Resolutions, Resolutions

At this time of the year everyone is making resolutions. We all do it. I'm not going to do this or I'm going to do this during this new year.

Well, I am no different. I have made some resolutions that I hope and pray will help change my life.
Here they are:
1. Take care of myself physically. So many times as a pastor it is so easy to skip this - especially being a bi-vocational pastor. Well, this year I am going to eat better-eat the right foods. I'm going to exercise. Well, I'm going to begin by walking and as I lost weight and the knee is better add some other types of exercise. Got to be here for my girls!

2. Date my wife. This past year we have not had very many date nights. I have just let stuff get in the way and not having family in St. Augustine to help with the kids has also not helped. If I do not make my wife a priority and date her, my ministry is useless.

3. Spend more time with my girls. It's time to begin daddy date night with the girls. They are 5 and almost 4 years old now. They need to know how a man should treat them. I want to instill this into them now, so when some boy comes along they will not fall for his junk.

4. Spend more time reading my Bible. As pastors it's easy to read the Bible to get your messages or sermon. I have begun with a reading plan to read through in the NLT.

5. Pray with my wife. One of the dangers of being a bi-vocational pastor is that you are so tired by the time you get home and do something with the kids, or go off to a meeting that sometimes you don't pray together. Well, that's not good enough any more. This is a priority for me this year. My wife needs her husband to pray with her every day.

6. Understand my "vocation" is be a pastor/priest, it is not my life.

I want to thank Perry Noble , the pastor of New Spring Church , for his writing about this type of stuff. Perry, your blog has been a life line for me and my wife. This past Sunday I told my church that Eileen and I are going to date. If they call with an emergency it will be passed on or it can wait. If fact, during date night I am turning the phone off!