New Year's Resolutions for the Scholar

As I think about new year's resolutions and commitments, I have two that I will attempt. One is a modification of Lee Iron's excellent suggested reading plans for the Greek New Testament (click on the link). Given the craziness of this 2015 with my finishing the WUNT monograph in the next few months, I think trying to read the GNT in one year is just not going to work. But if you take Lee Iron's 2-year plan, ignore the dates, and just check off all the Pauline texts as you get through them one at a time, I believe a modest goal for myself to read through (again) all of the Pauline letters is a reachable new year's resolution for 2015.

Our making Korean dumplings at home on New Year's Eve
for a traditional dish called dduk-gook (a dumpling+rice cake soup)

    Secondly, an exercise routine. My son showed me an alarming video (a short 3 min) of the dangers of sitting too long, which is a definite occupational hazard for any scholar. According to the video, sitting for six hours total (that's it! I sit at least that much if not more!) in any given day is bad for your health. Ouch! When I'm writing, I'm often oblvious to time until my wife angrily shakes me from my focused trance and reminds me to do household chores, pick up the boys from their after-school activities, or call it a night and go to bed! And especially since I have been eating way toooooo much food this winter break (i.e., Korean food and dumplings!), the video is sobering to say the least. The health(-scare) video is below and the persons who created it have other science tutorials on their youtube channel. 

   Warning: watching the video can scare you into exercising more! 

Finally, this is not really a resolution as much as a spiritual tradition in the Lee family household to pick a Bible text as a the key verse of the year. Mine is Psalm 23:1 - "The Lord is my shepherd, and I lack for nothing." Personally, I want 2015 to be a year when, no matter how tough life gets, no matter the unexpected challenges thrown my way, in the end all I need is to abide in Christ and follow with reckless abandon the Chief Shepherd who has shown himself faithful, time and time again. 
   May you all experience the joy of having Christ and therefore lacking in not one thing this 2015.