New Years Resolutions

This will be the first time for me actually thinking about new years resolutions and I have to say, I am very excited and optimistic. For me, and probably a lot of other people, writing something down makes it more official and a lot more real. So, here goes nothing:

1. Worship

For those of you who may not know, every week, I have the amazing privilege of leading worship for a few of the youth and college services at my home church, Sonrise. One thing I've learned about worship over the years is that if I try to do things myself or try to make it about anything but God, it fails. For the past few weeks, my friend TJ and I have been praying about and planning a youth night of worship on January 1st [tonight] to welcome in the new year. Our goal is to reignite the flame that people seem to think can only be lit at camps or retreats. We want to do something that the youth at Sonrise has never seen before and reawaken the spirit of worship in that group and at that church as a whole. The other night, we sat down and picked all the songs for the night and picking songs that we thought would be fitting with the whole idea of starting the new year off right and lighting that fire. A few weeks ago, while laying awake with a severe sinus headache, I was listening to Hillsong United and thought to myself a couple times, "I sure would love to do this song at the night of worship." Then I came to a sad realization. I had the same mindset that we are trying to overcome. The idea that songs like that should be saved for special events or camps. Forgetting, apparently, that God has given me the opportunity to lead worship multiple times a week and forgetting that "good" worship songs don't have to be saved for nights of worship. One thing I'm going to work on over this next year is really making sure that God is the focus anytime I'm serving in any capacity. I guess my practical resolution for this is to pray before the week starts about what God would like me to do this week in regards to worship, take a moment before and after every set to pray, and to make it a point to steer clear of making worship a habit.

2. Reduce the filth

On a regular basis, I find myself watching movies or listening to music that I know I shouldn't be and it's starting to affect me. I've become more and more desensitized to the cursing, violence and sexual content promoted in these forms of media. My goal this upcoming year is to replace a lot of the filth that is in mainstream media with things that will strengthen my relationship with Christ instead of hindering it.

3. Succeed in school and work

The first two semesters of my college experience did not exactly go as well as I planned on, but I am going back this semester ready to work and ready to succeed. I'm going to Grossmont, taking classes with friends, and taking a music theory class as well. All of those are steps in the right direction, but I think the biggest difference between last semester and this one is that I have a purpose of being there. Last year, I was just there because I was always told I was supposed to go to college, to get a good job in order to build a good career. This fall, I'm going back with a purpose and a direction and my goal is to earn a 3.5 grade point average. Along with that, I am currently looking for a job that will give me 15-20 hours a week with decent pay. God willing, I hope to secure a job by January 30th.

4. Blog, blog, blog, vlog?

I tried to officially start this a while back and I ended up making a Tumblr and it turned into something that I didn't want it to. So here we go again. My resolution for this year is to post a blog or vlog once a week and really put thought into every single one rather that just posting funny pictures and videos.

5. Take better care of my body

McDonalds. Dr Pepper. Ice cream. I'm very blessed that my metabolism hasn't decided to screw me over yet because I sure do put a lot of unnecessary crap into my body. I have made a list of steps that I want to take to get back into shape and to improve my health:

• Reduce the amount of soda I drink to one can / bottle a week.
• Drink 1/2 a gallon of water every day.
• Reduce the amount of fast food I eat to once a week.
• Start running twice a week. [Three times a week by March.]

If you read this, please pray for me to keep these up and keep me accountable with these. It may be hard, but I know that every single one of these will help this next year be even better than the last.

So, now that I've posted mine, what are some of your guys' new years resolutions?