I'm not saying that you shouldn't try, I'm just saying most New Year's Eve extravaganzas end up as a dismal failure. In honor of this wretched non-holiday which stores use as an excuse to close at 4 p.m. (here's looking at you, Dollar Store), I will list some of my most memorable New Year's Eve memories...
1994-1997- I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure most of these years we celebrated New Year's as a family playing Canasta. Yeah, we're pretty cool. No, Canasta isn't an old lady game.
1998- officially the coolest New Year's for me. I was in 8th grade, and went to a Nazarene Youth all nighter with my bestie. We bowled, ice skated,(yikes- a bunch of Texans trying to ice skate), and went to a concert. I don't remember much about the concert except there was a band that had a keytar, and one band was called "Animal Couch." Really? Best band name ever. I wore cool jeans with black stripes down the side.
2000- Can't forget the millennium... or can I? We watched Austin Powers and drank sparkling grape juice. I'm such a rebel.
2003- I took my brother's then-girlfriend (now wife) who was visiting on a tour to a nearby town. While we were in a store a blizzard hit. Cue panicked drive back home using mailboxes as road markers.
2005- My first New Year's with Trevor. We went to White Rock with friends and drank Raspberry Ginger ale from a two liter. Romantic.
2009- Drove around town trying to find a restaurant to have Aidan's birthday dinner. Ended up celebrating in McDonald's. Aidan didn't seem to mind. The McD's employees brought him a bunch of happy meal toys.
2006- Spent it in a hospital. Mr. Aidan finally graced us with his presence- right on time. I needed the tax deduction.
I've now accepted the fact that until Aidan is too cool for us, we will spend New Year's Eve celebrating his birthday. And you know what? It's produced some of the best New Year's celebrations I've had. Last night I made homemade mac n cheese and we ate popcorn and watched his favorite movies all night. I went to bed before midnight and didn't feel like I missed anything. I did still wear false eyelashes, though. I can't let myself go completely. I have to admit, they did look a bit out of place.
So now it's January 1, 2011. A bright white clean slate. Judging by the amount of Facebook status updates (I've got my finger on the pulse of the people), it's resolution time. You have to have new year's resolutions. Next time someone asks you what your resolutions are tell them, "I have no resolutions." See the look of stunned horror on their faces? People don't know how to deal with that. You have to have resolutions.
My issue is this: Why must we make our resolutions so unattainable? Lose 100 pounds? Not likely. Unless your name is Jared and you're going on a Subway diet. Score an invite to Wills and Kate's wedding? Keep dreaming. Never drink pop again? I don't know... caffeine is very addictive. People who have little caffeine intake are crabby. Fit into your skinny jeans from grade ten? Who are you kidding? Donate them to the Salvation Army. Some guy in an emo band is missing out right now because you're holding onto those. We need to aim lower. Strive for mediocrity. How about some attainable new year's resolutions for once? Here's a proposed list of attainable New Year's resolutions. Feel free to use these in conversation when you are inevitably asked what your goals are for the year.
"I'm going to start working out at the gym daily during the month of January, and kind of curtail my visits after that point. Kind of maintain, you know?"
"I'm going to limit my McDonald's trips to once a week or so." (or so gives you a little wiggle room)
"I'm going to keep my yearly weight gain between 5-10 pounds."
"I'm going to try to read more. I'll start with People magazine and work my way to OK and Us Weekly. And Elizabeth's blog. That stuff is entertaining, yet informative."
"I'm going to try not to go to jail."
"I will do something nice for someone once a week."
See? Totally reasonable goals. Because failing really stinks. I know you're probably one of those people that have an inspirational poster of a man climbing a mountain with a saying like, "The only real failure in life is the failure to try." hanging on your bedroom wall, but we all know that's a bunch of hullabaloo. Failure isn't fun. It hurts. It's hard to take chances. Especially if you've been there before and fell flat on your face.
When I was a kid I couldn't do cartwheels. I tried once, but I couldn't do it. I felt like an idiot, so I never tried it again. I had some pretty good excuses, but really I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do one. I hate the feeling failure. I was a clumsy kid and would always break things. I tried really hard, but the more I tried the worse I got. I would get so mad at myself. And even now, I try so hard to be perfect. But I just keep screwing it up.
This morning I was thinking about how I always watch the ball drop in New York on New Year's. Every year I resolve this is the year that I will fix all of my faults, but I end up dropping the ball, too. And I'll be honest, I don't know how to deal with that. How can we deal with our failures the way God would want us to instead of just beating ourselves up? How do we grow in Christ and bear fruit, instead of taking one step forward, two steps back?
First of all, we need to recognize the difference between condemnation and correction. The enemy knows that we can waste a lot of time beating ourselves up when we're wrapped up in condemnation. But, condemnation is not of God.
[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:1
I spend so much time and energy beating myself up for my failures, instead of focusing on living a life empowered by His Holy Spirit.
We also need to accept God's discipline and correction.
And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said, "My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children."I love this. Don't be discouraged when he corrects you. We become so discouraged because we don't realize that his discipline is an investment in our lives. I believe God wants us to rely on Him to be our strength. He wants our lives to be filled with His Spirit so that we are empowered to live a life pleasing to Him.
Hebrews 12:5-6
So, when people ask me what my resolution is, I'm going to tell them to read Ephesians 3. I want my life to be deeply rooted in the love of Christ. That I may be given inner strength through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.
Ephesians 3:16-20
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