Here we go again.

Well, here we are again, at the dawning of a new year. A fresh start, new things, hopes, dreams, expectations etc. etc. etc. And of course, New Year's Resolutions. Those goals that most people tend to forget about within a month of the shiny new year. Well, I wouldn't say that I have New Year's Resolutions, but I do have some ideas about this next year, and the things that I will be doing. There is the requisite Ultimate Accomplishments of Awesome! List, that I have complied as usual. But. But, it's a little bit different this year. I have two of them, you see, the normal one (rather shorter than previous years, but that's okay) and a special one entitled - Ultimate Accomplishments of Awesome: Christian Edition. That's right, it's a whole list of things that relate to my faith that I want to accomplish this coming year. Some of them are a bit, well, ambitious. But I've realized recently that I'm too ambitious in all the wrong ways, and not ambitious enough in all the right ways. So I'm trying to change that. The impetus behind both of these UAoA lists is the desire to put more effort into relationships that I have, with friends, with family, with God. That's my goal this year, I guess, to connect more, to connect better with those I care about. And to not do things that I don't care about. To not waste my time on things I wish I cared about more, but to put time and effort into things that I already care about, you know? So, here they are, my UAoA lists, with commentary.

Ultimate Accomplishments of Awesome: Christian Edition '13
[] Share Gospel with someone
This is something that I've actually never done. Not really. And it's something that I want to do. I've been so afraid of it for so long, but I'm tired of fear dictating my life.

[] Fast fiction books and movies for a year starting Jan 1st.
This is the ambitious one. If you know me at all, you know that I am a voracious reader. I love books. But they suck up all of my time, and it's not good for me. I spend so much time ingesting other people's ideas of how the world is, taking in their paradigms and ideals, when I actually don't believe in how they see the world. I don't think that it's true. And so I've decided to stop feeding myself that poison. Which leads me to my next item:

[] Work on Heart Issues
I've always prided myself on how I didn't get caught up in the culture's obsession with beauty and sex, but I find that I did swallow, hook line and sinker, the idea that true love conquers all, and is all, is the purpose for life itself. And that is true, but not in the way our culture sells it (i.e. Twilight) and the way I bought into it. So that is the biggest thing that I see God wanting to work with in my life in the coming year, but I am so sure that there are others. Instead of falling in love with the idea of falling love, I want to:

[] Fall more in Love with Jesus
Pretty self-explanatory. I've been through some of the array of aspects of God; He's taught me about Him as Lord, as Father, as Brother, and a myriad of others, but right now, He's working on showing me Himself as Lover of my Soul.

[] Go on a Spring Break Trip with New Life
This is something I really feel like God wants me to do. And I'm trying to stop arguing with him over things that I know He will win in. (God is really relentless.)

[] Do LT
Something I did two years ago, and feel like I should do again this year. (I probably should have done it this past summer as well, who am I kidding.)

[] Read C.S. Lewis (and other theologians)
As I will not be reading fiction, it would be a good idea to read good books about God by smart people who have thought about it a lot. You know.


And here are the other Ultimate Accomplishments of Awesome: 2013 Edition
[] Learn how to drive
I know, I know. I still don't know how to drive. And it would be a good thing to know.

[] Go Camping with friends
Maybe. We'll see what we're all doing in August.

[] Burn old writings.
Something I've been talking about for a while, but I actually want to do it. And if, at the end of the year, they aren't burnt, well, I'll just throw them in the trash. I actually don't care about them really. They are worthless, but not OH-MY-WORD-THEY-ARE-SO-EMBARRASSING anymore. They just are, and I want to get rid of them.

[] Secret Project, Code Name: L
[] Secret Project, Code Name: T
Obvs these are secret, so I'm not going to tell you about them.

[] Finish NaNoWriMo novel
The one I've been writing for over a year? Yeah. I actually want to finish the story.

[] Learn how to crochet
New Hobbies!

[] Go sledding in the Arb
This would be a whole lot of fun.

[] Have fun with googly eyes
VandalEyes anyone?

[] Learn how to tie a tie (bowtie and regular tie)
A good skill to have, doncha think?

[] Learn how to french braid hair
Another good skill

[] Finish Pippi bag
A sewing project that I started several years ago. I just need to finish it.

[] Learn how to use the sewing machine
Yet another skill that I wish to acquire.