New Years Resolutions?

Do you make New Years Resolutions? Do you keep them?

For some time now I've eschewed resolving in January. Not so much because I don't like the idea of committing to make positive changes in my life, but more because I don't like to set myself up for failure. And January 1st always comes too early.

Here are my hopeful plans, to begin sometime this Winter:

1. Go back on my allergy diet. As much as I didn't love it, it really did make me much more healthy. I felt a lot better. Plus, eventually I have to stay on it long enough and faithfully enough to maybe pinpoint exactly which things I'm allergic to, instead of simply 10 things I'm not.

2. Enjoy my kids more. I don't know how much more there is to say. I find myself feeling resentful that my kids horn in on my "me" time: time to spend with my husband, time to spend on the Internet, time to read, write, craft, etc. I put them off a lot to keep house and cook too. But Eve's only going to be 4 for 10 more months, and Israel is growing and changing and becoming someone new every day. I don't want to miss this. It's precious and fleeting. It's a gift I don't want to squander on selfish pursuits. Not long from now, my little girl is not going to think I'm the coolest person ever, I won't be the center of her little world. For the time that I am, I want to enjoy it.

to make #1 and #2 work together, I may have to learn new strategies for food prep. I can't be spending all my time cooking the way I was this Summer and early Autumn. But quick things like quesadillas and spaghetti are definitely not in line with the sort of diet I need to be on.

3. I say this every year, and in fact, renew my intentions frequently throughout each year, but I'll repeat it, because it really is important, the MOST important, in fact. I want my life to be subject to God's will for me. This means spending more time praying, more time studying the bible, more time contemplating spiritual matters, more love and compassion for others, more grace and mercy, more service, more giving, less selfishness and self-absorption, a great deal less anger (especially toward my kids and husband), more God-glorifying and a lot less self-aggrandizement. Always challenging, always worth it.

4. Get more sleep and help the rest of my family get more sleep too. I'm not really sure how to accomplish this yet.

5. Finally, I intend to begin my handmade Christmas gifts for next year long before November, because I'd really like to relax a bit more during Advent, and not make my kids watch quite so much TV in December. Plus, last year I sacrificed crafting for my husband and kids in favor of crafting for friends, this year I mostly sacrificed crafting for friends in favor of crafting for my family. I'd like to manage to craft for both groups next time around.