Dexter Iowa Community Site

Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

It is hard to imagine that another year has come and past us by. If you stop and think about it, this time last year we were reflecting on the year that has past and looking forward to the new one. I’m sure a few people made resolutions and some even followed through with them. I’ve never been one for resolutions to be honest, I lack the patience to deal with them and tend to let my short attention span get the better of me. So rather than come up with a list of things I resolve to attempt to do this year, how about just some random thoughts about the year past and the one yet to come.

1. When I think back upon my years growing up, the last year and the one to come will all turn full circle this Saturday morning when we say farewell to Mrs. Ruth Sellers in our own way. She was a wonderful teacher and felt that every child should have music in their lives. She wrote in one of my high school yearbooks that although knowledge would bring me wealth, music would bring me life. How very true she was.

2. I think the one thing I’m really going to concentrate on this year is taking that next step in life. There are many things I work on, or am involved with, and at times I find that it isn’t the fear of failing that holds most back, but a fear of actually succeeding. With success comes change and sometimes we aren’t sure if we are up to the change. So instead of taking that next step we become content with who we are. I’d like to change that now.

3. I wonder what kind of year we would have if we tried just once a day to give just a little more of ourselves? Maybe it is at work, maybe at home or in your community, but what would just a bit more of your time or effort accomplish?

4. After a fun but rough year with my first attempt at raising chickens, I’m going to give it another try. It actually was really quite fun up until the pests started killing them all off.

5. I’m not going to mention my garden at this point. I don’t want to give Mother Nature an idea as to what I have planned. Needless to say, I do hope she is a bit more accommodating this year when it comes to moisture at the right times.

6. I have decided that to be true to oneself, to be honorable and fair in all dealings and to live a life that is God centered first is always worth it in the end. I won’t substitute a quick road to satisfied happiness for true happiness that comes from living life the way one should.

7. I think this year also needs to be about reconnecting with those who have taken the time to continue friendships over the years. I’ve got a few people who live some distance from me that I hear from regularly, and every year I think I’ll take a weekend and drive over just to see them. It doesn’t seem to happen, but since the list begins with a few people in the Des Moines area, I just need to make the time to show them how much I appreciate them.

8. I don’t know what the first couple of months of this year will be bringing, but I do know that as I get older I do hate the cold even more. So I’m going to take extra care to enjoy those warm days that come and try to bundle up more to keep from getting sick this year.

9. Finally this week, I think that above all, I want to be able to sit here one year from now looking back upon 2014 and knowing that I’m not stuck in a rut, not spinning my wheels, not in the same place, but actually moving forward in life. And if it just happens that I’m no further along than I am at this point, then at least being happy with the way I’ve lived life, and knowing that I lived it and didn’t just coast along. I wish that for you as well; a year lived to the fullest with all the happiness you deserve.

See you next week….Remember, we’re all in this together.