A Year for Restoration

I didn’t blog much last year. However, in my first post of the year, I wrote the following:

. . . some of my most intimate thoughts this past year; “Give up on Christianity; they’ve given up on you; you can justify walking away too.” But it is also encouraging given the coming year. I want those thoughts to die. I want to keep the faith. I want to finish the race. I want to fight the good fight. I want to fulfill my ministry. I want to do the work of an evangelist. I want to endure hardship better. I want to be more sober-minded in my life.

I can confidently say that I kept the faith this year. After going to counseling from February through July of 2023, I ended up finding hope and encouragement to press on in the faith. I ended up more committed to fulfilling my ministry. I ended up strengthened to fight the good fight. I ended up facing challenges better than I have in the past.

What do I hope for 2024?

Here’s my theme verse this year:

Show us favor, LORD, show us favor,
for we’ve had more than enough contempt.
We’ve had more than enough
scorn from the arrogant
and contempt from the proud.

Psalm 123:3-4

This passage is from one of the Psalms of the Ascents (Psalm 120-134), a beautiful collection of hymns that portray the beauty of everyday life centered on Yahweh. Some writers (myself included) see a narrative in these fifteen psalms. The first laments a lack of interpersonal harmony (120), the fourteenth highlights the beauty of interpersonal harmony (133), and the fifteenth calls on God’s people to praise Yahweh together (134); in between, there is much to be said about God, family, and Zion–the source of blessing for God’s people–along with hope for God’s future redemption of his people.

One of Psalm 123’s primary emphases is reliance on God in spite of external struggle (primarily interpersonal). My hope for 2024 is to experience and more firmly believe in the favor I have in God’s eyes because of the work of Christ.

As we get into this, we must start with my annual “spiritual”:
When I look back at my goals for 2023, how did I do?

Two of my biggest accomplishments in 2023 are that we were able to move out of California, which necessitated finding a new job outside of California. We have spent the majority of the second half of 2023 getting our legs under us, but as a result of Christmas this year–and much unexpected generosity–we should be stable moving into 2024. This is a huge blessing!

When it comes to partial accomplishments, my prayer life continued to improve this year. (A big prayer was “Give us this day our daily bread,” and God provided every time, in unexpected ways!) My love for the church grew this year, though since moving in August, we have yet to join membership at a new church. While I wanted to work on my five year plan for becoming a full-time writer, I was able to finish my Master’s program, which has led to the freedom to devote more time to writing for potential income. Additionally, I made a lot of progress rewriting Switched, though a completed second draft is yet to be finished; I’m all but a chapter away from finishing a second draft of Stronger than Sin. I worked out all the details for the proofreading services I am going to offer, though I have yet to make them publicly available.

When it comes to failed goals, I regret to say that I was unable to read through the whole Bible this year. I only posted 7 blog articles this year, which is not consistent at all. I did not grow as an evangelist this year (meaning vocally sharing my faith with others and calling them to believe). I did not limit my inclination of buying books as well as I wanted to.

With the painful part out of the way, I can be hopeful for 2024. Here are my goals:

Most importantly, I need to focus on Jesus.

I lift my eyes to You,
the One enthroned in heaven.

Psalm 123:1

I need to be fully focused on Jesus. He is King. I am his servant. If I lose sight of him, my work becomes self-focused instead of him-focused. And it doesn’t matter if I accomplish millions of dollars worth of projects if he is not at the center of it.

Prayer and Bible reading are the primary ways to accomplish this goal (both being intricately related to each other). And as it connects to the following goal, leading my family to the throne of grace is another way to accomplish this goal.

Jesus, I need you this year. Please help me to keep my focus on you. Help me to guide my family to also keep their focus on you. As my family grows in 2024, help our love for you to grow as well. I want my head knowledge to condense into heart knowledge as well. And I want that heart knowledge to come out practically through my hands and feet.

Secondly, I need to make my family a priority.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your [children], like young olive trees
around your table.
In this very way
the man who fears the LORD
will be blessed.

Psalm 128:3-4

While some might want to complain about the antiquated, “sexist” nature of this verse (note that I altered “sons” to “children”), in ancient Israelite culture, the man was the priest of the family. The man was the one who stood between God and his family. This is why Paul charges Adam with responsibility for humanity’s sin in Romans 5. Adam represented the human race. As a husband and father, I stand between God and my family. It is primarily my responsibility to ensure their spiritual growth (though this by no means indicates that my wife and children [when old enough] are not capable of pursuing Jesus on their own). When I faithfully fear the LORD (see prior goal), the result is blessing for my family.

I can do this best by implementing and practicing daily family devotions. Secondarily, I can do it by helping my wife out with household tasks so that they are not all falling on her shoulders. I can also do it by not getting so caught up in the goals I have for the year that my family takes the backburner. Most of the time I must choose my family over my tasks. The tasks will still be possible to accomplish when the kids are grown; I only have a limited number of months to invest in my children.

Jesus, please help me to prioritize my family this year. Help me to invest in their spiritual well-being. Help me to not abdicate or abuse that authority. Help me to sacrificially love my wife better than any year prior, and help me to give my children the love and affection and discipline they need.

Thirdly, I need to practice healthy habits this year.

Unless the LORD builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain;
unless the LORD watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain.
In vain you get up early and stay up late,
working hard to have enough food—
yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves.

Psalm 127:1-2

This passage explains that apart from the Lord, all my tasks are in vain. However, the final line is the point. Sleep is recovery of strength. However, in our day of processed foods and ease of shopping for goods (sometimes without even getting off our couch) the physical benefits that were intrinsic in gathering food for one’s family in Ancient Israel are no longer given. As such, I must actively pursue healthy habits: exercising regularly, eating wisely, and sleeping as much as possible. “The Lord gives [restoration] to the one he loves.”

I can accomplish this task by keeping the first two goals of the year in mind. If I keep my eyes on God I will limit myself to worthwile tasks. If I prioritize my family, then I won’t be overexerting myself to accomplish personal tasks (even good ones). Additionally, prioritizing my family necessitates exercising so I can be as healthy as possible to care for them for as long as possible into the future.

Jesus, please bless me with restoration this year. Help me to develop healthy sleeping habits. Help me to develop healthy eating habits. Help me to develop healthy exercising habits. I don’t want these things to become all of me–all I care about–but I do want to pursue them. You know I’ve long struggled with depression; these are all the practical tasks to help battle depression sucessfully. Please give me restoration, and bless my family’s health and wellbeing this year too.

Finally, I need to be productive this year.

Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.
Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.

Psalm 126:5-6

Work is hard, and it often doesn’t immediately reveal positive results. As such, I understand the “tears” here to refer to prayer. When we work prayerfully, we will eventually rejoice. However, as it relates to prayer, prayer can be hindered if we are neglecting the most important things (cf. 1 Peter 3:8; Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:9), so in my prayerful working, my priorities must be correctly aligned.

At the end of the day, I can’t be lazy this year. I must focus on Jesus. I must prioritize my family. I must pursue health–physical and spiritual. And as a necessary consequence of all of these, I must make goals. As it relates to the following list, my writing goals and debt-denting relate to both healthy habits (writing is therapeutic for me and debt is depressing) and prioritizing my family (if writing can become a form of income then it will benefit us in the long term), though again, I can’t use that excuse to neglect my family in order to write (it’s a tight-rope walk I must carefully navigate this year).

There is much I want to accomplish this year:

• Read through the whole Bible
  • Live in Proverbs and the Gospels
  • Continue journaling Psalms until finished
• Pray daily
• Grow in love for others
  • Better love my wife and children (lead them in daily devotions)
  • Better love the Church
  • Better love the lost by actually being an evangelist (beyond the pages of my blog)
• Writing goals:
  • Blog at least weekly (finish Revelation series)
  • Publish Stronger than Sin
  • Publish Switched
  • Publish two articles in academic Christian journals
    • Thesis
    • Augustine and Confessions
  • Draft a new novel (at least 50,000 words of it during NaNoWriMo)
  • New music…?
• Get out of full-time substitute teaching
• Make a dent in debt (currently $11,730.99)
• Lose 30 pounds
  • Exercise tri-weekly
  • Eat healthier
• Only purchase one new book (valued at $15) per month

Jesus, help me to keep my priorities in line this year. I desperately need your guidance. Help me to hear your voice and obey when things are getting out of alignment. I need you!

What do you hope to get out of your 2024?

In this with you.

Soli Deo Gloria
Solus Christus
Pro Ecclesia

Thanks for reading.