Say hello to 2008

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Well, if I keep up this pace, you wont be hearing from us again until the spring! So, just to catch up, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hannukah (or Chanukah for the orthodox side of the family), Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sure, throw in a couple happy birthdays in there and now we’re ready to ring in 2008.

 You may be wondering why I’m choosing to blog for the first time in 3 months instead of dancing the night away with my hubby, and that’s because I’m just too dog-gone tired! No, not really, though when anyone asked my husband what he wanted for Christmas, he replied, “a nap”. Actually, my poor husband has to close at Starbucks tonight and tomorrow night, so we’ll have to find another time to party all night long.

I’ve learned a lot in the past few weeks as I’ve reflected on the year past and contemplated the year ahead. I’ve always admired how our Pastor and his wife, Ms. Donna, always have such a positive attitude and demeanor. Could they really like everybody that much? So of course, I had to ask her. Here’s our conversation, summed up in two sentences:

“Do you just focus on the best aspect of a person and overlook the rest,” I asked.  “Pretty much,” she responded.

Ok, well, hopefully we were both more eloquent than that, but essentially she told me that her husband truly never says a negative word about anyone, they don’t sit around and wonder what other people are thinking about them and they keep a bigger Kingdom vision always in sight. It’s also been brought to my attention that I may be a bit controlling, especially when it comes to my kids (no need to echo the sentiment or send me emails saying, “you finally figured it out!” – it’s still a fresh wound:) Not that it really came as a surprise, but someone dear to me suggested that in an effort to protect my children, we could actually be doing them more harm than good.

[Pause for Reflection]

So what’s the moral of that story? Model grace.

I need to remember that my children are still children. I don’t remember everything my husband tells me, so how can I expect them to every day? I’m not deserving of God’s love, yet the same cross saved my less than perfect self, so why can’t I extend the same grace, love and mercy to others?

So, here it goes in 2008. If I’ve offended you, said something that didn’t sit well, or simply just didn’t follow up on what I said I would do – I’m profoundly sorry. Please forgive me. In fact, if you can think of a way I can rectify the situation, please do not hesitate to let me know. Otherwise, know that I’m going to do my best to once again, completely turn myself over into God’s hands and learn the importance of grace and mercy, peace and patience, love and laughter.

With that, I wish you a happy 2008!

P.S. I once again was asked to offer my unique perspective for publication in the Good News of South Florida, so here is a link to January’s article: https://www.goodnewsfl.org/womens.asp?page=bc/0108/columnists/women.asp

I’ve also uploaded some pictures from the last month, so enjoy! https://picasaweb.google.com/samijcone/Christmas07Update