By Jan Penton-Miller
Columnist
The corner where my tree once stood appears empty in comparison. Though I
have arranged some plants in the space, and one is about to bloom it still
appears well…dull. After all the gifts have been opened and the last bits of glitter
vacuumed up the place needs a little something.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Thanksgiving could be celebrated earlier or later? It seems
as if October, November, and December are a blur of fun and excitement with
harvest décor giving way to the sparkle of Christmas.
Then there is January with resolutions of what we plan to do better than the year
before. I usually make the same resolutions as most of us do to exercise and eat
healthier, but this year I’ve added reading the Bible in chronological order.
I have to confess that I can get bogged down in some of the begat passages and
want to move on to more interesting reading so I chose a program on the Bible
App to help me stay on track. I’m doing the Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble
and have found the reminders on my phone helpful too.
One of the listeners on K-Love radio called in with a good idea for next year. She
said that they take stock of their holiday when they put the decorations away.
They write how they are feeling about the way they celebrated, how much money
they spent, and how they could make it more Christ centered the next year. Then
they place this paper in the box with their Christmas decor to help them stay
balanced when next December rolls around.
It is easy to get caught up in all the hype and eat too much or drink too much.
Thankfully, I hardly drink at all, but the eating got a little out of control this year! I
won’t lie and say it wasn’t fun, though, but next year I will try to do a little better in
this department. I know every day is a new day, but I really like to be intentional
about every new trip around the sun. I believe that it helps me to take stock, and
try to make adjustments.
With so many things vying for all of our time this helps me to go back to the
basics. Years ago I wrote a column for The Daily News called Faith and Family. I
met so many lovely people who were working to keep their lives in order with the
help of our heavenly Father. They motivated and encouraged me then to strive
for a life that pleases God.
Talk is cheap, I know, but there is a verse in the Bible that speaks about having a
vision. It says that people perish without vision, and I think taking stock is part of

having a vision for our lives. So I’ll make those resolutions again and pray that
2025 is a productive and safe year for us all.