Direct marketing experts advise when writing a solicitation letter to include a PS, because the reader will always read the PS first, before reading the body copy. So, make the PS an important part of your message.

When creating print advertisements experts advise on the importance of the headline. Sometimes these are the only words the reader will read, so make it count. The same advice would be true, I believe, when writing an article such as this. Perhaps, the only thing you will read, or remember, is the headline. So, go ahead read it again, at least twice.

My target audience for this communication is my children, grandchildren, friends and family. So, my New Year’s wish for each of you is that you are blessed with an outrageous amount of foolishness so you will believe, without a doubt, you were born to make a difference in this world.

So here is the 2012 question for you. How will you live a life of meaning and significance? What does God want you to do with your life? Why do you do what you do? For some of you these questions may be easy to answer. But, for most people, even mature adults, these questions remain unanswered for a lifetime. They can haunt people well into adulthood.

I will not tell you that I have a magic formula guaranteed to help with your personal discernment. But, I will offer advice as to where you may find answers. I suggest that you begin with this thought from the Bible, “Commit you works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3  My suggestion is to start your day with a prayer. Include God in your daily plans. Recognize that you can’t succeed by your efforts alone.

My second suggestion is that you form the habit of positive thinking. In every situation, regardless of circumstance, you can decide to be positive or to be otherwise. Choose to be positive. As Aristotle once said, “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” So, form the habit, of being a positive person, it will change everything you do for the rest of your life.

The third suggestion is to be grateful. This morning, for instance, I had my morning cup of coffee (freshly ground beans), followed by a glass of orange juice, pancakes with real blueberry jam from Maine, and then a few grapefruit slices. And, I thought to myself, how many people in the world will never have a single breakfast as nice as this one? I have small indulgences such as this on a routine basis. I am I grateful?

Finally, I would suggest that every worthwhile enduring purpose is virtually always motivated by a desire for the well being of others. So, to the degree that is possible, think less about what you need and more about how you can be of service to others. True success, I believe, will be measured  not by what you have but rather by what you gave away.

Here is a better way to express the same thought, “Remember when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing you have received—only what you have given. St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

So let’s go back to the article headline, the only thing you will likely remember, my wish for you this new year is “May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe you were born to make a difference in this world.” Get started. Make a difference. Remember, the journey of one thousand miles begins with one step. Chineese Proverb

Happy New Year. May 2012 be your best year ever.

January 2011-Lay of the Land

Our oldest son Craig and his wife Nicole and family, Olivia, Evan and Ella are living in Springfield, Illinois. They are planning another busy year with kids activities, vacations, and the usual trials and tribulations.

Brian, Jen and Fisher are living in Portland, Oregon. Jen’s new business start-up, Rawdacious, shows promise. Brian is busy traveling to and from Guemes Island where he has multiple construction projects lined up for the new year. Fisher is doing well in school.

Todd and Jessica have been on a great adventure. Jessica accepted a new job recruiting students for her Alma Mater, Maryville University. Her territory is California. Todd and Jessica moved to San Diego. Then, great news! Todd found a new job opportunity. All is well in sunny California.

Kelly and Mark have big plans for 2011. Kelly is pregnant, due in May. Their daughter, Rumi, will be 3 yrs. in March. Kelly and Mark have decided to build a new house on their acreage on Guemes Island. They will need to move into a rental home on Anacortes until the new home is built.

Brent left Saint Louis in October last year. He’s planning for a new life in Boulder, Colorado. From the latest report, he’s on track. He found a great log cabin home on a farm overlooking the mountains. Sounds good.

Kerry and Kris have big plans as well. Kerry is pregnant, due in March. Kris has a new opportunity working on the next United States America’s Cup entry. This will be the fastest sail boat in the world. Oracle has offered him a three-year contract. They will need to move to San Francisco shortly after the new baby is born. Sienna is getting ready for her new baby brother.

So, that’s it, our family has BIG PLANS. What could go wrong?

January 18 – Catholic Charities Midtown announces a need to downsize. Sandy looses her job.

January 21 – Kelly calls home to ask her Mom for help. Sandy will soon be headed to the West Coast to help pack up Kelly’s house on Guemes for a move to Anacortes.

February 18- Sandy leaves for Seattle. The plan is to meet Jen and Fisher at the airport, then to take Fisher for a spring break vacation with his dad on Guemes. The plan is to meet with Kerry and Sienna for a while. Then help Kelly with the move. Hang out with Brian and Fisher. Then return on March 3. Well, that was the PLAN.

February 20 – A tornado quickly passes through St. Louis. At 2:00am I hear a loud noise. Sounds like a tree limb on the roof top. I go back to sleep.

February 21 – That noise was not a limb on the roof. It was my dining room ceiling crashing down from the weight of water on top of the dining room table. Glass and water everywhere. Looks like a plumbing issue to me since the ceiling hole is directly under the second floor bathroom.

February 22- The plumbing company comes out to investigate. Thirty minutes and $62.00 later the plumber says this damage is rain related. But, how did the rain get to that spot on my ceiling with no other sign of rain? It’s an unresolved mystery.

February 23- Happy 43rd Anniversary Sandy. Oh, wait a minute. She is on Guemes Island helping Kelly. And, Sandy is worried about our youngest daughter, Kerry.  Her pregnancy has been difficult, especially the last few months. And, now, Kerry’s blood pressure is unusually high. Very  high. The mid-wife is  concerned.

February 24- Kelly, now six months pregnant, gets back lab results to learn that she has gestational diabetes.

February 25 – Heavy rain storm hits Saint Louis. It rains all night. Most of it ends up in our house. Mystery solved.

February 26- I discover rain damage. Water dripping from the kitchen ceiling, dining room ceiling, dining room windows, walls, ornate hardwood floor has buckled badly, second floor bath has water damage in the walls. Water from the third floor to the second floor to the basement,  It’s dripping everywhere. Time to call the insurance company. The $1,000 deductible has clearly been surpassed.

February 28 – Sandy predicts that Kerry will have her baby a few weeks early. She is too concerned about Kerry’s health to care much about the swimming pool in her house.

March 2 – Sandy, and Kerry head to the emergency room with Sienna. Sienna has a severe case of pink eye. Worse case, Sandy has ever seen in twenty-three years as a Peds RN.

March 3 – Kerry discovers a rat (a very large mouse) has entered her kitchen. Of course, Sandy loves living with this undesired visitor. The three dogs–Madrona, Ceilo, and Buddy should keep this guy out of the house.

March 4- Kerry goes into labor. She has chosen a natural home birth. The mid-wife is on the way. Kris is headed back from San Francisco. Sandy and Sienna will “sleep” in one room while the baby is delivered in the other bed room. At 2:00am, Sebastian is born. He’s a healthy 7 lb. baby boy. Kerry is ok too. I make plans to go see my newest grandchild.

March 8 – At 4:00am Sandy calls me to tell me she is seeing “pink elephants.” Two hours later I get another phone call. She is leaving the emergency room. Sandy had a 104 temp. She fell in the bath tub hitting her face on the faucet. She refused stitches. She has a mild concussion, lacerations to the face, scarlet fever and strep throat. She  needs bed rest and, of course, she has to stay away from Sebastian, Sienna, Rumi, Fisher and parents too.

March 9 – Kris and Sienna both have eye infections. By this time Sandy knows the pharmacist on a first name basis. That’s not a good sign when you are an out-of-town visitor.

March 15 – Brian has an accidental fall and breaks the eye socket bone. He may need surgery.

March 16- Mid-wife examines Kerry to find a growth in her lower chest area. She’s concerned and orders a cat-scan.

March 17 – Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I leave St. Louis at 6:00am headed to Seattle.

March 18 – Good news. Brian will not require surgery. He was lucky. The fracture will heal on its own. His multiple construction projects on Guemes will continue as planned.

March 23- Kerry has a ultra-sound instead of the cat-scan and the test results are good. Nothing to worry about for now. She will leave for San Francisco as planned.

March 25- Rumi turns three today. We spend the morning helping Kerry and Kris pack up the 22 foot rental truck for San Fran. They leave for California on Saturday. We have lunch with them and then Sandy and I head to Seattle to spend the night.

March 26 – We wake at 4:00am by an error to catch a 7:00am flight back to Saint Louis. She travels by Delta through Minneapolis. I’m returning on Southwest via Chicago. We learn later that Saint Louis is getting an unexpected snow storm. Our flights are delayed. We finally arrive in STL. Sandy gets to see her ‘home soaked home” for the first time. The remodeling company has accomplished nothing since I left 10 days ago. We had planned to have new gutters put up while we were out-of-town. So, much for PLANS.

March 28- I wonder what happens next…

Last week I visited one of my favorite places for lunch–Gioa’s Deli, located across from Berra Park. They offer great sandwiches, chips and drinks. Try it, you’ll like it. Of course, Berra Park was named for the New York Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. Yogi played baseball at that little park in a small Italian neighborhood on the western edge of St. Louis–the area is affectionately referred to as “the Hill.”

There are many funny baseball stories involving the famous Yogi Berra. Here’s one more. When catching a game in Yankee Stadium one day, Yogi became increasingly more annoyed by an opposing team player who made the “sign of the cross” each time he came to the plate. The day was hot and the game was slow. This guy wasn’t helping to move things along any faster. When the player came to the plate for the fourth time and he made the “sign” ever so slowly, Yogi snapped, “Hey buddy, why don’t you stop doing that and just let God watch the game.”

You know sometimes I’m like that guy who annoyed Yogi. I call upon God only when I come to the plate, only when I face a tough situation, only when I need something? My God, then, is a very distant aloof God. He’s called upon only when I need a miracle, when I need strength, when I need help. I don’t know about you but maybe I should invite God into my life on a daily basis. To know Him better would probably be a good thing.

How is your relationship with God? Are you adamant in you beliefs and unwavering in your convictions? Yes, that would be ideal, but…my world is rich in everything, except clarity in the area of faith and spirituality.  Albert Einstein once said, “God does not play dice with the universe.” Einstein accepted the notion of a Creator but was stymied with the problem of good and evil. He concluded there must be a Creator, but he agonized over  the personality of that Designer. Do you ever agonize over the personality of the Designer? At times, I do.

It seems reasonable for me to believe that we are creatures created by God. There is a purpose for our lives with eternal implications. We are not cosmic accidents with no purpose but the grave. Each person then is a unique soul. Each life then has great value. Why then doesn’t the Designer cover each of us with a layer of self-assurance and a sense of peace? As I take a close look at those I know best, I can find a few people with deep faith convictions, people with a healthy self-assurance, people filled with internal peace. These people all seem to have a close relationship with God. As I reflect on the past year, I think I would like to be more like those people. Yea, that would be good.

Who ever coined the cliché, “Life is short” certainly knew what he/she was talking about. As this year comes to an end and another begins I reflect upon how fast a year can pass.  I recall my favorite days on vacation with family and the joy of accomplishing something important with co-workers. I see clearly the connectedness of actions of the past that lead to opportunities today. I’m reminded of life’s fragile nature. I’m reminded frequently that each day counts. Everything I say and do has consequences.  I can’t replay yesterday. I can do something worth doing today.

I believe we are at our best when we’re climbing, thinking, planning, working–when we are trying to bring about something worthwhile, especially something that will benefit others. I am blessed to have such opportunities in 2011. As we bring this year to an end and begin another, I pray that my friends and family may be embraced by God. I pray that they find something worth doing, then do it with a strong sense of purpose. I pray that they have the courage to love one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, and lend a helping hand when necessary.

Happy New Year!