By Courtney Burkholder 

So, how are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? You’re two weeks in … still getting up at 5 a.m. to do those crunches and push-ups? Getting your money’s worth out of that new yoga membership? Are your cupboards still free of candy and crackers, or has the junk food already started sneaking back into your house?

I’ll be honest, last week my healthy grilled chicken breasts were so tough even the dog couldn’t gnaw through them. Once again, Double Dave’s Pizza came to my rescue.

Did you know that the two most common resolutions made every New Year are to exercise more and lose weight? It’s easy to believe. I can’t remember a year since I turned 18 when these two resolutions weren’t at the top of my list. But my mother recently shared with me a new spin on these two common resolutions that really struck home: resolutions for parents that are simple to do and more important than sticking to a diet plan.

Instead of exercising more … exercise forgiveness.

Forgive your spouse. Don’t hold grudges or bring up past grievances. Let the past stay in the past and focus on creating a happy future. Remember, a strong marriage is the basis for a strong family. Forgiveness is essential when two imperfect people are striving to live together in perfect harmony.

Forgive your children. More than anything else, children need forgiveness. Growing up is a constant learning experience, and they can’t learn without falling on their faces every once in a while. It is our job as parents to gently guide them, teach them right from wrong, and when they make bad choices, help them to understand their mistakes and forgive them. Forgiveness is what allows them the opportunity to try it again, and this time, get it right!

Forgive yourself. This may be the toughest of all, especially as a parent, when each mistake we make feels like a boulder impacting the lives of our children. But no one is perfect – not even Mom and Dad. We all make mistakes, and we all deserve to be forgiven.

Instead of losing weight … lose the guilt over past mistakes.

Parenting is a tough business. Each day, we are molding and shaping lives with the decisions we make, the words we choose, our tone of voice, the example we set.

I’ve yet to have a day when I didn’t make a mistake or wish I had handled something differently. But it’s not our mistakes that hurt our children; it’s what we do about them.

Forgive yourself for past mistakes and move forward into the New Year guilt-free and positive, resolving to do the very best job that you can do.

That thin, toned, healthy you is important – but the toned and healthy heart is even more important. Remember, the love of the Lord is new every morning, and His mercies never cease.