Happy New Year to you!

What happened?!  I feel like I should be saying, "Let's ring in 2011!" But nope, it's another year gone. There were, as always, good and bad things, but somehow, when you stand on the eve (of the eve) of the new year, the good shines through. At least it should - dwelling on the negative isn't a great way to enter and embrace all the new opportunity a new year brings.

I've talked about new years and new beginnings before, and obviously it's a somewhat artificial construct in our linear way of seeing time. But however we got to it, and whatever you think about resolutions and diets and exercise and all that, it really is a time when you can start anew. A little rebirth, given to you every year, so you can evaluate and change and redirect if necessary. Sometimes life just takes hold and we start veering off onto paths unintended. No worries - you have the perfect time for a course correction this weekend!

Do you do "resolutions?" I don't. Not really. I do tweak things in my life. I do try to reestablish anything that got swept away by things like NaNoWriMo or the holidays or illness or life. I look at the things I am doing and decide if they're working. I look at the things I'm not doing, and decide if I need to start them. As an introspective person by nature, I find all this really cathartic.

But what if you're an extrovert and not at all introspective? Well... You should still do it. It's just harder. I find that extroverts are often telling those of us who are introverts that we should get out and do things with people... So think of this as getting in and doing things with yourself.

Spend some time being quiet, or journaling, or just gazing out at the lovely blue winter sky. You can celebrate tomorrow night. For today and tomorrow, just be still for a bit. Be quiet. Listen. Look back. Look forward. Ask God what He thinks. (He'll tell you, you know!)

Happy New Year! I hope you all have the best year of your lives in 2012.

The spirit of Christmas - in a cocktail

The other day I commented on Facebook that I needed a dose of the spirit of Christmas. One friend said I needed a cocktail. *lightbulb* Is there a cocktail called the spirit of Christmas? Because hello! Play on words extraordinaire! So I Googled. I Binged. I Yahooed. And shockingly, I couldn't find a Christmas cocktail with that name. How is that possible?!

Now, our Christmas tradition, because I'm a fifth generation Floridian, is to have key lime pie for Christmas. Cranberries... also Christmasy. Vanilla? Yes please! And rum.. well. 'Nuf said. So last night I set out to create the Spirit of Christmas in a glass. And I have to say, it is tasty!

Here's the recipe:

SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL
makes 1 drink

2 oz Zaya rum (it must be Zaya to get that vanilla undertone!)
1 1/2 oz simple syrup (preferably homemade)
1/2 oz key lime juice
1/2 oz 100% cranberry juice (NOT cranberry juice cocktail)
small lime wedge or lime twist for garnish

Put the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of fresh ice. Shake 30 seconds. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with lime. Enjoy!!

(Please don't get PC with me on the play on words - God does have a sense of humor!)

Age doesn't matter - especially at Christmas!

40 is the new 30. 50 is the new 40. Brown is the new black. Or was that purple this year? Pretty soon 5 will be the new answer to 2+2!

Some of you know that my grandmother just turned 98. She lives alone, walks her dog, drives to get her hair done. Other than some blood pressure issues, she's in great health and mentally sharp as a tack. Her mother lived to be 92... with diabetes. HER parents both lived to 96. So at 46, I could conceivably argue that I'm not "middle-aged" yet. I've obviously got a serious advantage when it comes to the gene pool!

But really, what does that matter? We're not guaranteed another day, ever. I might get hit by a bus, a condition that my genes won't be able to influence. What matters is this day. Those days that led up to this day - let's see, that would be 16,902 of them - have made me who I am. I can't change a single one of them, and regret only steals life from today. Worrying about tomorrow won't get me to it, or through it, more easily. It will just rob me of today.

Christmas is a time of indescribable joy for Christians, because without it, we don't get Easter. Without Easter, we aren't saved. Without salvation, we are eternally separated from God. So every single Christmas should be approached and celebrated with eternal gratitude and thanksgiving. Gifts don't matter. Age doesn't matter. Finances don't matter. The state of the world doesn't matter. All those things will pass away, but the promise brought by that baby will never pass away.

It's almost a new year. Time for evaluation and new beginnings. Time for reflection on the previous year. Time to be thankful for the maturity and freedom your age has brought, and to look forward to growing older only in body in 2012. Have you made bad choices about your diet, exercise, relationship? Start over. Have you gotten stuck in a rut because you've believed that you are "middle aged" and that comes with certain expectations? Start over!

Jesus came - at Christmas - to give you life, and give it abundantly. There's no age limit. Keep your mind and spirit young and free! There's work to do in the Kingdom until the day you die... Start this Christmas.