Poem for the New Year

I was doing some research for my women's Sunday School session this week and I came across a poem that I wanted to share with you. I would love to give credit to the author, but none was mentioned.

A New Year’s Prayer

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn

I Survived New Year's Eve!

Well - I survived Christmas and the dreaded New Year's Eve! When I wasn't working, I spent much of my time in my jammies watching Christmas movies and working on my messages for an upcoming retreat.

Have you ever noticed how many Christmas movies are about a widow with a son? And have you noticed that there is always a perfect male character who, for some reason, has never married, is extremely handsome, is well-adjusted, has a steady income, a great sense of humor, is intelligent, etc? Sometimes he actually rides up on a horse!

Seriously! What's up with this?! I hate these movies and yet I find myself watching them every year. I don't know about your world but in mine... this scenario just isn't realistic. Oh... did I mention that the widow is always thin and gorgeous?!

I'm thinking of writing my own screenplay. First... the "heroine" will be a size 14 not a size 2! Her house won't be perfectly clean. Her child will have dirty clothes all over his floor and he won't have perfect little dimples in his cherubic face! She will struggle to be a good mom and to find quality time to spend with her child while having to work full time to pay the bills. She will accidentally put toothpaste on her face and benzoil peroxide on her toothbrush. Her child will argue with her and she will snap back at him. They will be late to school at least one day a week. She will cry herself to sleep at night.

Oh... when Mr. Perfect rides up on his horse... she recognizes that anyone that looks that good and has all his perfect qualities but has never married... is actually a Ted Bundy or a cross dresser!

I don't mean to be pessimistic but honestly, those movies are just a fantasy. They leave me, momentarily, thinking that this could happen to me. They create an unrealistic dream. I'm very briefly hopeful before I crash back to reality.

OK - be honest... have you ever sat through these movies and fought the urge to throw things at the television? What's your reality?

That's it for today. I have to go buy some fat jeans!

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn