Happy New Year

Another new year is here and almost the month of January is already gone! One thing I did  last year is read several good books. I meant to write some reviews but I got sidetracked, it's still not too late. Here are a few of the ones I really enjoyed:
1) Dewey-the small town library cat who touched the world
2) Making the rounds with Oscar-the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat
3) Hell or High water-surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River (a little hard to get thru it, but it was very interesting)
4) Twelve extra ordinary women - how God shaped these women of the Bible and what he wants to do with you
5) Under the banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, author of the book Into thin Air, both books are true stories, very well researched and written (could not put the book down until it was finished). I also read a few others which I gave away and cannot remember their titles ..one of them had to do with the mayan calendar and the 'end' of the world....and the other one was a book about United States "Special Forces", amazing what those guys do and what they can endure, and the training is absolutely unbelievable!!

I am presently reading a book given to me by a friend for my birthday, it is very good: God's guest list-welcoming those who influence our lives...There you have it, maybe you can pick up one of these books, I think you will enjoy them.

So, let me ask you a personal question: did you make any resolutions for the new year? How about last year's resolutions? Did you keep any of them? If you are like most people, those resolutions are dropped by the second week of the year. But that's OK, we can always start fresh, again. I know there are a million things to do, but somehow we forget, procrastinate, or just plain run out of time. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to accomplish. This year, when you evaluate your priorities, instead of asking what enriches your life, how about asking what drains your life. Clear out what you can, and make some simple resolutions that will renew your spirit. Try to de-clutter.

Here are 5 simple things maybe we can all do:

 Reach out to your neigbors by serving them in some way (we have several new neigbors who have
 moved in in the past year. We invited them all over for a potluck a few months ago, to get to know each other. We really had a blast!).

 Contact a friend or relative you have not heard from in a long time and see "how they've been".
 (Sometimes I don' t feel like it, but 9 times out of 10 when I pick up the phone and do it, I feel
 so much better the rest of the day).

 Visit a museum. There is a museum for just about everything! What kind of things do you like?
 Take a day to envelop yourself in a long-forgotten interest (that's what I plan to do more of this year with my husband and friends, but I have to plan for it and then do it). There are so many things you can do locally and some are very inexpensive.

 Read a good, uplifting book-maybe a classic. Maybe you can read the Bible cover-to-cover
 this year. That is something I have not done, yet, but I should. (Try to read for 15-30 minutes/day,
 doesn't need to be too time consuming, but you will learn something new and it will be fun).

 If you are married, dedicate a least one day a month to "date" your spouse, if possible, once a
 week. You may wake up everyday in the same house, but sometimes it is easy to treat your
 husband or wife as a coworker. Don't take each other for granted. In between the 'to do lists'
 we all have, let's take a day to give our spouse the intimate attention he or she deserves.

Now, I think this is a pretty easy list to follow, let's all give it our best and enjoy 2013!