I Hereby Resolve...

Yes, I like to make New Year's Resolutions.

Yes, I know that most New Year's Resolutions are broken or forgotten within the first few weeks of January.

I don't care. I like to make them. I like new beginnings. I enjoy being organized. The act of actually getting organized -- when it happens -- makes me downright giddy. I like Mondays. In other words...any time that feels like a new beginning gets me energized.

My resolutions for this year are the same as those of many other folks, for the most part.

1. I plan to lose weight. I'm not saying I'm going on a diet. I'm not going to attend meetings or buy prepared foods. I'm just going to eat right -- and healthy. Last year I read the South Beach Diet plan and it made sense. It worked very well for a period of time, too. But I got lazy and eventually started eating the "problem" things again and was especially bad over the holidays. So it's back to the plan! I'm enthused about this because I know it will work if I let it.

2. I plan to exercise. Here again...I'm not going to join a gym or run a marathon. (I'll leave the marathon running to Jodi!) I just need to make a conscious effort to get moving more. Almost all of my interests are sedentary. I need to be fit enough to keep up with my grand kids, and that's the best motivation there is!

3. I need to get my quilt calendar organized. This is something I do from time to time in an attempt to keep track of all the UFOs (unfinished objects) that I have started or planned. It helps to write them down and check them from time to time. I just bought a new calendar planner for that the other day, so I'm ready.

4. Clean out my sock drawer. Okay...so maybe this one isn't high on anybody else's list, but it's a priority for me. The new pack of socks I bought recently is laying on the floor because there isn't room for more socks. But I needed new socks. It's a dilemma that needs to be solved.

The great thing about all these resolutions is that I have another week before I have to begin all this self-improvement. Aunt Leona will be here until the 7th of January and we're still acting like this is the holiday season. We're all taking a pretty leisurely pace with everything and still eating the candies, etc. that were in our stockings. But as of January 8, 2008, let the improvements begin!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for new beginnings. Thank you for the song, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" in which it says, "Morning by morning new mercies I see". Help me to see every morning as a new beginning...a new day with so many blessings, opportunities and choices to be made. Help me always to make the right ones.