I Pray That Your Year is Full of Love!

Hello out there! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The days just seem to rush
on by.  A new year is upon us. I don't make new year's resolutions anymore. I do try
to figure out how I should go about changing some things I need to work on.
I think that sometimes we just give up because we set our expectations too high.
I'm going to work on my daily devotion time. I feel so much better when I begin my
day reading the daily scriptures from my Magnificat. The problem is - sometimes I
don't begin my day that way. The other night I picked up my Magnificat and read the
scriptures before bed because I had not read them that morning. I had to laugh as I
read the scriptures because I realized that the words I read really would have helped
me if I had just taken the time to read them that morning. It  just so happened that the
scriptures and prayers seemed to apply to what I needed to hear earlier in the day!
Once again I am reminded that God is always talking to me. Unfortunately, many times
I am too busy or preoccupied to listen. I have decided to make my morning prayer/
devotion time my first priority. Here are a few ideas if you struggle with this also.


1. If you don't already have some type of daily devotional book, get one and spend a
few minutes each  morning reading the scriptures and prayers.
2. If you want to pray the rosary but don't have time to pray all five decades - pray one
decade each  morning and maybe another decade before you go to bed. Praying the
rosary while you are driving is another way to get your prayer time in. I have a lot of
CDs on praying the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Let me know if you would
like one. I have so many CDs and prayer booklets. I would love to give them to
others to use.
3. If your children are still at home, take the time to pray with them. Pray the Our Father
together. Pray for their safety and guidance. Let your children know that prayer is
important. Pray before meals, pray before bed, pray before they go to school!
4. Give thanks to the Lord for everything!


The last couple of nights have been really cold here. I cooked a big pot of stew on
Thursday. When Jim and I sat down to eat on Thursday evening I began to pray. I
thanked God for our warm meal, our warm home, and for the fire roaring in the
fireplace. Jim jumped in before I was through and began to pray for those who
have no home and no warm meal. We have both learned to be so thankful. We are
thankful for the many things we use to take for granted. Being able to walk into
our home and turn up the thermostat to heat up our home in the winter is a blessing.
Just like it is a blessing to be able to have a home at all. This time of year always
makes me nostalgic. Looking back and looking forward and being thankful for all
of the paths we have taken. Tonight I pray that God will open our eyes to the path
He has ready for us to take this year. I pray that I will listen to Him and not the world.


May God bless you all during this new year. I pray that the path you take is full of
sunshine and roses, little rain puddles and the songs of birds. I pray that your year is
full of children's laughter and great big hugs. But most of all.............I pray that your
year is full of love!


                                                             Blessings to you and yours!
                                                                     Bye for now, Sharla