HAPPY NEW YEAR

The morning is frigid cold outside with the thermometer diving below zero.  Instead of walking early, we are delaying going out into the cold until the sun is able to warm the air a tad bit.  I am taking the opportunity to begin my first day of the New Year my favorite way.  I prayed and meditated.  Now I sit at my computer with the music playing, the candle burning, the keyboard clicking, and my mind reflecting on the past year with great anticipation for the new.

The challenges I faced last year … I never want to live through again, but as I look at the complete year, I will take a win.  My sister, husband, helpers, and I threw a beautiful 50th Anniversary party for my parents.  I finished the second book in my Tenet series that will upload to kindle by the end of March.  I redecorated my daughter's room and created the library I have always wanted.  Granted, the library isn't the one in my dreams, but we would need to move for that to come true and I don't want to move.  I finally reached one million written words since I started counting on this writing journey I am on.  And even better, I wrote over 300,000 words this past year.  I am very happy.

Of course, to truly reflect, I have to look at the failures.  I didn't grow a vegetable garden.  My photography goal fell to the side in about March or April.  I have a lot of projects that didn't get done.  On the writing side, I missed my fiction word goal by 8,579 words.  The piece I am really concerned about is that I missed my publishing goals, every single goal.  Pursuing Destiny is not in hard print.  "Crosses" and Pursuing Knowledge are not electronically published.  As I write Pursuing the Future, I will begin to work harder on this.  In fact, if I haven't made progress by the end of this month, all of February will be dedication to hard print.  I can't afford to let this slip again.

Of course, the only way to succeed is to have a plan.  I just added my publishing goals to the top of my spreadsheet.  I will work at publishing three new books and one new story.  The third book may be stretching, but if I don't try, it definitely won't happen.  As for my number of words and minutes, I am upping all of them, but not by much.  This is the year of publishing.

On the personal side, I picked a word to pray throughout the year.  Pope Francis declared this the year of Mercy.  I normally don't follow the norm, but when I was given a yearlong reflection booklet of Mercy, I thought it was a good sign to take up the concept.  To keep with the theme, I looked up saints connected with Mercy.  Sister Faustina Kowalska popped up on my google search.  I will work at reading her diary this year.  I am excited because I read the first page this morning and was awestruck.  Beautiful!

When I look into the future, I am frightened,

But why plunge into the future?

Only the present moment is precious to me,

As the future may never enter my soul at all.

It is no longer in my power,

To change, correct or add to the past;

For neither sages nor prophets could do that.

And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.

O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire.

I desire to use you as best I can.

And although I am weak and small,

You grant me the grace of Your omnipotence.

And so, trusting in Your mercy,

I walk through life like a little child,

Offering You each day this heart

Burning with love for Your greater glory.

                                                            Saint Faustina