I can't remember where I first stumbled upon this prayer and am unsure of its origin, but its been great reminder for me throughout the years so I thought I would share it with you today. May we all dream big this year! 

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

At the beginning of each New Year Americans make New's Years resolutions pledging to change their ways.  Each March most of these resolutions have gone by the wayside and are no where to be seen until the beginning of the next new year comes around. 
I am by no means a keeper of resolutions and I, as many people do, want to improve their lives, change their ways and better the world around them.  All of this is up to me.  It starts with my discernment of what needs to change, my ability to put a plan into action and my discipline to stick to it.

 All the girls in my extended family love to get together for “movie night” when we can watch Sandra Bullock in “Miss Congeniality.” The plot goes something like this: Clumsy FBI agent with scary eyebrows and nasty hair undergoes metamorphosis to work undercover as beauty pageant contestant.

We'd crack the perforation on the Advent calendar to reveal the day's picture--a Nutcracker, perhaps, or a doll, or maybe a wise man preparing for his journey, depending on that year's theme. Or we'd break another link on our homemade chain made of red and green construction paper. As the chain shrunk, our excitement grew.

We started our Christmas lists in May. A new doll would arrive on the shelves, or a friend would get the latest tape from some band. "Put it on your Christmas list," mom would say.

I love Christmas, because the Incarnation of Christ boggles my mind. That the second Person of the Trinity would choose to live as we live, be tempted and tried as we are, and love and delight in us, as flawed and base as we are...astounds me.

The Dec. 15 issue of Newsweek features a breathtakingly biased essay called "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage." The author, Lisa Miller, has a high view of homosexuality and a low view of scripture—and an even lower view of those of us who dare trust in God's word. (Managing Editor Jon Meacham supports Ms. Miller's piece in his column: he says the "conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism.")