This morning I was allowed to sleep in, and I bounded from bed ready to address my day. I made the bed, did a few loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and worked on the binding for my niece’s quilt. I potted up the geranium slips that had grown roots, and got them settled in a sunny window. I watched a little TV with Dear Husband, and tried a new recipe. (It was a dud, but it was the thought that counted.) I fixed a healthy meal for my family, and generally had a relaxing day. All the while my mind was absorbed with the idea that New Years Day is the time when we choose to alter our lives for the better.<\/p>\n
\nI was reading Dear Abby at breakfast and found The Prayer of St. Francis. I don’t believe I’ve read it before, but it stikes me as an excellent guideline for the coming year. Perhaps it will resonate with you, too.
\nLord, make me an instrument of your peace.
\nWhere there is hatred, let me sow love;
\nWhere there is injury, pardon;
\nWhere there is doubt, faith;
\nWhere there is despair, hope;
\nWhere there is darkness, light;
\nWhere there is sadness, joy.
\nO Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
\nTo be understood as to understand;
\nTo be loved as to love.
\nFor it is in giving that we receive;
\nIt is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
\nIt is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
\nPerhaps we have come to a time when rather than observing random acts of kindness, we need to make kindness part of the fabric of our life. As you make your resolutions…..phrase them in ways that focus outward, and I bet they will brng you great joy!
\nHappy New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This morning I was allowed to sleep in, and I bounded from bed ready to address my day. I made the bed, did a few loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and worked on the binding for my niece’s quilt. … Continue reading