• Dear Friends,
  
  After many weeks I have finally got down to writing a short submission for my blog page.
  
  Last time I wrote it was last year! I was living and working in a different country and I was preparing to leave.
  
  Well now I am am living in South Africa, and hoping that Home Affairs Department will let me stay.
  
  It was not easy saying good-bye to the land of my birth and place of abode for 36 years, and saying good-bye to my church family in Harare, but I do believe it is the right thing at this moment, and that through this experience I am going to grow.
  
  What are my New Year's Resolutions?
  
• To grow in Christ and become a better witness for Him!
• To succeed in my University studies - improving on last year's performance.
• To become a better educator.
• To become better organised (THIS IS A REAL CHALLENGE!!)
• To maintain a regular healthy exercise regime, specifically by going for either a cycle ride, or a run every day. (I have slipped up a couple of times on this one, but I will not give up on it yet.)

I have read and heard that Goals (resolutions) should be realistic and measurable. Do my resolutions measure up to this standard: Let me analyse them.

To grow in Christ and become a better witness for Him. If I have improved in the area of personal devotions (THere is need for improvement) and I can easily talk about Christ to friends and colleagues and family, I will consider myself to have succeeded in this regard.

To succeed in my university studies - improving on last year's performance. Last year I studied 12 university modules (I am doing my degree by correspondence). I passed 8 modules. One I failed and three I have to write Supplementary exams over the next ten days. I got an average of 52% for the modules. This year I have registered for 9 modules. My aim is to get a passing grade in every module this year.

To become a better educator - At this time I am unemployed but I am hoping to be able to get temporary teaching jobs during the year (locums) both to keep myself in pocket money but more importantly to put into practice, the theory that I am learning through my studies. I am aware of my strengths and my weaknesses. I intend to work intently at those areas of weakness and improve markedly. If my employers are satisfied with my performance in these aspects, I will consider myself to have succeeded in this regard.

To become more organised - This is an area where I am excedingly challenged. However, I do believe that in order to give glory to God I need to take myself in hand in this aspect of life and determine to BECOME organised. To this end, I resolve to:

1. keep my living space tidy and orderly, putting things where they belong, and returning everything to its place when I have finished using it.
2. Set up a daily and weekly schedule of activities that will allow time for my personal devotions, my studies, my exercise, and my leisure activities.
3. Ensure that I keep to the schedule.
   

To maintain a regular healthy exercise regime. While I was in Harare, I had started on this simply by riding 6 km. to work and 6 km. home each day, and on accasions riding much further distances, since I had no car. Now that i am not riding to work each day, I am determined to ensure that I don't become lazy and put on the kilos, so I will endeavour to run or ride every day, each day extending myself a bit more.

Statistics say that 90% (or thereabouts) of new year resolutions are broken before the end of January. I however determine to be a part of that minority, and with God's help I will be. Dr. Phil said that in order for one to break bad habits one needs to replace them with good habits. If I look over the five resolutions that I have just set out, I can see situations which constitute "bad habits" in my life that these resolutions will help me eliminate.

Well, so much for my resolutions.

All that remains for me to say is I wish all my readers, a Happy and God-blessed 2006.

John Blog.