The Duffer Crew has officially decided that 2013 for us, starts tomorrow. And we are excited. Tonight is New Year’s Eve and we are enjoying it in our clean house, watching the Redskins game and looking forward to the season premier of “Once Upon a Time”. After a very rough start to the New Year these past 6 days, I think we are now ready to push forward. Bethany, after sleeping 19 hours straight, is finally feeling well enough to attempt school tomorrow. Mark and Tim are showing signs of recovery from bronchitis. I have spent significant time in good scripture work today. We worked together to clean the house, take the tree down, and set our faces forward. I’ve been telling my crew to hang on, that we would work together and get this year turned back around. I think we’ve turned a corner.
I love what John Piper has to say about the examined life and resolutions:
“Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Well, the examined life is not worth living either if the examination produces no resolutions. What examination and experience teach us is that the unplanned life settles into fruitless routine. The drifting life — the coasting, que-sera-sera, unreflective life — tends to be a wasted life. The opposite of this is self-examination — life-examination, routine-examination, schedule-examination, heart-examination — followed by “resolves for good.””
I don’t want my life to be wasted. I don’t want to waste the experiences I have had. I don’t want to waste what God has taught me. I want a life that sets “resolutions for good”, as long as I don’t put my hope in those resolutions, but instead put my hope in God to help me realize those resolutions.
And, out of my scripture work this morning in Revelation, I want to be the kind of person who allows God to give me an honest evaluation of my soul, my motives, my intents, my actions, my behavior. And to be the kind of person that allows that honest evaluation lead me to true repentance and confession and prayer, along with real growth and a deeper learning from Scripture about my God. I know I will fail often, but this is my desire.
My crew and I appreciate your prayers as we “restart” this year tomorrow. We talked much about continuing to pursue great grades for the rest of the school year, as well as discussing the various goals we each have for the year. Great conversation with my crew. So proud of them. We push forward, taking each day as it comes, able to say to God “God, we don’t want to take another step forward–without you.”