Taking Aim

As I promised a few weeks ago, I have thought about how I would like to live the next ten years of my life. I had a lot of thoughts go through my mind and was finally able to organize them. I believe that God created each one of us with both general and specific purposes. I believe that true fulfillment for each person comes through worshiping and serving God but how we carry those out will differ greatly from person to person and, I guess, from time to time. So this is for me, for now:

Worship -

I want to see and savor the beauty in life. God reveals his glory in so many ways and I think I miss it most of the time. I hope to see more by keeping my eye open for beauty: beauty in nature, beauty in people, beauty in circumstances.

I want to worship God through songs I write. Ever since I decided to make a concerted effort to write songs, I have spent less and less time doing it. I want to make songwriting a more regular part of my life.

Serve -

I want to get over myself. I've realized that there are two things that keep me from doing things I should do... and they're both me. 1) I get so concerned about what other people will think of me that sometimes I don't do what God wants me to. 2) I think that if I take a step of faith, I might not have what it takes to take the second or third steps. But the thing is: It's not about me. Who cares if someone dislikes me along the way because I'm doing God's work. It's not really my problem, but God's. And I won't have what it takes to move forward--God provides that, not me. Again, God's problem, not mine. I've got to get this into my brain so that I can serve Him better. And I know the best way to do it is to just jump in!

I want to live each day with fervor. I don't want to "give up" in life. I refuse to settle for a life of mediocrity, but instead choose to passionately pursue a life of meaning.

I want to encourage thought and study among Christians. I recently read a book I've mentioned here before called Love Your God With All Your Mind. It made me see how important it is for those in the church to be developing our minds. I want to actively be developing my mind and encouraging others to do the same. I also want to read more during this decade of my life than in the previous three combined.

So there you have it. My goals for the next ten years. Some of the details may change over time, but it's good to have a place to start and something to strive for. This has been a good exercise and I challenge you to do the same for your next five or ten or twenty years. And I'd love to hear what you come up with!