12 Hopes for 2012 by Shane Claiborne

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12 Hopes for 2012 by Shane Claiborne

by Shane Claiborne on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 8:54am

12. Do something really nice – that no one knows about.

11. Spend more money on other people than I spend on my self. Love my neighbor as I love myself. And love myself as I love my neighbor.

10. Laugh often… especially at advertisements that try to convince me that I must buy more stuff in order to be happy.

9. Learn a new life skill – like carpentry, pottery, or canning vegetables. Teach someone else I life skill I know how to do.

8. Love a few people well, remembering that what is important is not how much we do but how much love we put into doing it.

7. Write a letter to someone I need to say thank you to. Write another letter to someone I need to ask to forgive me.

6. Track down a critic or someone I disagree with and take them to lunch. Listen to them.

5. Compliment someone I have a hard time complimenting… and mean it.

4. Choose life. Do something regularly to interrupt the patterns of death – do something to end violence, bullying, war, capital punishment and other mean and ugly things.

3. Pause before every potential crisis and ask “will this matter in 5 years?”

2. Get outside often and marvel at things like fireflies and shooting stars. And regularly get my hands into the garden… so when I type on the computer I can see dirt under my fingernails.

1. Believe in miracles. And live in a way that might necessitate one.

New Year, New... Me?

2012 is of to a great start.

7.2 miles in 62.22.
.Church.
.Lunch.

I've been stewing over New Years Resolutions... Do I want to make them? Will I keep them if I make them? Will I even remember what they are? I don't know if I kept my resolutions from last year, I can't remember if I made any! I guess maybe I should look back. Maybe I blogged them...
Hey, hey, I did!
I made school related resolutions. You can find the post here. I am pleased to say, most of them I did follow through with and they have become a permanent part of our school life.

But what about personal resolutions...
Do I want to commit to that?
After much thought, I have decided I will.

I have picked three words to define my 2012.

.Deepen.
.Celebrate.
.Courageous.

I will elaborate on the meanings behind each word later.

I have also decided to do 12-in-12.
Each month I will choose one thing to concentrate on all month. I am going to tentatively plan the year, knowing I have the ability to make adjustments as needed.

January is going to be a month of praying about a very specific step of faith I have been struggling with. I am committing to pray specifically for 30 days. After the 30 days, if I feel the Lord is saying go forth, I will take it to my husband.

What about you?
Do you have any goals for 2012?
Do you have a word that will define you in 2012?