This past year brought numerous changes to my family. My wife and I both changed employers. Two of my kids went to new schools. My eldest son started driving. All in all, 2018 was a busy, yet pretty good year. As we head into 2019, I have been thinking about some changes that I would like to make on a personal and professional level, as well as to this site.
A Few Personal and Professional Changes
For 2019, my main goal is to be a better human and grow as a Christian. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” However, salvation is only step one, and recently I feel very convicted for continuing to remain what some would call a “baby Christian”. Therefore, as step one toward growing closer to Christ, I am planning to carve aside a time each morning, probably during breakfast, to read and study God's word.
I am not getting any younger, and I feel way older than I actually am. I am planning to lose 30 pounds. I know what I need to do. I need to eat smaller portions, only drink water and black coffee, and I need to cut out the sweets. I also need to get more exercise. This is in reality probably going to be the hardest thing for me to do this year, and I will need to have the self-discipline not to have those late night snacks or that extra helping (or two).
I plan to read more books in 2019. I read a lot, but it is mostly online. I plan to track what I read, and I may even occassionally write a piece on what I read, depending on how inspiring it is. I am currently reading a book called The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. It is about the author's personal experiences with his mailman, Fred, and how Fred exemplifies a number of traits that are beneficial for today's workplace. It's a pretty good read thus far.
A Few Changes to this Site
I have this goal each year to be a better writer, but in order to achieve this goal, I actually need to write more. Therefore, I plan to change up the site just a little. Creating art directed posts requires a lot of time and energy. As such, in an effort to post more, I have created two default templates that I can essentially drop posts into (such as this one). There will still be art directed posts. After all, this is The Art Directed Journal. The art direction will continue for longer pieces. Hopefully this will also allow me to make the art directed posts that much better.
Last but not least, I want to thank you for taking the time to visit and read the site. I hope that you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2019!
© 2009-2019 Steve Best. All Rights Reserved.