It seems that every year, a whole lot of people (I won't mention any names, well, except for mine) make New Year's Resolutions, and a pretty substantial portion of them don't keep those resolutions (again, I won't mention any names, other than my own).
For me personally, my most successful New Year's resolutions were supported by other people in my life, and/or good tools. So I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my favorite tools for supporting my New Year's Resolutions, but first, I suppose it would be appropriate to list a few of the most popular resolutions that get broken. Time Magazine published this list in 2012, and I bet it's still as accurate today as it was when it was first published.
- Lose Weight and Get Fit
- Quit Smoking
- Learn Something New
- Eat Healthier and Diet
- Get Out of Debt and Save Money
- Spend More Time with Family
- Travel to New Places
- Be Less Stressed
- Volunteer
- Drink Less
For the first one (Lose Weight and Get Fit), which has to be the all time number one New Year's resolution, I personally lost 40 pounds about a dozen years ago after reading this book.
Apparently it is no longer in print, but it seems that Amazon.com still has used copies available. The book basically equates calories to dollars (made perfect sense to me). If you need help/support with your weight loss resolution, I would highly recommend Wayne Burns at Fortified Fitness. Wayne was born with a double portion of the encourager gene, then God gave him another double portion when He saved him. If you prefer to be encouraged using God's word as the basis of that encouragement rather than to be yelled at, Wayne is your man.
For the second one (Quit Smoking), I've only smoked cigarettes one time in my entire life (the first time was my last time). My childhood friend Mike Marks and I snuck one of my mothers cigarettes while she was at the grocery when we were about 8 years old, but as always, we got busted (we were not the sharpest knives in the drawer, and smoked the cigarette in the kitchen, so she smelled it as soon as she walked in the room). My mother, being the intelligent one in the room, made Mike and I smoke the rest of the pack of cigarettes, and I have never smoked another (never once had the desire to puke my guts out). Not sure that was helpful to anyone but me, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
For the third one (Learn Something New), my personal favorite is to read books, and so I like to shop for Kindle books on Amazon, and if you click the link, you will see that I actually prefer to use AmazonSmile. This is an awesome program that allows you to choose your favorite charity and every time you make a purchase, Amazon donates a small percentage of your purchase to that charity. Another of my favorite methods to learn new things is to watch instructional video's, and in my opinion, no one does that better than Lynda.com.
For the fourth one (Eat Healthier and Diet), see the first resolution for the diet part (lose the weight), and my favorite tool to help me eat better is the myfitnesspal app and website. Just knowing where you stand throughout the day helps keep you in your target calorie range, and for some reason, motivates you to exercise (when I know eating that cookie will kick me over on calories, I also know I can go run or walk it off on the treadmill). I will be reacquainting myself with it next week.
For the fifth one (Get Out of Debt and Save Money), my favorite was Larry Burkett and Christian Financial Ministries, that later became Crown Financial Ministries, but Dave Ramsey will do in a pinch. Actually, I really liked it when I could teach both. The Crown material told you why, and the Ramsey material told you how. Today, the Ramsey material has done nothing but get better and better, so if you are looking to get out of debt and save some money, Ramsey is your man and Financial Peace University is your plan.
For the sixth one (Spend More Time with Family), I find that reading my Bible daily keeps my priorities straighter than anything else, and the best tool I have found to keep me on track is the World Outreach Church app. I just find that if I start each day with reading a portion of scripture, that my day goes better, and I do much better at keeping everything in its proper place. TODAY (12/28/2014) a whole bunch of folks that use the World Outreach Church app finished reading the Bible from beginning to end in a year. Will you join us for 2015?
For the seventh one (Travel to New Places), I just have four words. Get a Gold Wing (you will have to ignore number five to buy a Gold Wing and ride the Tail Of The Dragon with your smokin hot wife).
For the eighth one (Be Less Stressed), I just have four words. Get a Gold Wing (you will have to ignore number five again, so don't tell Dave Ramsey about this blog post please).
For the ninth one (Volunteer), I like to start with my Church, and then move out from there, but still prefer to work with ministries when at all possible. If you are not serving at your church, commit to touch base with someone in leadership next week, get this year started on the right foot by serving others in your local place of worship. For me, I serve on the Multi-media team running a video camera during church services (Santa might know if you are naughty or nice, but I know if you chew gum or sleep during church). If you followed my advice for number seven and eight, then consider joining the CMA (Christian Motorcyclist Association), what a great way to serve the Lord and have a blast at the same time.
For the tenth one (Drink Less), like number two, I have little advice because I have even less experience with alcohol (never tasted it) than I had with cigarettes. I do know this though, my God can free anyone from anything.
May the Lord Bless the work of your mind, hands and heart in the year 2015.




