• SkillsUSA Chapter Formation
• Designed academic posters for the District
• Ninja-design-skills in Pixelmator
• Sports photos and video
• Getting me Snickers and Dr. Pepper on tough days
• Selling Basketball Posters
• 1000 Word English Paper (their favorite assignment ever)

My students are so great that AZ State Superintendent John Huppenthal is visiting our class in February! These students deserve some attention. I can’t wait to show off all the cool things they are doing.  Like I said, they are the best!

The full scientific explanation and process is on Sheryl Canter’s blog if you want to give it a shot. I’m going to experiment with the oven cleaner on my smaller cast iron to see if I get different results.

• Teaching is just as demanding as ministry. Instead of two speaking responsibilities a week I had to speak 5 times a week and 6 times a day. I was forced to be entertaining and instructive every week day (I didn’t always succeed at that).
• Students are smart. They just need some motivation and a little TLC.
• Students don’t always make smart decisions.
• Students are respectful and responsible. I didn’t have one discipline problem in my class all year.
• The pen is mightier than the sword. Chuck Norris is mightier than the pen.
• Students are patient and forgiving. I have rough days too and my students always understood.
• The government’s idea of “accountability” is seriously broken. Don’t get me started.
• My politically “liberal” co-workers are wonderful and caring people. I enjoyed working with them. Contrary to what people think (including Uncle Glenn) they are not Satan’s Servants. They really love their students. I thankful that my co-workers are such great examples to me.
• I hate texting.
• I still enjoy being around teenagers!

I’m not sure how many years I’ll be doing this public teaching thing. I respect all those teachers who have stuck with it. The paperwork and bureaucracy can wear you down at times. I’m just thankful that I get to be around teens eight hours a day. It is all great ministry preparation, but more importantly I think it is ministry.

As I shrieked in fear I glanced to my left only to see my eldest son (in Redneck-Bumper-Sticker-Calvin-like fashion, leaning back with an ever so steady and perfectly arched stream) peeing on his dear old Dad. Yay for potty training. Bummer for being in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.

Albert Einstein said, “Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” I don’t intent to be a judge of Truth and Knowledge, but I do intend to become a better pupil of Truth and Knowledge.

Focus
All those little roads in my head sometimes become traffic-jammed because my curiosity is sparked very easily. When this happens, my valuable thoughts do not have room to roam. My brain becomes grid-locked and I end up creating nothing of value. For instance, my wife tells me she wants a Bohemian necklace and I spend hours researching Bohemianism. Then I end up with a bunch of useless knowledge and I still have no clue what kind of necklace she wants. This year only those thoughts that have value will receive the right of way. I will do whatever it takes to keep those “Bohemian” cars off of the mind roads.

Language
Everybody wants to learn another language, but we never take the necessary steps. Over my short lifetime I’ve studied Navajo, Spanish, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Hebrew. At the time I was learning those languages it was required (not to mention I had tons of other things to study for). Now that I have a little more time on my hands I want to become proficient in Ancient Greek. I’ve also been studying a modern language early in the morning. I will let you know what language that is if I become moderately skilled at speaking it.

Meditation
What good is knowledge if you don’t track and review it? Meditation is my tool for revisiting those truths that have caught my attention. My journals become the tracking tool for those thoughts. I’ve also found that mediation helps me verbalize my thoughts to others in a slightly understandable manner. I’m going to make much more use of mediation this year. The main result should be a greater sense of clarity for me and for others.

The gist of all this rambling is that I NEVER want to stop learning. I’m going to have a disciplined system for learning this year.

NOTE: This post is Part 6 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.

Blog
You may have already noticed consistent blog updates. My goals is to systematically update the blog each week. The content categories will remain the same and the postings will be more frequent.

Journals
One of my favorite things in the world is to sit in a coffee shop with a Pilot V-Ball Grip Extra Fine Pen while arranging words in a journal. Rachel deserves all the credit for introducing me to the joys of journaling. I have a personal journal, a ministry journal, a marriage journal, and journals for both the boys. The thing I love most about pen and paper is that it forces me to choose my words carefully. I’ve committed to one journal entry per week.

People
I would like to share the humor of my grammatical blunders with people that I care about. Most of the time I do this through hand-written cards. Other times I write personal letters. John Adams has become my inspiration for lifelong personal correspondence.

I’m optimistic that these avenues of repeated scribbles will improve my writing and perhaps earn me the title of “writer” someday. You are always encouraged to leave feedback and corrections to anything I write!

NOTE: This post is Part 5 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.

Free Time
I LOVE my family. My family values time, rather than money or luxury. So I decided to give them the gift of time! This is a huge step for me because I enjoy using my time to help people. The downside is that when you help people for free you end up having more people make demands on your time. This year I put a stop to it. From here on out my family alone gets my time for free!

Table Diversions
We’ve been doing well at this goal so far. I used to fancy myself an expert board game player, but Rachel has beat me at everything except Chutes and Ladders. My slight of hand doesn’t go over well with her and I often end up having to play by the rules. Qade and I sometimes play cars on the coffee table while Myles looks forward to the day he gets to scratch up furniture too. Other times Qade and I walk on the coffee table in order to amuse the other household residents.

Hiking
As kids Rachel and I hiked all over creation. From the beginning of our relationship Rachel and I have loved hiking. We got to know each other on hikes. We were engaged on a hike. But volunteering for two organizations, trying to make a living, and having two kids ended up relegating hiking to the past. Until now. I no longer volunteer hours upon hours and I’m currently underemployed. So we will take advantage of the free time and enjoy the great outdoors. The positive in taking the kids is that a carrier and backpack provide us with automatic conditioning for a future Grand Canyon hike!

Weekly Design
Every Monday we sit down and go through our schedules. We design the perfect week. We decide when to go for family walks, what to do during the evening, and how to avoid packing out our schedule with things that do not relate to our family goals. We also go over our finances every month to make sure we are not spending our limited income. Sometimes I give input into the meal calendar. I know it seems very business-like, but I look at it as a creative process. Over time we will come up with better ideas for family activities. Our Weekly Design has kept me focused on the most important people in my life—my family.

NOTE: This post is Part 4 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.

Music
Since I’m mostly unemployed I’ve been working on piano and guitar. Piano is always handy when we are visiting small, rural churches. I’m working on some popular music this year too (which I might detail another time). From Junior High on, Classical music has been one of my favorite genres. It will probably take a lifetime to learn Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor, but I’m might as well start now. As for guitar, I’m a Camp Program Guy. Guitar is a prerequisite in that business. Plus there are few ways of unwinding like sitting around plunking on steel strings.

Graphic Design
I’ve always had an eye for good design, but my start as a Graphic Design Major gave me a life-long desire to create appealing designs. This year I would like to focus on personal branding and start with my website. A website design will force me to learn CSS (which is one of my goals for 2009). I would also like to shy away from design trends and experiment with some unique ideas.

Photography
This recent amusement is something I want to improve. My goal is to take a large volume of photos this year. As I take more photos I will begin to find my style. Post processing will be key this year. I will learn to pick the best photo and get rid of the rest. Forcing myself to do post processing will also make me aware of my compositions as I’m creating them. Something I will carry over from last year is to have fun with the Nikon!

NOTE: This post is Part 3 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.

• 1776 by David McCullough
• John Adams by David McCullough
• Tribes by Seth Godin
• The Last Christian Generation by Josh McDowell
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pauch
• Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins by Annette Simmons
• Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
• UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
• Do the Right Thing by Mike Huckabee
• Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, Robert B. Cialdini
• Speaking to Teenagers by Doug Fields
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
• For Parents Only by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice
• Eat Right 4 Your Type by Peter J. D’Adamo
• Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design by Andy Clarke and Molly E. Holzschlag
• The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman
• Making It All Work by David Allen

Bible Reading
I love the Daily Reading Bible plan from the ESV website . This specific plan takes you through the Old Testament in a year. Most plans do that. The thing I like most about the plan is that it takes me through Psalms and the New Testament twice a year. The daily reading is automatically delivered through RSS feeds straight into Apple Mail . On days when a new book is assigned I launch Logos Mac and read several commentaries on that book. Early morning with a cuppa tea is the optimum time to read The Word.

Blog Reading
I’m cutting back in this realm. Catching up on RSS feeds will be done in free time or during public school babysitting (subbing). I will still stick with my faves: ZenHabits , Beyond Relevance , Usability Post , Apple Ars , Feed My App , and OpenCongress .

Here’s to another fabulous year without TV (minus the occasional episodes of 24 on Hulu ).

NOTE: This post is Part 2 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.

Weight Lifting
I’ve been trying to lift weights around 6am. Right now I am working towards consistency. When I’m pumping iron regularly I will start strengthening my waiflike arms.

Running
My goal is to run two miles at least twice a week. I’ve found the best time to run is around 6:30am. The freezing cold helps me keep pace rather than lolly-gagging around. When my time gets better I will increase the days and the mileage.

Water(ing)
We all need more water. This year I’m carrying around my handy-dandy Sigg Water Bottle more often. Drinking generous amounts of water when I get up helps put me in the water mindset the rest of the day.

Eating
This is the area I need the most help. Because I’ve never struggled with gaining weight I eat what I want, when I want it. This year I’m trying to eat more fruits and veggies and I’m backing off meat. Taking my supplements on a daily basis is never a bad thing either.

Sleeping
I’ve always skimped on sleep. Since getting out of college this area has improved, but I still want to do better this year. Cutting back on my work hours has added immediate zzzz’s to my daily schedule. An occasional power nap in the afternoon has boosted my brain power (usually when I’m subbing a class and I crash on the desk). I now tend to perform tasks quickly and my creative juices flow freely.

Thankfully I didn’t set up super-human expectations this year. I’m hale and hearty so far. The goal is to try out each resolution for 30 days. After 30 days I evaluate my progress (recorded at Gyminee.com). I add things, subtract things, and decide whether or not to renew my 30 day trial.

NOTE: This post is Part 1 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.