It is also a great time to encourage my wife with the great things God is doing in her and to be encouraged. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife. In thinking back over the past years, God has really transformed me into a different man. Our marriage has been transformed too. Praise God!
Here's a quick recap of 4 of my 2011 goals:
1. Read through the Bible twice
- This was one of my most ambitious goals ever. I honestly didn't think I could do it. But somehow I did, by God's grace. It really strengthened my reading muscles. Now, reading 4-5 chapters is easy. It's still a stretch to read the 7-8 that the plan required, but it was beneficial to always been in the Word so much. I definitely didn't have time to study and meditate much on what I read. But the overview and quick pace, kept reminding me of Scriptures on a regular basis. For 2012, I have reduced my plan to read through the OT once, and Proverbs, Psalms and the NT twice.
2. Memorize Titus
- This was a pretty fun goal. After memorizing lots of different passages over the years, it was cool to get back to memorizing Scripture in its full context. It is also proving very helpful as I am preaching through Titus right now. I also memorized Colossians 3:1-4, Psalm 31:23-24 and Romans 12:1-2. I think I will try to memorize books before I preach them. I am thinking of preaching through Philippians next so I am working on Philippians 1 and 2. They are pretty long chapters - 60 verses total - though the verses are often short.
3. Run the KC Marathon in under 4 hours
- This is the one goal that I didn't complete or even come close to finishing. After my too close encounter of nearly going into heat stroke, I stopped training at 13 miles. But with the move to ABQ, I wasn't going to be running in a marathon anyway. So this year, considering the high altitude and my current cardiac condition, I am going to go for a smaller goal of running the Duke City Half Marathon in Oct, here in ABQ.
4. Read 24 books
- I did make my goal and read 25 books this year. Reading books help me to think better. They help me to think about truths of God. They help me to unwind. They inspire me. They give me new ideas to try out different things. However this year, since I am reading so much to prepare to preach and teach, I'm coming home and not feeling strong enough of mind to read anything difficult. So I am going to focus on biographies this year and some fiction and history. I'm also reducing my goal to 20 books. For posterity, below is what I read in 2011:
#24 - Putting Your Past in Its Place by Stephen Viars
#23 - The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
#22 - Crazy Love by Francis Chan
#21 - Get Outta My Face! by Rick Horne
#20 - Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
#19 - Good to Great by Jim Collins
#18 - Deception by Randy Alcorn
#17 - Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
#16 - Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson
#15 - Preachers & Preaching by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones
#14 - Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen
#13 - The Tender Heart by Richard Sibbes
#12 - The Masculine Mandate by Richard Phillips
#11 - Gospel Worship by Jeremiah Burroughs
#10 - The Power of the Cross of Christ by C.H. Spurgeon
#9 - 50 People Every Christian Should Know by Warren Wiersbe
#8 - Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchvidjian
#7 - First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham
#6 - Thoughts for Young Men by J.C. Ryle
#5 - Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney (re-read)
#4 - Ministering Cross-Culturally by Lingenfelter & Mayers
#3 - The Second World War by John Keegan
#2 - You Never Stop Being a Parent by Jim Newheiser & Elyse Fitzpatrick
#1 - The Peacemaker (re-read) by Ken Sande
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