Here are some of my New Year’s resolutions.

I want to be healthier in 2021. That involves losing some weight, exercising more and eating good food.

I want to pray more. That may sound odd but the older I become, the more I realize the impact of prayer. So many people have prayed for me over the years and I need to make that more of a priority. (I already pray every morning for a list of family members and friends, and for spiritual and political leaders).

We are now in the 24th year of remodeling our house. It’s a slow but satisfying process. Every year, we take another step. Up next is remodeling the guest bathroom. I don’t do this kind of work anymore, so this could get pricey.

I want to spend more time with my family. This year has been tough. I used to visit my son and daughter-in-law in Norman several times a year because I was covering OU football games. That didn’t happen this year. And we need to find more creative ways to get to South Dakota to visit my daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids or find more ways to get them to Tulsa. Also, hopefully my mother-in-law and father-in-law will soon be less restricted at their senior center.

I want to get back with some long-time friends. As time marches on, I have drifted from some people who I have been very close to. Proximity is a problem. You have to be creative to carve out time for folks and I want to do that.

I want to read some books. I have a ton of books and I have not read most of them. I spend a lot of time working on the Tulsa Beacon and I read a lot of information on the Internet. But there is just something special about sitting down and reading a book.

I want to travel more in 2021. In 2020, I went to South Dakota, Florida, Branson and Dallas. That’s not bad for a pandemic year but I would like to go Boston (to visit my cousin) and to California to visit some relatives. Someday, I’d like to visit Hawaii (but not this year). And I would love to go to Europe, England in particular. A trip to Israel would be nice but that is out of the question now because of my schedule and the coronavirus.

I would like to make improvements to the Tulsa Beacon. That is a goal every year. There are limitations. We have limited resources and manpower. But we made a few changes in 2020 and will make a few more this year. I’m not much for wholesale changes because I think readers like the continuity of a newspaper.

I hope to do a better job in interviews on my radio show, Tulsa Beacon Weekend, on KCFO AM970 (talk you can trust). I worked harder on preparation this year and I plan to keep that up. After Doc Blevins passed away, my show seems to be the only one of its kind in Tulsa. I have amazing guests and I am always surprised when people tell they listen to the show. (It’s on at noon every Saturday).

I want to spend more time studying the Bible. I read it every day and I teach Sunday School once every four weeks. I never get tired of it. And when I study it, I find so many applications to life. (I am thankful for a Dr. Matt Brooks of First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow and his messages and for the other three teachers in our Sunday School class – Dr. Jim Furr, Steve Henderson and Warren Jantz.) Our nation needs to re-introduce itself to Scripture and Jesus Christ.

I would like to learn to play the banjo in 2021 but I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. My son Brian gave a new banjo several years ago because he knew that it was the instrument that I would like to play. One of the disappointments of my childhood was that I never learned to play an instrument. In fact, I never learned to read music. So, in order to learn to play the banjo in 2021 (at age 67), I would have to learn to read music. Maybe when I retire I will find the time.

In 2021, I want the Tulsa Beacon to truly be a beacon of truth. We are not “fair and balanced.” We present the truth and the truth isn’t always balanced and it might not be fair.

Truth is a casualty in the news media in Tulsa and throughout the nation.

So-called journalists put their petty politics ahead of the truth. I have been in journalism for more than 40 years and it has never been as bad as it is now.

That’s my list.

I may go back next January and see if I really did any other this stuff.