New Year, New Intentions (and, incidentally, new blog design!)

I haven't been a faithful writer, I'll admit. But I've missed writing. I love chronicling my thoughts, adventures, books I'm reading, and the life I'm living. I hope to be more faithful in 2012. To begin the year, I redesigned this blog for a simpler look - in a way, it represents my hope for a simpler year. I don't believe in making resolutions that you can't keep, such as impossible expectations for what you may/may not actually be able to accomplish. But there are good sorts of resolutions that can and ought to be made, not just at the beginning of a new year but all through it. I prefer to think of such resolutions more as purposeful intentions. What do you intend to change in your life this year? Here are a few of my intentions for 2012...

Redeem the time. I'm in my late twenties. Time is beginning to look more like a luxury and less like an everyday commodity. Make every day count, especially for an eternal value.

Read more on paper, less on a screen. Read more purposefully. Read more poetry. Read things that make me think.

Save money. Pay off credit card debt. Pay for my courses at the local college with cash only.

Write more.

Be content. I enjoyed this post by Nancy Wilson. I need to practice contentment and gratitude, instead of constantly looking at other people's lives (what they have, where they live, what they do) and comparing them to mine.

Be a better daughter, sister, aunt, friend. Listen more, talk less, encourage others.

Read the Bible with diligent purpose and intent. Pray often. Praise God when he answers with a no. Praise him when he answers with a yes. Talk more about him. Love him more.