Whether or not you "make" resolutions, there is something about the fresh start of a new year that beckons us to "try, try again." So even if we have become jaded by our past failures to the point of refusing to make any formal resolutions, most of us, if we're willing to admit it, at least have some secret "desires," "goals" that we'd LIKE to accomplish in the coming year. If you DON'T have any goals...well, what do you hope to hit if you're not shooting at anything?
These are sort of an unofficial "compilation" of what seem to be seven of the most popular resolutions that people make for New Years. I looked at the "Top Ten" of about 5 different sites I found, and picked what I determined, in a completely non-scientific method, to be the top seven on average. Please note that these are NOT my resolutions!! I have added my comments and thoughts after each resolution.
1. Lose Weight--traditionally, I've always been underweight if anything, so this has never really made the list for me. The old metabolism is definitely slowing down now, but I think I'm still okay for this year. I think this is also probably one of the top two "quickly broken" resolutions...the other one being #2.
2. Exercise more...this one SHOULD be on my list, but I admit, it's not.
3. Quit smoking/drinking--I've never smoked, and I don't drink (alcohol that is--I'd hate to actually stop drinking anything!), so this one won't make MY list..but if you smoke, I encourage you to move this one up to the #1 spot!! Get a nice picture of the lungs of someone with lung cancer and post it around your house for a little motivation... If you drink, at least make sure that it's in moderation and that you never, ever, ever get behind the wheel after even ONE...
4. Spend more time with family & friends...well, I've never listed this as a "resolution," but I think it's an area we can all improve on, no matter how well we already do it! Relationships should matter more to us than anything!
5. Get out of debt/Make more money/stick to a budget...lots of variations on this one, but the goal in all of them is to have enough money and handle the money we have correctly. Definitely needs to be in MY top list!! I have no credit card debt, but the tons of medical bills last year have done massive damage to my financial position (and it wasn't that good to begin with!)
6. Get a Better Job (or a Raise)--I love my job, and it is a perfect fit for my skills--the raise would be nice, but I work for public transit so that's not likely. So, unless God has other plans, this one won't be on my list.
7. Help others/Volunteer--an admirable goal, certainly. I must admit this one's not on my list either, but not because I'm not interested in doing it--I guess it's more than I don't think of this as something to start doing, but just as a way of life; certainly, I could improve in this area, because I think it always helps us when we take our eyes OFF ourselves for a while...
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Seven Things I've Enjoyed Doing this Christmas
It's Christmas time, one of my favorite times of the year, even if I DO hate the cold...
It's easy to get so caught up in all the "preparation" for Christmas that we never take time to actually enjoy the holiday itself...I'm sometimes guilty of that, no question...shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking all become the "important" stuff and suddenly it's Christmas Day and it's all just been one big blur and now it's OVER.
So it's important to take some time to ENJOY the season, not just "get ready" for it. To that end, these are some things I've done to really experience Christmas this year:
1. Our Choir Presentation--we did a presentation called "Peace on Earth" and I won't say it was my favorite, cause it wasn't, but I just love being a part of this. It's not just the final product, either--I actually enjoy the preparation part, learning the songs, singing them to myself over and over and reflecting on what they really say. I really don't sing well at all, but I am fortunate to be a part of the opportunity to just lift our voices in praise.
2. The Hanging of the Green service--this is one of my favorite services we have all year; we spend the service decorating the sanctuary--lots of different people get to participate, from kids to senior adults, and as each decoration goes up, we hear stories about how it came to be used in association with Christmas. And by the time it's over, our sanctuary looks like Christmas!!
3. The Living Christmas Tree--this is the second year my friends and I have gone to this, and I just love it. It is a production put on by another area church, but it's so big they do it at the University of Tennessee Basketball Arena! The "centerpiece" of the presentation is a HUGE Christmas tree structure that the choir actually climbs up into, so that the whole choir essentially forms a "living" tree shape. The presentation itself is usually a whole musical production--this year it was called "One Solitary Life" and showed in drama and song, the entire life of Christ. It was a good reminder that we celebrate Christmas, not just because of a baby born in a manger, but because of the life that baby lived, the death He suffered, and the victory He achieved for all of us! "He is Risen" should be the proclamation of Christmas as well as Easter.
4. Christmas Parties--I've gone to three this year, if you include the dinner and lightseeing trip with my friends (which I do...count it, that is). It's just a fun time to relax and enjoy the company of friends...even if we did have to spend one of them watching our Vols LOSE to LSU!
5. Surprises--I love surprises...when they involved being the recipient of something unexpected, it's sometimes hard for me to be a gracious "accepter" instead of just a giver...
This year has been a difficult one, financially, and some friends stepped in and played "Santa," providing something for my kids that I simply could not have done on my own. That means more to me than anything anyone could ever give me for myself...
6. Quiet moments--Sometimes, we just need to quit rushing and SIT. One of my absolute favorite things to do at Christmas is go into the living room late at night and turn off all the lights except for the Christmas tree, then just sit and look at the tree, the nativities (I have a bunch...) and enjoy the moment.
7. Christmas Eve--okay, so this hasn't happened yet, but I know I WILL do it (unless God has other plans) the same way as I've done it every year of my life. Our family will gather, eat dinner and then we will all sing Christmas songs--each person, starting with the youngest, gets to pick a song they want to hear and we all sing along. We're terrible singers, but it is one of the best moments of the whole year, because it is family time--we sing, we share memories, we just enjoy each other. It far surpasses the Christmas morning gift-opening as my favorite part of the season!
It's easy to get so caught up in all the "preparation" for Christmas that we never take time to actually enjoy the holiday itself...I'm sometimes guilty of that, no question...shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking all become the "important" stuff and suddenly it's Christmas Day and it's all just been one big blur and now it's OVER.
So it's important to take some time to ENJOY the season, not just "get ready" for it. To that end, these are some things I've done to really experience Christmas this year:
1. Our Choir Presentation--we did a presentation called "Peace on Earth" and I won't say it was my favorite, cause it wasn't, but I just love being a part of this. It's not just the final product, either--I actually enjoy the preparation part, learning the songs, singing them to myself over and over and reflecting on what they really say. I really don't sing well at all, but I am fortunate to be a part of the opportunity to just lift our voices in praise.
2. The Hanging of the Green service--this is one of my favorite services we have all year; we spend the service decorating the sanctuary--lots of different people get to participate, from kids to senior adults, and as each decoration goes up, we hear stories about how it came to be used in association with Christmas. And by the time it's over, our sanctuary looks like Christmas!!
3. The Living Christmas Tree--this is the second year my friends and I have gone to this, and I just love it. It is a production put on by another area church, but it's so big they do it at the University of Tennessee Basketball Arena! The "centerpiece" of the presentation is a HUGE Christmas tree structure that the choir actually climbs up into, so that the whole choir essentially forms a "living" tree shape. The presentation itself is usually a whole musical production--this year it was called "One Solitary Life" and showed in drama and song, the entire life of Christ. It was a good reminder that we celebrate Christmas, not just because of a baby born in a manger, but because of the life that baby lived, the death He suffered, and the victory He achieved for all of us! "He is Risen" should be the proclamation of Christmas as well as Easter.
4. Christmas Parties--I've gone to three this year, if you include the dinner and lightseeing trip with my friends (which I do...count it, that is). It's just a fun time to relax and enjoy the company of friends...even if we did have to spend one of them watching our Vols LOSE to LSU!
5. Surprises--I love surprises...when they involved being the recipient of something unexpected, it's sometimes hard for me to be a gracious "accepter" instead of just a giver...
This year has been a difficult one, financially, and some friends stepped in and played "Santa," providing something for my kids that I simply could not have done on my own. That means more to me than anything anyone could ever give me for myself...
6. Quiet moments--Sometimes, we just need to quit rushing and SIT. One of my absolute favorite things to do at Christmas is go into the living room late at night and turn off all the lights except for the Christmas tree, then just sit and look at the tree, the nativities (I have a bunch...) and enjoy the moment.
7. Christmas Eve--okay, so this hasn't happened yet, but I know I WILL do it (unless God has other plans) the same way as I've done it every year of my life. Our family will gather, eat dinner and then we will all sing Christmas songs--each person, starting with the youngest, gets to pick a song they want to hear and we all sing along. We're terrible singers, but it is one of the best moments of the whole year, because it is family time--we sing, we share memories, we just enjoy each other. It far surpasses the Christmas morning gift-opening as my favorite part of the season!
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