For the Seventh Day of Christmas...

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...I have seven goals for the New Year. I do not make resolutions. There is something about a resolution that just makes me want to break it, like right now. But goals are a good thing. Goals are something that you strive for, but do not have guilt over not doing all the time. Guilt is a five-lettered dirty word and it serves little purpose, and I think that's why I do not make resolutions. They just make you feel guilty.


1. Rest more. I learned this last year after my surgery that our bodies are not Energizer bunnies. They wear out. We must be kind to them. We must not burn the candle at two ends (which I do professionally). I will sit and not feel the least bit guilty (as long as my hands are busy).

2. Read more. This kind of goes along with resting more, but I will not feel guilty if my hands are less busy holding a book because my mind will also be busy, right?

3. Spend more time with my children. This seems kind of silly since I'm home with them all day, but you know how you get in a sort of parallel work mode? Both working, or playing, in the same room but not together? I'm working toward less of that and more conversations.

4. Spend more time with Jesus. This should really be number one, but I'm not ranking these "goals." This one means for me more daily Mass, more quiet meditation, and more Adoration. My mother-in-law gave to me for Christmas a book I will add to my daily meditation. It is Praying with Saint Paul: Daily Reflections on the Letters of the Apostle Paul and I look forward to reading it. It is published by Magnificat and I have found all of the Magnificat meditation books to be wonderful.

5. Try to do my shopping locally and from small businesses. Locally meaning within my own small community, and small businesses meaning not Wal-mart. I have no goal to put Wal-Mart and Target out of business, and I don't have a gripe with large businesses. But, I think in this economy, large businesses have a lot more fat on which to run. Small businesses have to lay off employees quicker and they can't hold out as long if things get rough.

6. Buy less/spend less. This might be hard to do without frequenting big box stores (No. 5), but the ultimate goal is to buy less. Bring fewer things into the house. Do without.

7. Spend less time at the computer. Yup, that means blogging. I don't have to tell you that the computer can become all-consuming. If I really want to do numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, I have to do number 7. Can't have it all. As my favorite blogs list gets longer, I find the need to plop down in my computer chair more frequently to catch up. I think I'm just going to have to get used to be behind, sometimes.


Happy Seventh Day of Christmas. And Happy New Year.

PS The seventh day can represent the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit or the Seven Sacraments.







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