2018 has come to a close, which means it's time to make resolutions for the new year. Tune in tomorrow to see what I've come up with in that regard.
But before that, I wanted to take one last look at the resolutions I set for 2018 and see how I measured up. As you may remember, I had a lengthy list of resolutions, some easy and some wildly ambitious. The good news is, I took (almost) all of them seriously over the course of the year. So here's my scorecard for 2018.
*Note: As you'll see, in keeping score here, I'm not a legalist. They're my resolutions and it's my scorecard, so I'm awarding myself points based on whether I kept the resolution in spirit more than whether I fulfilled it according to the exact wording.*
1. Blog once per week
Midway through the year, I realized I was failing spectacularly at this one. The problem was not so much a lack of will as a lack of ideas—there simply weren't as many things that I cared to blog about as I'd thought when the year began. So in addition to occasional blog posts when I had something to say, I started regularly writing music reviews for a website called The Daily Vault (which I previously wrote for as a high school and college student). It served the original purpose of this resolution—an outlet for personal writing—and meant, since I have over 400 albums in my iTunes library, that my idea well would never run dry.
That being said, I had some catching up to do when I adjusted this resolution, and I didn't quite make it to the 52 I'd set as my goal. 44 ain't bad, but it's not close enough to give myself full credit here. Since I stuck with the resolution and took it seriously, but I didn't quite pull it off, I'll give myself half credit on this one.
Score: 0.5 out of 1
2. Talk to every member of my family once a week
Another one that was adjusted midway through the year. I mentioned in an update earlier this year that I had misread this resolution, thinking my responsibility was to talk to a member of my family on a daily basis, rather than talking to every member of my family over the course of the week. After discovering my error, I decided to just go with it (while still making an effort to talk to all my family members regularly.)
Thanks to technology, it's easier than ever to stay in touch with people you love...but since you're already seeing their updates online, it's also easier than ever to forego that contact. All it took was the will and a daily iPhone reminder to make this happen, and I'm glad I did. This is a good example of the purpose of New Year's resolution—once a goal, this is now a habit, and one I intend to stick with going forward.
Score: 1.5 out of 2
3. Read the Bible in a year
Check. Every morning, once my coffee kicked in but before Andrew woke up, I'd read a few chapters from Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Scripture, The Message. Tomorrow morning I'll be able to say that, for the third time in my life, I've read the Bible all the way through.
In the coming year I have a different plan on how to spend my devotional time. Stay tuned.
Score: 2.5 out of 3
4. Drink more water
This was one I'd forgotten about until my update a few months ago, but since then I've done very well with it. I bring my plastic water bottle with me almost everywhere I go, I keep it filled, and I shoot for about 100 oz per day.
Took me half the year to get on this one, but the habit has formed.
Score: 3.5 out of 4
5. Complete the Navy SEAL workout (minus the swimming portion)
Nope. Total failure on this one after trying to take it seriously for roughly one week. It turns out that I just really really really hate upper body workouts.
I learned several years ago that I like to run and I've got the body type for it. So in 2019, instead of trying to make myself something I'm not, I'm going to lean into the exercise I enjoy.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
6. Give half my entertainment money to charity
Done. I mentioned in my initial post that I wanted to give based on the people groups listed in Matthew 25—the hungry/thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned—so I chose these organizations and causes:
- For the hungry and thirsty, the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, which helps fund over 130 hunger relief and development programs across the state and around the world.
- For the stranger, Buckner International, which (among other amazing programs) is deeply involved in foster care and adoption for children in need of safe, loving homes.
- For the naked, Mission Waco, which, quoting their mission statement, provides "Christian-based, holistic, relationship-based programs that empower the poor and marginalized" of my city.
- For the sick, a Baylor medical missions trip to Pignon, Haiti that occurred March 2-9.
- For the imprisoned, Hospitality House in Huntsville, a free home-away-from-home for families visiting prisoners at the federal penitentiary.
These are all fabulous organizations and causes; please consider giving to them yourself.
Score: 4.5 out of 6
Score: 4.5 out of 6
First I read Smart Baseball by Keith Law, which is essentially a takedown of outdated traditional statistics and a primer on sabermetrics. Then I made flashcards of 30 basic sabermetrics stats I thought were important to learn. Then I studied those flashcards. So...yeah. Check.
Score: 5.5 out of 7
8. Construct the perfect baseball scorecard
Boom. Cost me about 15 hours and $20.
Score: 6.5 out of 8
9. Learn to cook 50 meals
This is the resolution I took most seriously, (and the one that was most appreciated by my family.) Between vacations and super busy weeks where we never ate at home, there's a good chance I didn't get to exactly 50, but Lindsey will be the first to tell you that I cooked at least once per week when possible. Do I like cooking any more than I did this time last year? No. I still pretty much hate it. But at least now I've got a decent collection of recipes.
My top 5 dishes:
1) Pot roast with homemade meat rub
2) Shrimp and chicken gumbo
3) Chili
4) Pulled pork pizza
5) Swedish meatballs
Score: 7.5 out of 9
10. Finish all my comic books/graphic novels
Everything is read except a few books I just got for Christmas. So, you know, time to read those and then buy more! (That's how it works, right?)
Score: 8.5 out of 10
11. Write a book
Aaaaand now we're to the ambitious ones. Nope, no book. However, I do have an idea for a book now (something I didn't have this time last year), and even a rough outline for it. So expect to see me renew this resolution in 2019.
Score: 8.5 out of 11
12. Learn biblical Greek, biblical Hebrew, Latin, and German
Nah. I studied flashcards off and on for a few months, but this was the Everest of the list, and I never got past base camp.
Score: 8.5 out of 12
13. Learn Spanish
Never made a serious effort here, which I'm ashamed of. I said this in January: "I've become convicted that any Texas pastor who isn't at least trying to learn Spanish isn't thinking ahead." I still believe that, so this will be on 2019's list. Hopefully without 4 other languages on the list vying for my attention I'll take it more seriously.
Score: 8.5 out of 13
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So for those of you keeping score at home, I wound up completing 65% of my resolutions. Not bad.
Making a large list of resolutions instead of just choosing one was an exercise in seeing how many different ways I could seek self-improvement and determining along the way which I would take seriously. It was a good experiment and a good year, and I'm excited to share 2019's resolutions with you tomorrow. So long, 2018!
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