In praise of resolutions

What do you think of New Year resolutions?  I came across Dave Barry's take on setting realistic goals... "Many people give up because they "set their sights too high." In making a New Year's resolution, pick a goal that you can reasonably expect to attain, as we see in these examples: Unrealistic Goal: "In the next month, I will lose 25 pounds." Realistic Goal: "Over the next year, taking it an ounce or two at a time, I will gain 25 pounds, and my face will bloat like a military life raft." Unrealistic Goal: "I will learn to speak Chinese." Realistic Goal: "I will order some Chinese food." Unrealistic Goal: "I will read a good book." Realistic Goal: "I will examine the outsides of some good books, then waddle over to the part of the bookstore where they sell pastries." Unrealistic Goal: "I will do volunteer work for a worthy cause." Realistic Goal: "I will give myself a hearty scratching." That's funny stuff...

Seriously, on this last day of 2009, I'm thinking about the resolutions I made almost 12 months ago.  I know lots of people think New Year resolutions are goofy, but I like them. I'm a big believer that if you aim at nothing, you're sure to hit it. Better to have some goals, some direction, than to just hope things will be better tomorrow than they are today. I'm a planner. I had 5 categories of goals: spiritual, physical. intellectual, pastoral and leisure. There were 26 goals (I know, I know) under those headings. So how did I do? 

I did well on things like:

• Getting my weight down to 190 lbs. (currently at 192 and falling)
• Writing blog posts and articles for magazines
• Leading the "After I Do" ministry with greater passion and attention
• Getting to the office earlier
• Focusing on healthy staff relationships
• Spending more time on vision and planning
• Making time for Civil War reading
• Turning off the TV
• Exercising regularly (3-4 times each week)

There are things on my list that I didn't do so well on: stuff like reading an article or two each day to expand my thinking, sharing my faith regularly, working through a John Stott Bible study (my fault, not his), and getting up early enough to have Bible reading and prayer with Kay (started well but faded--again my fault, not hers).

Does failure mean I stop trying?  No way. In 2010, I'm thinking about the idea of spiritual formation in my own life and what I can do each day to cooperate with God's desire to change my soul from the inside out.  I'll be using a book called, "Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice," to help me stay focused on daily exercises that can move me forward in my faith. Over the next week or so, I'll make other goals that will help move me in the right direction. I'll have them posted in my office at home so I'll see them every day.

Life's too short and too precious to waste time. I want more than anything else (I hope) to be the person God wants me to be. Resolutions give me some sense of direction. What's your thoughts about resolutions?  Do you have any for 2010?