Last year, I wrote a blog called 2020 intentions. I know that the pandemic meant that some of those intentions went out of the window – starting to write a sermon five weeks in advance has been impossible when rules and guidance about services change very quickly! But the pandemic also meant that I learned the importance of being still and because of furlough, I got a lot further on with the 2020 reading challenge than I would have done otherwise.

Anyway, here are my intentions for 2021:

Write 100 blogs. Last year I wrote 89 blogs and my site got 12k views. This year, I’d like to write slightly more blogs and match that number of views.

2021 Reading challenge. One of the best things about 2020 for me was learning to read for pleasure again. Doing my BA and then my MA with just a year off in between meant that I was sick to death of books when I started ministry. But I challenged myself to read a book a week in 2020 (even though I only made 40 out of 52) and I fell back in love with reading.

I’m taking on the same challenge for this year, with the expectation that I won’t reach the target, but I will certainly have some good chats with friends who are also doing the challenge.

Going to bed 12 hours before going out. This is a new thing for me. Since I got Covid back in October, I have struggled with my energy levels. Before that point, I would head upstairs about 10pm, and maybe be asleep by 11. I would get up at about 8 and that was all the rest and downtime I seemed to need.

But I am now aiming to go to bed 12 hours before I need to be out of the house. So, if I need to be at my desk at 9am, I will go to bed at 9pm. If I need to leave at 8.30am to open up Foodbank, I am going to go to bed at 8.30pm. I know I won’t manage it all the time, but I hope that by trying to keep to this, I’ll rest better, have more energy and get more time to read!

Read a paragraph every time I sit down at my desk. I got into this habit last year and I want to carry it on. Every time I sit down at my desk, I am going to read a paragraph or so of scripture. It doesn’t have to be much, but I hope that by doing this every time, I will remind myself of why I’m sat there and recommit myself to God.

How I write my sermons. I began last year with the aim of starting each sermon 5 weeks ahead and doing a little bit as each week passed. It didn’t really work out because the world changed and then the rotas changed!

But form the first three months of 2020, I learned that I do write much better sermons when I give myself loads of time to mull them over. The aim this year is to get my head around the readings as soon as possible so that I can produce something decent!

So that’s it. I know some people haven’t bothered with resolutions or intentions this year, and that is absolutely fair enough. I just like the chance to set some goals and map out a plan for moving forward.