Another year comes and another year goes. . .

Excepts taken from "Just Thoughts of a Plain Country Woman"  December 29, 1946

"Another year goes. Another year comes. The days of the one that passed will seem exactly like the days

of the one that is to come except that it is our man-made way of giving ourselves a new start, another chance.

And it is well, for all life and nature run in cycles-a beginning, a maturity, and a close; the mistakes and failures of yesterday are off-set by the opportunities of today and the hopes of tomorrow."  . . . 

 

So this is my New Year's resolution:

To try to live today well,

"To be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, babies and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never:  in a word,  to let the spiritual,unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common."

 

 

 

We are the "commoners", we are the shepherds

Excerpt taken from "Just Thoughts of A Plain Country Woman"  December 25, 1947

". . . During the war when we sent packages overseas months ahead of time, we thought that victory and war's end would stop all our worries, that peace would be the greatest thing in the world. 
Of course, our first thought was to stop the killing and crippling of our sons and daughters but we still do not have peace.

Even as we have prepared for Christmas, Peace on Earth Good Will to Men, the ministers of the world's goverments have sat and wrestled long and hard to solve the problems of peace.  They may be likened to the wise men of the Nativity who in their learning and wisdom have tried to worship
Him, whereas we common people are like the shepherds who have seen the, vision and have worshipped Him in our simpler ways since we all want peace. . . . 
 

What can we - the common people, the Shepherds, do to bring peace?

We can do as those others did;  they "made known the glad tidings of a Baby born"  in answer to their many, many years of prayer for one "Who should save them from their persecutions;"  they were lifted in the knowledge that they, common shepherds, had been chosen to see the glory and tell the world of the Baby born in a manger to ordinary people of their world.

 

The dignity and personality of every man, not just wise, rich, powerful men, were glorified, and out of that sense of man's personal value has come down to us here in America  -- our most precious heritage.      

"If the ice will bear a man before Christmas. . . ."

Excepts from "Just Thoughts of a Plain Country Woman" January 20, 1946.

 

Weather observation predictions - fun to see if it holds true this year!

 

 

"As one who watches the weather, this Christmas weather had a fairly good forecast for the coming year's weather. 

 

If the ice will bear a man before Christmas, it will not bear a mouse afterward; a green Christmas makes a fat grave yard; a warm Christmas gives a cold Easter. 

 

I'm going to watch that one about the ice, the man, and the mouse, for the ice before Christmas was strong enough to bear cattle up until they went too far out, broke through and drowned. Then that one about "Storms follow the setting of a brilliantly white sun" or the presence of "sun dogs" means cold weather, or creaking snow underfoot, clear weather, all are based upon real truth, I find. Many times I've noticed that thunder in February is really followed by frost or very cool in May."