The List Just Keeps Growing:  Over the holidays, my family made a few comments that I’m often my own worst enemy when adding to the infamous “LIST” of projects that need to get done.  One sister pointed out that she often wondered if I ever considered that just about every gift I give is electronic or a “smart thing” that requires me to connect or set up.  As I thought about it, she was right; my gift obligations rarely end when the gift is unwrapped.  The giving of the gift is the easy part!  Some gifts are easy to install, some are not!  Such is the case with the gift my sisters and I gave our mom and dad this past Christmas.
 
My parents have a gas fireplace in their condo.  Even though it is set and ready to go, my dad just doesn’t like using it … for many good reasons.  While a fireplace creates a nice ambiance, it really is an energy guzzler.  After hearing my dad yap about this so often, I finally did some research online and learned how inefficient fireplaces are and how much warm air really escapes up a fireplace.  My dad hates wasting energy and he sees the use of a fireplace as a MAJOR waste of energy.  But this hasn’t stopped my mom from bringing up many times each winter that it “Sure would be nice to use the fireplace someday.”  My dad pretends not to hear the comment or just rolls his eyes when she brings up this now often heard wintertime monologue.
 
A couple of months ago, I bought a new TV stand that has a small electric fireplace imbedded in it.  It’s cute and creates a warm and quaint fireplace ambiance in the back room of my house.  When my mom saw the realistic looking logs and the glow of the flames, she decided she really wanted to get something similar that could fit inside their fireplace.  My dad just rolled his eyes.  But now my mom was on a mission.  She eventually found something that would work and it had the same 3D flame effect we were looking for.  And, even better, it was manufactured by Duraflame, “America’s Firelog Leader”!  But truth be told, my mom was a bit too chicken to buy it not knowing what my dad would say.  She really wanted it but was afraid my dad would give it a thumbs down.  So, her “mistake” was telling me about this fireplace insert … especially since the Bugarin children and grandchildren had yet to come up with a Christmas gift for them.  Even though my mom said to forget about it, I went and bought it anyways.  I had no clue how I was going to take out the old gas logs, disconnect the gas supply or install this set but I figured those “minor” details could be determined after Christmas by watching a few online videos.  Isn’t that what YouTube is for?
 
On Christmas afternoon, we gathered at my sister Cindy’s house in Allenton.  My mom and dad opened the big box with their gift and my mom was quite ecstatic.  She was happy knowing that soon she would see the flicker of an electric flame in her now abandoned fireplace.  She couldn’t wait to see it work.  As my mom was going on and on about how happy she was and how she couldn’t wait to have at least the ambiance of a fireplace in what we call their “Great Room,” my dad piped up quickly and loud enough for everyone to hear, “Oh, don’t get your hopes up too high.  It will probably be two years before you see it in action!”  Well, the peanut gallery erupted (mostly because … sad to say … I have a track record and they knew what he said was true).  Yes, THE LIST keeps growing but by golly I’m going to figure out this installation quickly and really shock everyone and get it done … uh … soon … I hope.
 
Some Thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions:  If you’re like me, you’ve probably already broken one or two New Year’s resolutions.  I can never figure out why New Year’s resolutions are so hard to keep.  We often do great for a few weeks but then the dead of winter sets in and we forget why we created those resolutions in the first place.
 
I also make sure I have some resolutions that are spiritually related so I continue to deepen my relationship with Christ each year.  Did you make any New Year’s resolutions that were spiritual in nature?  For a moment, let’s consider the Magi. Those three kings went to Bethlehem in search of the newborn King of the Jews.  They were men on a mission and took great risks to find the Christ child and pay him homage.  We need to become like the Magi.  We need to set some goals that will bring us closer to Christ and be willing to take whatever risks those goals might require.
 
Just after Christmas, I saw a post on bustedhalo.com from Elizabeth Manneh.  The title of her post caught my attention:  “12 Questions to Ask Yourself in the New Year.”  Ms. Manneh opens her post by talking about how everyone at this time of year is planning to transform their life by establishing new habits.  She too laments how she hasn’t always been so successful with her resolutions.  She decided to take a different approach this year.  She decided that maybe if she thought deeper about her motivations she would form better intentions for the New Year.  So, she came up with 12 questions (6 that reflect on 2018 and 6 that look forward to 2019) with the hope the answers to those questions would get her off to a more meaningful start for 2019.  I thought her 12 questions were something we all should reflect upon and answer as we start the New Year.  Here are those 12 questions:  1) In which areas of your spiritual life have you grown most in 2018? 2) In which areas of your spiritual life has your growth disappointed you? 3) How did you view God in 2018? 4) Where have you seen examples of answered prayer? 4) Who has most helped your spiritual development? 6) Who do you think you’ve helped most in their spiritual journey? 7) In which area of your spiritual life would you most like to grow? 8) What’s one spiritual practice you want to devote more time to in 2019? 9) What can you do to become more aware of God’s presence? 10) What audacious prayer do you most want answered? 11) Who will you look to for spiritual support? 12) How will you live out your commitment to faith in a practical way?
 
May these questions help guide us on our spiritual journey as we embark upon this New Year!
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
gmb@sjascs.org