A (Not-So-New) Idea for the New Year

                                                                             Photo source unknown

 

What are you planning for your New Year’s Resolutions?   I make a list of things I want to improve on or change every, and usually they’re always the same! But you know what? I hardly ever keep them!  Don’t get me wrong. My resolutions are important and significant, concerning health, spirituality, and helping others.  I just can’t stay with it the way I plan in the beginning.   So I decided to give up the whole idea of resolutions this year, and instead, take a different approach. I wrote a prayer.   

As I was writing, something interesting happened. I started to think about friends and family who are in need of support through prayer, and my thoughts grew wider to all those in the world who may also be in need of  prayers. So I had a thought: how about if we ALL PRAY FOR EACH OTHER in the New Year?  We all have burdens to bear, and some are very heavy to hold alone. What if we each considered praying along with our resolutions for the New Year?  Praying for each other is a  powerful thing. There’s a strength and peace that comes when we pray this way.  Reflect on others needs; praying for the sick, the disabled, the lonely , the elderly, the children? There are those who have lost loved ones, those who are going through divorce, or loss of a job. There is need for prayer for those in the world who are persecuted, rejected, imprisoned and discarded by society. What about the homeless, the hungry, the lost?  Who better to pray for than the soldiers, police officers, firemen or rescue workers; nurses, doctors, pastors and teachers?  Let’s pray for the strength of families and for marriages which seem more and more under attack these days.  If you have a special intention or prayer request, I will pray for you. I know I need prayers as well.  So let’s do it! Feel free to leave a comment if you have a special prayer and I will pray for you.

We are all intertwined on this earth and we must help bear each others burdens. We need to have each others backs, watch out for, defend and help each other stay on track. Another year is about to unfold. There are sorrows unknown, joys will unfold, promises and hopes to come.  Let us remember that no man or woman; no program or new fad can help truly fulfill us, but only The Father can sustain us. Pray for His Divine Presence to go before and after each of us throughout our individual walks this coming year.  May we all walk in confidence and trust and pray in Jesus Precious Name, Amen.

Remembering.....

                                                                Photo courtesy of Jake Olsen Studios, Blair, Nebraska

Tonight, I am thinking of my childhood. I always looked forward to Christmas eve at my grandparents home every single year while growing up. My grandma made the best food, and my aunts always brought tons of sweets to nibble on. The biggest treat was the pop my uncle brought. (we didn’t get pop except around Christmastime.)Their house was so small we would divide into different rooms. Men got the living room and played cards, women got the kitchen, girls got grandmas bedroom and boys got grandpas bedroom. It might seem that we were separated but we weren't; we could here everyone's laughter from room to room! We cousins would make a Christmas pageant and sing carols to the grownups before opening gifts. Sometimes, I would sneak outside for a bit in the cold, night air. The snow was crisp and the moon shown down through the trees on their little farm. I would stand there, looking out at the barns; hearing the chickens clucking in their sleep and the cows rustling in their pen. Once in a while you could hear the lone barking of a coyote in the distance. But I wasn’t’ afraid, I had grandpas dogs to keep me safe. I watched that little house, with all the lights blazing and through the quiet, listened to the sounds coming from the house; a mixture of children and adults, laughing and sharing stories. I remember thinking of how much I loved my family and the times we spent there, especially at Christmas. It made me sad to think that someday, we would all grow up, go our separate ways. That old farm is only a memory now. The house has been torn down and my grandparents, and my dad have been gone for a long time. Many of us are scattered across this great country and some of us don’t see each other much anymore. But I go back there to that old farm on Christmas eve every year in my mind…and I am a child again. I feel the warmth and the love of my family. I can hear the laughter and feel the warmth of their love…and once again, I am home.