"Goals are for people who hate themselves."

I love the sparkly newness of January 1st. It's like getting a new journal or a huge swatch of amazing fabric. What will it be made into? I love the newness of the 1st, but I loathe resolutions of the 31st. Every year I watch precious people go nutty over their "New Years Resolution." It's almost always about "losing weight," but it's never about liking who you already are.

My sister Rebekah sums this up by saying, "Goals are for people who hate themselves."  I totally agree.

If being skinny is your goal - Your goal is real stupid.  I mean, jeepers, friends. Thin? Really!? I have been that coveted size 2. I spend most of that time looking in the mirror and finding new ways to hurt myself. Skinny is a great train robbery of your soul, friends. If a number on a scale is your source of contentment - You will never be happy. You can not choose to be skinny and then expect to be happy. You will never be skinny enough. Your goal will never fulfill the fact that you don't like who you are.

Like myself?! Self esteem? Confidence? That's new age and prideful! Oh evangelicals, what a terrible monster you created. Funny thing about pride, friends, it's any form of self absorption. You being crazy about how much you dislike yourself is just as prideful as the dame that believes she is so super hot. Like who you are and carry on.

Or, just make better choices, friends. I dunno. I mean, I love the idea of being healthy, but don't eat an entire bag of Doritos and then whine about your size. Be a grown up here and have some self control. Take some responsibility for your actions and your choices. I mean,"Do or do not. There is no try," friends. If you want to loose some poundage: Calm down. Eat less. Move more. Stop thinking and talking about it and just do it.

 Also, throw your scale away. Because as Sweet Brown would say, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

Friends, I love you, but reading your status updates this past year has made me realize that you, in fact, don't love you. That's a travesty. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are beautiful. You matter. You have some much to give. Now, do it.

So tonight, as the clock turns and the year changes, this lady will not make a resolution, but I will keep my resolve. I will pray. I will make the choice to be joyful. I will choose to turn off the news. I will be kind. I will continue to say no to magazines and fashion input. I will watch more cartoons. I will choose peace, instead of trying to prove a point. I will eat a healthy snack, instead of eating the bag of M&M's. I will clean more. I will enjoy a special treat, like a Dr. Pepper every now and then. I will play with my Furby. I will find ways to be active, especially when I don't want to. I will not stand on a scale. I will be gentle. I will spend time with my friends. I will look for goodness. I will make more time for my family. I will find goodness. I will be less worried about my aging self and more confident in my childlike faith. I will make and wear fashion I will probably regret. I will read more, write more, create more and love more. I will like who I am. I will embrace the fact I am fatally flawed and that I need Jesus. I will seek God. I will know that mistakes will be made and hurts will happen, but when they do I will get back up and I will once again choose to be joyful, and my resolve will start again.

Friends, don't make goals. Just figure out who you are. Find a place to stand before you fall apart. 2013 is new and shiny. Fill it with something beautiful, something important. Stop worrying about crap that doesn't matter and learn to love what you have been given and if you can't figure out how to do that - give me a shout. I would love to tell you what an idiot I've been so you can learn from my mistakes and then we can figure this out together. Let me leave you with a quote from one of my favorite books (I'm Going To Like Me by Jaime Lee Curtis) "I'm going to like me, cause I am loved and I know it. And liking myself is the best way to show it."