How did you celebrate New Year's Eve? I celebrated New Year's Eve in a simple fashion. My family enjoys eating at Steak 'N Shake and we generally stop at least once each time we go back to Missouri. Now that there is a Steak 'N Shake in Greeley, Colorado we only have to drive seventy-five miles instead of 850 miles to Missouri. So our afternoon and early evening consisted of receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and then joining the congregation at St. Mary Parish in Greeley for a beautiful Eucharistic liturgy. At the end of Mass the pastor consecrated the parish, and all present, to Jesus through the intercession of His Blessed Mother. It was a fitting way to celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. After that we enjoyed our meal at Steak 'N Shake.
Upon returning home I spent more time in prayer just as I had promised. It is a wonderful privilege to pray each day for all of God's people when I pray the Liturgy of the Hours. It is also a blessing to take these opportunities on special occasions to pray in a very specific way for the yearnings of all those who are in need in a variety of ways. I am told that there is an Irish tradition in which a pastor prays for his people from midnight to 1:00 am on New Year's Day. Although I am not a pastor I still desire to pray for God's people in like manner.
I enjoyed watching the first sunrise of 2017 (which is pictured above). It was a cool morning but I wanted to get some exercise early on the first day of the new year. I took advantage of the calmer winds than what we have been experiencing lately and completed a thirty minute walk before sunrise. The quiet of the early morning provided a beautiful setting for some prayer and reflection time as well.
As I mentioned in a previous post I usually do not make any New Year's resolutions. However, I decided this morning to make a resolution just for today only. (I figured I could probably succeed if I just made a commitment for one day.) I wanted to reach each of the goals on my Fitbit. I would spend the time walking and praying. It would be a productive day both physically and spiritually if I was successful. I had 10,000 steps completed before noon so I was off to a good start. By this evening it looked like this:
Upon returning home I spent more time in prayer just as I had promised. It is a wonderful privilege to pray each day for all of God's people when I pray the Liturgy of the Hours. It is also a blessing to take these opportunities on special occasions to pray in a very specific way for the yearnings of all those who are in need in a variety of ways. I am told that there is an Irish tradition in which a pastor prays for his people from midnight to 1:00 am on New Year's Day. Although I am not a pastor I still desire to pray for God's people in like manner.
I enjoyed watching the first sunrise of 2017 (which is pictured above). It was a cool morning but I wanted to get some exercise early on the first day of the new year. I took advantage of the calmer winds than what we have been experiencing lately and completed a thirty minute walk before sunrise. The quiet of the early morning provided a beautiful setting for some prayer and reflection time as well.
As I mentioned in a previous post I usually do not make any New Year's resolutions. However, I decided this morning to make a resolution just for today only. (I figured I could probably succeed if I just made a commitment for one day.) I wanted to reach each of the goals on my Fitbit. I would spend the time walking and praying. It would be a productive day both physically and spiritually if I was successful. I had 10,000 steps completed before noon so I was off to a good start. By this evening it looked like this:
I will admit that I don't frequently get all of the categories to light up green in a day's time. However, that was my goal when I got up this morning. It is essential that I start improving in this area of life to maintain my health. Maybe I just need to set that goal every morning when I get out of bed. Would it be a less daunting task if I just decided my goal each day rather than declaring a goal for a whole year? The seventy-five minutes of walking provided some effective prayer time as well. Spending time alone with God is always beneficial. It has been a beautiful day in many ways and the new year has gotten off to a pleasant start.
I took my last walk just after sunset. Being outside to enjoy the first sunrise and the first sunset of the new year reminded me of the awesome majesty of Almighty God. We are blessed indeed. Happy New Year to each of you!
I took my last walk just after sunset. Being outside to enjoy the first sunrise and the first sunset of the new year reminded me of the awesome majesty of Almighty God. We are blessed indeed. Happy New Year to each of you!
Sunset in Wyoming on January 1, 2017
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