End of the Year Ramblings

So many things I look back on in 2009, some in awe, regret, gratitude, loss, humility, and the list goes on.  How do I avoid the mistakes of last year and improve upon the  things I want to embrace in the coming year?  I have so many thoughts swirling and branching and trailing off into places I cannot yet see.

I once had a young man break up with me when I didn’t know we were dating, but he taught me something: his dad taught him to review each day before he went to sleep and think of what worked, what didn’t, what he would do better, etc.  I liked that idea:  Evaluate the actions of each day and make daily resolutions.  I think about it now as I ponder the yearly resolutions many of us talk about and make as a custom.  How many items wouldn’t even be on our lists if we evaluated our lives daily instead of just at the end of the year?

The more I think of it, the more I see the perfect wisdom in the admonitions to pray morning and night, as well as at other times.  You have to review your day in order to thank Him for it, review your actions if you need to ask forgiveness, and you ask for His help in doing better and reaching your goals.  Likewise, the next morning as you kneel you again focus on what you want the day to be like, how you want to be, and ask His help in moving you through it all.

As I continue in my own thoughts, and hope I have written them clearly enough for readers to follow, the simplest, standard answers to questions on how to live resonate from Sunday School classes as a small child: Pray and Read the Scriptures.  I don’t need to make pages of lists of things I want to do in the coming year because if I keep it simple, pray and read the scriptures, the rest will come in due time.

A Christmas Miracle

Every school morning is a hustle and commotion of getting children and teens dressed, fed, and out the door in time for the bus without forgetting anything.  Today was no different except in one thing: When we opened the door, the porch light was glowing.

We have not had power to that light for years now. No amount of fiddling with it, changing bulbs, looking for loose connections, etc., have managed to fix it in the past.  Yet today it shone brightly.

Big deal, you might think, but we live in a rural part of nowhere and skunks, mink, deer, stray cats, and all manner of wildlife have been found on our porch.  When I used to open a big-box store not far from here I had to venture out at 4:30 am and how I wished the light would have worked then so I could have seen if I was walking into a skunk.  They have scared me back inside more than once.

Just the ability to plug-in Christmas lights on our porch now, or cut the boys’ hair outside come Spring is such a  treat.  Leaving on the light so people can see the stairs and hopefully not slip on the ice or snow is another huge benefit.

Our porch light works. What a simple, silly thing, and yet I am so thankful.  Maybe next our dishwasher will become more than a glorified rinse cycle.  A girl can dream, can’t she?

Dare to Get What You Want

I see an epidemic among women.  It is so sad, and yet so preventable.  What is it?  It’s the idea that if “they -really- loved you, they’d know what you want and get it for you making your birthday or Christmas perfect.”  Well guess what?  People do not, and cannot, no matter how much they love you, read minds.  All the hints in the world will backfire because people tend not to have a pen and paper to jot each little hint down, nor do they have your insight as to how you’d rank all the items you hint at wanting.

I grew up with my dad asking me and my sister if my mom had said anything to us about what she wanted.  He tried so hard to please her, but he needed more than a hint.  It was never about if he loved her enough to get her what she wanted.  It was simply lack of information.

Let me say this loud and clear: No matter how much someone loves you, they cannot, and never will, read your mind.  You are doomed to disappointment if you don’t change your tactics.

I like to be surprised.  I think most people do when it comes to presents.  So why not make a list of multiple things that you would love to get, including details like color choices and sizes (think idiot-proof), and then the surprise will be which thing on your list they surprise you with.  Or, they may be creative and use your list to expand upon a theme.

I know there is risk in asking for what you want, with no ambiguity.  If they fail to get you what you ask for, it is hard to reason it away like you could if “maybe they just didn’t hear your hint”.  But why not assume the best of the other person’s intentions and give yourself the gift of the chance of getting something you really want.  And give the other person the gift of not making them jump through flaming hoops and still failing.

Thankful for the Basics

What are you thankful for this season?  I accepted the 21 Days of Gratitude challenge and wrote quite a bit about the things for which I am thankful, especially the little things that often aren’t thought of until you don’t have them.

Please remember the Women’s Shelters or Crisis Centers in your area this Holiday Season, and always.  Many times the people there had to flee, and have only what they are wearing.  If there was a crime involved, their clothing can be taken as evidence leaving them with basically nothing.

Most shelters are happy for donations of:

Underwear, socks, sweatshirts and pants, in sizes infant through adult.

Baby and infant needs such as diapers, baby wipes, infant formula, bottles, pacifiers, blankets, etc.

Basic hygiene items like soap, shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes, etc.

Laundry care needs including baskets, detergent, fabric softener, etc.

New toys and craft supplies or things to entertain children of all ages.

Pillows and bedding for twin-sized beds.

You can check with your local shelter or crisis center for their specific needs.  Those of you in the corporate world may have party funds or “team-building” activities.  You may want to suggest using the funds and time to help support a local shelter instead of the other activity.  Whatever way you can think of will certainly be appreciated!