During the New Years, it is common to do a New Years Resolution. Though there are some things I’d like to change about myself, there are a few good habits I’d like to keep doing in the coming year.
So without further ado, this is Cliff’s “Continuing List” for 2017.
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Continue to Seek God and His Righteousness first
We recently moved back to Canada and I am expecting to be a father early next year. These are major (wonderful!) changes in our lives. Recently, my wife mentioned, “Canada is so comfortable. What would make someone want to do mission overseas?” We concluded that we shouldn’t let our comfort determine where we live or how we live. Rather, we should continue to seek Jesus and His Righteousness in all that we do. This means that when Baby Tam comes out, we will still go where He calls us. Team Tam’s priority will always be God first, wife second, Baby third (and Cliff fourth).
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Study God’s Word
This relates to the first point. I started the Masters of Divinity program online ever since we were in Africa two years ago. Slowly, credit by credit, I hope to finish it by the Fall of 2018.
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Criticize less
This is probably the biggest struggle I have, especially on Facebook. There are many times I felt like writing a comment but I felt the spirit wasn’t right or encouraging. It might be the right thing to say but if the spirit behind it is not right, I should remove it.
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Spend more time present and less time online
It is easy to consume our gadgets on the Internet. I am also a victim of that. My wife would encourage me to put down the phone and have a real conversation one on one. Lately, I’ve read a lot of articles of how easily infants or youth children get addicted to a gadget. For me, the biggest challenge is not just telling the children to stop but advising their parents to put down the gadget.
This is especially true when our little one comes along. Will I be the physically there but mentally absent parent? Or will I be there spending good quality time with my wife and Baby Tam so they feel loved?
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‘Light’ workout
Since 2016, I got back into a routine of exercise. You would think that I would get into the routine easily given that I used to do triathlon and endurance racing. But nope. I love to hit the snooze button and sleep once in a while. But thanks to my wife, we are exercising together in the morning.
One thing that I started doing is to work out not to build muscles but rather to keep fit and reduce injury. I am not pumping and bulking up. I ain’t doing it to get the six packs the media always advertise. I am focusing on my core and especially, my lower back which is most neglected for a long time. The key is to keep the body tune and not lethargic from sitting around all day. I want to be in good shape physically when I am out on the field.
That’s about it. We are so excited for Baby Tam to be part of our family. With 2017, we are preparing ourselves to labor for His Kingdom in the future. 🙂