so the earth revolves around the sun

I stop, look at the calendar and shake my head in disbelief. Like a typical grown-up, I pause to ask myself "Where did the time go?" Once again, the earth and the sun successfully conspired, meaning another year takes its place in the halls of my past.
I look back on the year and I smile, not because the last 365 days went off without a hitch, more so because I fell from grace so many times I have to laugh.
I could daydream about getting everything right next year but who am I kidding? I am human. My plans won't all work out exactly as I want. There's a good chance I'll walk right when the earth shifts left. But I learned something in the last year. Detours sometimes lead to miracles.
Still, looking forward, the idea of New Year's resolutions inevitably comes to mind. I know better than to make a list and try to check things off. So, I turn to God in prayer.
I ask to move forward in my career, that I might use the gift of words to tell meaningful and powerful stories. I pray for my marriage, that my husband and I continue to grow deeper in love everyday. I pray we can start a family and welcome a baby into our world, a child that will grow to learn the beauty and mystery of this imperfect life. I pray I don't mess up to much.
I have typical resolutions too, things I don't bother God about. I want to go jogging, then work up to running and eventually become one of those people who wakes up early to exercise. I also want to learn to cook the countless recipes I have pulled out of magazines. And I want to look put together, less like a messy hodgepodge who mixes fashion dos and donts.
Still, there's a reason I don't pray for running shoes and an apron. I might not follow through. I don't want God investing to much on my self-improvement schemes.
After all, I hate to run. Those recipes started piling up five years ago. And I really don't care if my shoes match my purse.
Then again, each year winds up being full of surprises. So maybe I'll finish a marathon, or bake a pear tart. Whatever the year brings, one things is certain, the time will go by fast and I'll wonder where it went.

Punching fists in the air

Why do we let so many things divide us? Why do we hate when we can love? I tire of the arguments. I tire of people shouting, “I am right. You are wrong,” their voices sounding out in fear. We are all just people, men and women with opinions and ideas. It is not our place to judge, to force our beliefs on others, to dance around wildly with pride as though we are masters of truth. We are not God. We are human beings, and what separates humanity from the animal masses is the capacity for compassion and for reasoning, the ability to have faith in what is beyond the flesh yet be humbled by our limitations.
No one wins a battle fueled by rage. We cannot win a fight against imaginary adversaries. How does a person defeat what foolish fear creates? It is only when we wipe the mud from our eyes that we can see.
I believe we are safe in God’s love. We are all the same, all children engaged in the mystery of life. We do not need to control one another. We need to embrace one another. We do not need to kick and scream. We only need to whisper.

"Women hold up half the sky."
Mao Tse Tung

If you are a woman, I recommend you read “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. The book will change the way you look at your life. Pulitzer Prize winners Kristof and Wudunn expose human rights violations against women throughout the developing world. The stories are harsh but true.
Everyday:
Women and girls are kidnapped; then thrown violently into the sex trade where they are beaten and drugged into submission.
Women die unecessarily in childbirth or suffer life altering injuries due to insufficient medical care.
Women are beaten to death or set on fire for disobeying the men or matriachs in their lives.
Women are gang raped in the streets and then shunned by their families for being unclean, often leading them to commit suicide.
These are just some of the injustices girls as young as three endure. Worse yet, such acts aren’t even considered criminal. Forced prostitution, rape, domestic violence and honor killings are seen as part of the culture.
After reading "Half the Sky," I will never again look at my life the same way. American women, do not take your freedoms for granted. Women around the world need our help.
Please read the book. If some of the stories are to difficult to take, read what you can. The authors urge readers to get involved and help in some small way. Education is the pathway to change.

Go to www.halftheskymovement.org