are some of the cheapest in the business. i'm friends with many of the coaches on facebook, twitter, and dailymile so i'll learn all i can from there for now. i'm really at a place where i want to take my running very seriously, and see just how good i can become at the 50k-50 mile distances.
other: no more excuses
there are many things that i've wanted to do for a number of years, and have not done them for a variety of reasons. some will go unshared for now. but there's one in particular that i feel i need to share, mainly for the reason of accountability. this year i want to write and self-publish a free ebook. i'm toying around with some topics, and am not sure that this will be a lengthy offering. in fact, i may purposely make it shorter as it's my first attempt. but nonetheless, it's something i've wanted to do for a long time, and haven't had the guts to do it. so be on the lookout. many portions may be released first here on the blog before making it into the finished product.
well, i think i've written enough for now. it's going to be a great year! thanks Altra Footwear for this!
No comments:
Post a Comment