Child sponsorship is a Bridge to Life for children trapped in poverty.

Here I am again, fatter than I want to be, spending too much time staring at Facebook, watching too much crappy TV and my workout ethic is at sloth level. And here I am once again on New Year’s Eve looking determined to make changes. It’s resolution time.

“I don’t make resolutions. They never stick.”

I’ve heard that plenty of times but, to me, it feels like quitting before I even start.  I have to at least give it a shot. I figure if it lasts two months that’s 8 weeks more than not trying at all. Last year most of my resolutions lasted until August when our family vacation put them to death. When everyone’s eating cheesecake, I eat cheesecake. That’s normally fine until family vacation hits and the theme is excess every night!

So, yeah, my disciplined eating restarts tomorrow … errr … Monday, actually, because we’ll celebrate New Year’s Day tomorrow and eat a lot. It’s important to be realistic, after-all.

So, MONDAY for sure! Monday I will pull the laundry off my bicycle seat sitting on my indoor trainer, put on my padded bike shorts, and climb aboard for at least 10 minutes of pedaling. I figure I need to start slow because a heart attack would wreck everything.

MONDAY, my phone and computer will be shut of at 8:00 PM sharp. Yeah, just like last year. Excess gets replaced by moderation on Monday. Crappy, mindless television gets replaced by books on Monday. Seriously. No, I really mean it this time. Yeah, I meant it last time too, but maybe this year will be different.

In the middle of my resolution review this morning, I realized that all of my resolutions are egocentric. Me, me, me. I’ll be thinner, I’ll be smarter, I’ll be in better shape. My resolutions matter to no one else but me. When I desert them, no one will even notice. That’s probably why they are so easy to dump.

“Wow, Scott, for a guy that talks so much about loving others, you’re pretty selfish when it comes to resolutions. Why are all your goals all about you?” I asked. Maybe some year my resolutions will address the whole talking to myself thing but not yet.

So … I’m adding a section to my resolutions. I’m adding an “others” section to hopefully make some sort of difference. It’s so easy to fall into the complainer mold and ignore my dad’s counsel that he repeated at least a hundred times, “If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.”

The Jesus I follow tells me that loving others and serving others is what it’s all about. It’s kinda weird that I’ve never even thought of that when looking at the year to come and making my plans.

I’ll try to keep my me-focused resolutions because they are good and worthwhile but I’m adding something new. My normal Monday morning planning session list now has a new word on it to move me beyond my self-centered mindset. Simply, it’s “others.”

I plan to think locally, “what can I do this week to encourage, help, serve or connect with someone outside my circle? What can I do even if its small and for just one?”

And I plan to think globally with a particular focus on the ministry in Guatemala that has grabbed my heart. What can I do this week to come alongside my friends at AMG and the families they support? What can I do this week to make some kind of difference?

Do you want to join me in expanding the resolution list a bit? Yeah, I’ll probably drop my self stuff when we hit a string of family celebrations next summer but I’m thinking the others section has a good shot at lasting throughout the year. Why? I’m pretty good at keeping commitments I make to others. I bet you are too.

An idea
I encourage you to consider looking beyond yourself to by sponsoring a child in Guatemala. Beyond a monthly check, you will find that sending a monthly letter to your child will begin to change your focus. The communication is actually what many children look forward to most because it connects them with someone who truly cares about them. Visit www.bit.co/Oratorio to see the children waiting for a sponsor at the sister school our church supports in Oratorio.

Yes, finding sponsors for all 19 of these Oratorio children is one of my 2017 goals! If you sponsor a child and meet one of your goals it will also help me move closer to meeting one of mine at the same time. That’s a great jump on 2017!