We’re starting off the new year with a vacation, so my posts will be sparse once again. By the time you read this, I’ll be stranded in the wilderness that is Los Angeles. Or the Valley. Like, totally.

I also have been asked to write another Converge Bible Study — this time an even more vast subject: grace. And it will only be through God’s grace that this gets done. If you have any thoughts about grace, encountering grace, leave a comment.

But, Happy New Year!

I didn’t make any resolutions this year. Check that: any specific resolutions. Besides, I’d break those specific ones within a month and feel guilty that my commitment to bettering myself couldn’t last longer than a few weeks. Well, actually, as I continue typing, I realize that my resolutions are rather specific. So, forget this entire paragraph.

I want to become a healthier person is all aspects of my life: emotionally; spiritually; physically.

Maybe it’s because I’m Asian and within the fiber of our being, we have the idea of being well-balanced — you know the whole ying and yang thing; the feng shui thing; I can’t think of anything specifically Korean, but we Koreans were under Chinese rule for most of our people’s history. (I may have just made that up. Much like Fox News, I don’t feel like fact checking).

It’s one of the reasons why Wesley’s Quadrilateral pulls at my soul. It provides a balanced way to approach God and faith.

Spiritually — I want to become more intentional in my spiritual practices. Spend more time reading and studying, absorbing ideas and thoughts on how others (those who are much smarter than me) see God’s grace in action within our brokenness. I need to reclaim my prayer life and be diligent about it, as I seek God’s will. I probably should look into fasting more — check that. Stop thinking about fasting and engage in acts of fasting. From food. From media. From screens.

Emotionally — I just want to be a better, healthier person who is in tuned with the here and now. I am a dreamer. I live up to the moniker, Joseph “the Dreamer.” That’s not bad, but I keep my heads in the clouds too much. My wife’s biggest complaint in our 7 years of marriage is that often times, she feels I’m not here, but “there”– “there” being the deepest corners of my mind and the universe (okay, that’s a lie to make me look I’m smart and… stuff). Being “there”, I risk of missing out on everything in the here and now. And all the life that is happening. I want to–need to be more present. For God is with us. In the midst of us. Right in the here and the now. And if I spend too much time with my heads in the clouds, life and God will just pass me by.

I also want to be nicer. But, I’m not in too much of a hurry to change that.

Physically — I want to be healthier. My cholesterol isn’t getting any lower. And, unfortunately, I haven’t figured out a way to get any younger. Now, let me let you in on a secret: I’m afraid of getting old. As John Mayer croons, “So scared of getting older, I’m only good at being young/ so I play the numbers game to find a way to say that my life has just begun.”

Being around the older generation, I sort of understand the sentiment “Let me die young or let me live forever.” I just want to take care of myself now so that tomorrow I won’t curse my younger self for being all #YOLO. (I deeply apologize for using that).

My wife got me a Fitbit Force for Christmas to help me out with the physical part. The daily goal I set for myself (which is the default goal) is 10,000 steps a day.

I didn’t realize how difficult 10,000 steps were. As I write this (January 3rd, at a coffee shop waiting for my car to get done being maintained with a estimated wait time of 3-4 hours), I have yet to hit the 10,000 mark.

This just means that I have to, at least, head out to the gym more than twice a year. Or walk more. Or join my wife on her jogs. (I hate running. All my life, running was a tool for punishment, as coaches punish you by making you run laps around the field).

But, it’ll be worth it in the long run.

So begins a new year. A new journey. New adventures. New ways to succeed and new ways to fail.

I’m excited and nervous on what 2014 will hold for me personally and professionally. I’m excited to see where God will take us.

And I hope that your 2014 will be filled with blessings, love, joy, and grace. More importantly, I hope that you will be God’s instruments of blessings, love, joy, and grace.

Thanks for reading.