Oreos, Pumpkin Cake, and New Year's Resolutions

Ah, it's that time again, time for New Year's resolutions. If you haven't made any resolutions, yet, don't despair. It's only the middle of January and there's still time to make some important changes in your life! Below are some suggestions:

1. Laugh more. In our world of stress, it's always nice to be able to find humor in the small things. "Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a new study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore." (Source: http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/laughter.htm. Also check out this website for a "multiple choice laughter survey).

So, what can you do to bring more humor into your life? Try some silly off-the-wall things. Take for example, a few weeks ago. Lon was home for a few days during the Christmas holidays and was privileged to see just what a wife and mom do all day (nope, it has nothing to do with bon-bons and soap operas!) One of our errand stops was the bank to make a deposit. This particular bank has a large screen with a video camera so that the customer is seen by bank personnel and the teller is seen by the customer. (Did I mention that our friend is the manager at this bank?) Lon enjoyed making faces into the screen and keeping himself busy while he waited for the receipt. However, Lon was saddened when the first teller we had (who was not amused by his goofy faces, including nostril flares) was replaced by someone who more readily appreciated his humor. The same effect can be achieved on car windows where my children have more than once squished their noses agains the glass of our car at passerby. (We've since replaced those car windows with the tinted variety).

Seriously, tho, the Bible even talks about laughter and let's not forget who created laughter. He also created our mouths to turn upward, our tummies to shake, and our eyes to tear when provoked with humor. Kids provide the best humor ever, or rent a Ken Davis video or check out cleanjoke.com for some moments of laughter.

2. Stay in touch. Yep, it's a good idea to stay in touch with family and friends and let them know you love and care about them. In our day of modern technology, it's easier than ever. One night, just for fun, Lon called me from his cell phone while he was in the driveway arriving home from work. I answered the house phone and we had a fun conversation, continuing as he entered the door of our house and as we stood face to face with phones pressed up against our ears. Our daughters just looked at us and shaked their heads. (They aren't even teenagers yet and already they think we're weird!) Hey, it's good for a marriage to communicate, right?

For more practical ways to stay in touch with those who don't live in your immediate household, check out suggestion number 21 in my latest book 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference.

3. Make healthy lifestyle changes. It's probably safe to say that most of us at one time or another have made a resolution to lose weight and/or get more exercise. The day after Christmas, I looked to see Lon lying on the floor in the living room. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm getting ready to do a situp," he told me. I wondered why anyone would want to do a situp at 8:00 p.m., so I asked him why not wait until he works out in the morning. "Because I'd like to have another cookie," he told me. He was of the one situp=one cookie philosophy.

Another time, we attended Christmas at my parents' house, as we do each year. One year, Lon decided to do an experiment. Before the delicious meal (my mom always outdoes herself!) Lon weighed himself. After the meal, he weighed himself again. The prognosis? He'd gained five pounds in that short time after eating my mom's famous Christmas dinner. Don't be discouraged, though, men have it good. For us women, we need only to look at a delicous Christmas dinner with all the trimmings to gain five pounds!

Not only can we make healthy lifestyle changes and care for the body God gave us, we can also make spiritual changes and vow to dig into God's Word more frequently. Make a vow to turn everything over to Him as well and make the resolution to rid yourself of worry. Now that's a good lifestyle change I need to adopt!

4. Vow to become more generous. I would like to give an easy example of how to accomplish this resolution: One fine day, our daughters made a pumpkin cake for a school community meal. One of the teachers talked me into taking some of the leftovers home. I'm not normally easily tempted by sugar (my mom's homemade bread, Pringles chips, and blueberries are more my style) so at first I declined. "But it is very good," the teacher told me. I finally agreed and brought the plate with the pumpkin squares home. That night, as I made lunches for the next day, I decided to just take a teensy weensy bite of the pumpkin cake. After all, I do like pumpkin and I do like cake once in awhile, I rationalized, even if it was 10:00 p.m. Soon, I realized that I'd eaten several of the tasty pumpkin cake bars during my binge of weakness. I quickly wrapped up the remainder of the cake, wanting to be generous and share with others what was left, and I headed to bed, thinking nothing more of the episode. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

The next day, Lon was not too thrilled to see that all that was left of the pumpkin cake bars was the tops. (Did I mention that I detest cream cheese frosting and had left the tops that were covered with cream cheese frosting behind?) He said it reminded him of the time I played a joke on him with the Oreo cookies years ago when I went through and ate the centers of the Oreos and left him the cookie parts. Now, don't feel sorry for Lon. Please no letters. He has played his share of jokes on me. There's just not enough blog space to tell you about them!

Seriously, though, make it a vow to serve others and truly love your neighbor as yourself as stated in Matthew 19:19. I often surprise Lon with treats from the store. One of his favorite things is fruit snacks - you know the Spiderman ones or the tractor or race car ones? Another way is to make someone's favorite meal for dinner. A small way I can serve is to make spaghetti for dinner since that is Sunshine's favorite or chicken nuggets, which are Doodle's favorite (preferrably those ones shaped like dinosaurs). Making homemade cookies for Lon's important meeting at work or having a "Girls Day" with my daughters where we do what they want to do all day are other small ways to show others how much we love them.

5. Use your gifts. God gave us all gifts, so we should use them to further His Kingdom. This makes a great resolution. Just be sure not to do things that aren't your gifts. Case in point: I received a new MP3 player for Christmas. Wow, what a pleasure to lift weights and speed walk when I can listen to my contemporary Christian rock music! I learned the hard way, tho, about adjusting to modern technology. As I was working my legs at the gym, I was rocking out to Brandon Heath's "Give Me Your Eyes" and forgetting that I alone had the earphones to listen to this song. What I didn't realize was that I was singing out loud. (Wasn't everyone in the gym listening to Brandon Heath?!) As I belted out the words to the song and did my leg curls, I soon heard a familiar voice. One that was off-pitch and kind of nasaly. Yep. It was my voice. Embarrassed and vowing as a resolution to never work out in the gym again (no, I didn't keep that resolution!) I stopped as quickly as I'd begun. You see, singing is not really a gift of mine. My girls think my voice is nice and I'm sure the Lord loves the voice He created within me, but as for everyone else in the world, it's better if I stick to lip syncing!

Seriously, use your gifts to help others. Are you gifted with kids? Why not volunteer to teach Sunday School? Are you gifted with detail? I'm sure the teacher at your child's school would appreciate your help in grading papers. Are you gifted with a beautiful voice (I'll try not to covet!) then use it to lead the worship team at church. Can you sew? Why not offer to mend some clothes for those who cannot afford new ones? Are you a leader? Why not lead a Bible study? The suggestions are endless. Pray that God will lead you in your quest to serve Him and to serve others using the gifts He gave you!

So there you have it, five easy resolutions!