Everyone thinks that their dog is the ‘best’. But I, truly, had the best dog – for about 11 years. He was a beautiful smooth-haired Chow-Chow, and his name was Johann Sebastian Bachie. My boys were quite taken a-back by his name, but since they couldn’t seem to come up with anything else, Bachie, it was.

In Deuteronomy 22, it says several times to not ignore your neighbors’ needs.  In the NASB, it uses the words, ‘pay no attention to them’.  And in the Message it says, ‘don’t look the other way’.  Oh, how many times we been tempted to make believe we didn’t see a need perhaps because we didn’t have the time to tend to it, or the money, or frankly, just didn’t care – and we looked the other way.

My face still gets red when I think as a 7 year-old child, I signed all my Valentine cards ‘form’ Dawn.  Everyone had a good laugh, but I did not see the humor.  Nonetheless, it did not spoil Valentine’s Day for me in ensuing years.  And at each age period, the day took on different meanings for me.

I am not one much for making New Year’s Resolutions.  Many years ago, I learned that I could not follow through with them, so why bother.    And then I learned the reason I couldn’t follow through with them was because I was always trying to do them under my own ‘steam’ – of my own initiative.