At the start of a new year, many individuals (myself included) make resolutions. Often, those resolutions are focused on oneself: I want to lose weight, I want to run a half-marathon, I want to get organized, I want to ride RAGBRAI. Today, though, I'd like to challenge you to do something a bit unique: make a technology-related resolution which helps you or others to increase expressions of love. Here are 10 examples of ways you might fill in the sentence, "By [specific date], I will... [resolution]" so that love may increase in the world.

1. Start a blog that will help me to express the unconditional love of God and your congregation for all people.
2. Consistently keep my digital files and email organized and backed up, as a way to be a good steward of the time I spend at work and a benefit to whomever follows me in my job.
3. Work on finding ways to reduce my carbon footprint by at least 25% as a sign of my love for God's earth.
4. Have a youth mentor me on technologies that I know little about, so that I might build a new friendship this year.
5. Learn the basics of graphic design, so that my publicity might reach out to persons in the community more effectively.
6. Improve my digital photography skills—and then share more digital photos with congregation members and print more photos to post around the church—so that members might grow in love for one another and the church itself.
7. Participate regularly in a theology or Bible discussion forum or email list, with the goal of seeking understanding, harmony, friendship, learning, and growth.
   
8. Create my first videos to post on YouTube, so that I might better learn how to connect with the youth and young adults.
9. Set up a computer lab in the church (or in another location in the community) that is open much of the day for use by job-seekers, homeless persons, low-income residents of the community, and others to learn basic computer skills, work on resumes, look for jobs, and so on.
10. Begin to use Lotsa Helping Hands within my church as a way for congregation members to reach out to one another in love and compassion.

At the end of 2010—or even 2019—I really don't anticipate that you or I will have a rocket pack to fly around town. However, I definitely think there are many ways we can use existing technologies to say "bon voyage" to the love that is within us, setting it free to grow in others.

~ by Tim Gossett