Powerball's up to $800 million

(Cash value only $496 million.) 

Shall we dream? 

• $200 million to Uncle Sam, I'm sure
• $10 million to my local church
• $50 million to other ministries, especially those who help the persecuted church
• $10 million to my mom, dad, sister, and sister-in-law
• $5 million to my bestest of friends (that's a short list and I'm not saying who)
• $200k to put my kids through college
• $250k - $1 million to put other loved ones through college / pay off student loans
• $1 million to travel the world with my love
• $250k - $500k to pay off our own debt, including mortgage, and buy a 2nd home somewhere
• $whatever it takes to adopt a child or two in need
• Heck, let's give $2 million to whoever reads and comments on this blog post in the next week!

Sheesh, that is less than half of the cash value.  I can't even imagine how I would begin to spend the rest.  I think it would be amazing to just bless people's socks off, people who have no expectation or other means... to walk down the street and hand a homeless vet $5000 to help him get back on his feet, or to pay someone's car repair bill or another's medical bills... to just browse the GoFundMe site for someone who strikes me and anonymously donate whatever they need...to not worry about how my own bills will be paid... I can only imagine.  But now, back to reality.

But first ~ where do I go buy a ticket?!

Here we go, yo...

2016 is back upon us.

Mom and Deb are back in California.  Have been, in fact, for nearly a week.

Robert and I are back to work. 

The younger kids return to school tomorrow.  Joshua resumed his ukulele lessons today and finished his driver's education instruction.  (Next step:  DMV for test to obtain his permit.)  Grace has been studying all Christmas break for a spelling bee when she returns to school tomorrow.  She has mastered all the words through 5th grade, and probably 90% of the words for 6th grade, most of the words for 7th grade, and about half the words for 8th grade.  We are really proud of her.

The oldest kid has been working and pursuing taekwondo, earning her yellow belt over the Christmas break.  She has yet to land on a plan for her future, but has been thinking about things.  Prayers are appreciated for wisdom and direction.

I make resolutions.  I know most people poo-poo it but I think it is good and healthy to assess your life here and there (I usually do at the beginning of the calendar year and the beginning of the school year as well) and make goals.  Sure, I fail a lot, but is that any reason NOT to strive for better?

So I have two floating around in my mind, not counting the spiritual goal of working on application as I mentioned in my last post.

First, I want to read more, and specifically, more Agatha.  I've long wanted to read all her published works in order, and I've yet to do it.  She has published more than 80 novels, so it is highly doubtful I can cover all that in a year, but I'm going to shoot for about half in 2016.  In addition, I'm reviving my Dear Agatha blog to help me stay on track.  (The linky is on the right of this page.)

Probably more importantly, I have a health goal, the first real one I've made in years.  Sure, every January, most "fluffy" people think in their heads that they'd like to lose weight, but this one is serious.  Weight loss may or may not follow ~ but the real goal is to get my blood glucose figures into target range.  They have not been where they are supposed to be for a long time.  I had a little bit of a "wake up call" discussion with my doctor last month.  It's time to do something.  Seriously.  So I've been working on baby steps with that for about a month now.  My numbers are improving, but I still have quite a ways to go.

You, faithful readers, are granted permission to keep me accountable.  :)  For both goals!  A healthy mind - one stimulated even by fiction writing, much more valuable than Facebook reading - is as important to me as a healthy body.

What about you?  Any goals for 2016?

My one flaw

Right.  You know.  I only have one flaw.  But in thinking about it this morning I was reminded of a certain someone who is very near and dear to my heart, who, when told by her physician to stop smoking said, "But it's my only sin!"

So, assuming that I, too, live in Fantasyland and I only have one flaw, I shall be transparent before you and share it here on my blog.

Occasionally in the past, maybe three or four times that I can remember, around the end of the year or the beginning of the next year, God has laid on my heart something in my life that I need to work on.  Maybe it's because it's the time of year when I do like to reflect on my life, and so I am more sensitive to His prompting or leading in this area than at other times.  Maybe it's because in that reflection I realize He has been trying to get my attention in a given area that I've been resisting for some time.

Anyway, last year it was prayer.  I spent all of January and February working through (reading, thinking about, noting, and seeking to apply) this amazing book by Daniel Henderson called Transforming Prayer.  I loved it.  It really opened my eyes to how prayer (admittedly, a struggle for me) could be dynamic and exciting when based in worship.  I talked about it frequently and I ordered a few copies to give away to friends.

And that was that.

I have (two or three times) gone through a tremendous Bible study on biblical eating.  It makes absolute sense and I believe it to be true ~ that food to me is an idol that needs to be abolished.  Whenever I do the lesson, I sense truth in my heart and a desire to do life differently.  And then I close up the study for the day and move on to the next thing on my to-do list.

And that is that.

I love love love to read and study my Bible.  I was introduced this past year to Kay Arthur's inductive study method and it appeals to my heart so much that it brings genuine joy to me to get out my colored pencils and mark my Bible and make my lists. 

And that's that.

Are you following me?  I have been convicted this past year that I lack application in my life.  Sure, there are certain messages from God that are simply and immediately applied (even some I haven't liked), but the ones that involve true heart change and lifelong habit change - not so much.

And so I am sensing my "theme" for the coming year ~ application. 

What's funny is that in pursuing that character trait of putting into practice what God is teaching me, some of the other things I've yearned to learn (including prayer and self-control and discipline) should flow out of that.

Recently I finished Packer's Knowing God.  (Side note:  my least favorite genre to read is Christian non-fiction, but ... This. Book.  It's tremendous.  I resisted reading it for years and now I wish I hadn't.  It is amazing and the majority of my book is noted and highlighted because there are so many nuggets of wisdom that I need to remember and apply...)  A wise commenter on Facebook said:

Knowledge without obedience (read: application)

just takes up brain space.

Lack of obedience is poor stewardship

of our brain cells.

- TG Rousch, 8/18/15

I confess that knowledge is something I crave.  I love learning, especially learning about God and His Word.  I have several Bible studies going at once, and I love love love to talk about what I am seeing through them.  (Knowledge may be, perhaps, even an idol in my heart.)  But knowledge is different from wisdom, which, I believe, is the application of knowledge. 

Application.  Obedience.  Wisdom.  It's what's for dinner.

From Grace's tournament in November

 

This was a forms event in a tournament in Aurora for elementary kids in northern Colorado.  Grace was a blue belt (just promoted to red belt a couple of weeks ago) and took first place in her group.  Forms is definitely her strongest category of the four main competitive genres (forms, grappling, sparring, and board breaking)