Why I Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions

Everywhere I turn, people are talking about their New Year’s Resolutions. Me? I don’t even bother making them anymore. I gave up on them years ago. After failing to “Lose 10 lbs” for 14 consecutive years, I finally realized there was no point.

But most people keep making them. Why? Because resolutions fill people with hope—hope of change, hope of a better tomorrow, a fresh start, a clean slate. Resolutions start off strong, but life gets in the way. We get sick, we are tired, we are busy. Eventually, our will power fades, our resolve weakens, and we are not enough. We fail.

Sounds a lot like my attempts to be good. I start with great resolve, but eventually, life gets hard, and I realize I just can’t do it. But that’s the beauty of grace! I don’t have to do it, because HE already did. That fresh start I crave, that hope I’m hoping for, it’s found in Christ! He has already completed me. He is already enough, and because of that, I am enough!

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Col. 1:22

So I don’t make resolutions anymore. Instead, I bathe daily in his grace. I swim in scriptures that point me to Jesus. I listen to what the Holy Spirit is calling me to do, and I pray for his power to do it THAT DAY! It’s no longer me setting huge goals and striving for accomplishment. Now it’s just me, resting in his grace, and being satisfied!

“You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy!” Psalm 63:5 NLT

PS- I am not against YOU making resolutions! If God has nudged your heart to make a change, DO IT, by his grace and his power. Remember, this is why I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions!

Mindless Meal Planning

 

Nearly every time I have guests over, I get asked about this little frame. It’s in the heart of our kitchen, in the center of the gallery wall, and it is such an important part of our home. Necessity is the mother of invention, and this Menu Board is necessity’s baby.

See, I don’t love to cook. I’m pretty average at it. (Baking is another story. I can ROCK some cookies!) If you come over for dinner, chances are you won’t remember much about the food. It won’t be bad, but it won’t be anything to write home to mom about either. One of the things I disliked most about cooking was figuring out what to make. It seemed like Sunday afternoon always rolled around, and we had no food for the week ahead so I HAD to go to the grocery store, and I had no idea what to make. And we all know that going to the grocery store without a meal plan is just a recipe for trouble, so I just made the same 7 dinners over and over again. Even though I had other great recipes, I never thought of them at meal planning time. Enter this little guy.

I made it using a frame from Hobby Lobby, some mini clothes pins, and my Silhouette machine. (If you’re interested in making one, I can do a tutorial. Just leave a comment below and I’ll get on that!)

I wrote down all the meals I make, complete with side dishes, on slips of paper. I have about 30 different meals and I store the slips of paper in the box on the bottom right. When it’s time to meal plan, I just flip through the slips, pull out the ones I’d like to make, and clip them to the board. I can then easily make my grocery list. Because the meals are just clipped up, I rearrange things if life gets in the way and I need to make changes during the week. The best part is, I never have to think up meal ideas, because they’re all right there in that little box! When dinners start getting boring, I scroll through Pinterest for new recipes and add them to a blank slip. If the meal is good, it gets added to the box. If it’s gross, I just toss it! Easy peasy!

On the front of the box you can see our PB&J passes. This is another one of necessity’s babies. Last summer I realized I was creating nightmare children! We were fixing them separate food at every meal to accommodate their pickiness, and they had even begun to complain about the special food we made. Mama was OVER. IT. So I explained this to my 3 and 4 year old kids, and made a deal with them. They were expected to eat what we ate every night, but once a week they could choose to use a PB&J pass and have a sandwich instead. At first there were tears, but I stuck to my guns and they quit complaining. Pretty soon, my son would ask me to read all the meals from the menu board, and then he would strategically decide which night he wanted to use his pass. Teaching delayed gratification and good eating habits at the same time? I’ll take it!  Ironically, neither child has used a PB&J pass in months. They have grown so accustomed to eating what we eat, that I think they’ve forgotten about them, and I’m not bringing it up!

So that’s what works for us. It took years of living with what didn’t work to finally sit down and come up with some solutions. And since eating is something we have to do every single day, I’m so glad I did!

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