Happy New Year!!

I copied this from a fellow Alabama Attorney, Bill C. Messick. I thought it was interesting and I hope it will be for to you too.
A Brief History of New Year's Day
Published: 12/29/05
What day does the first of the year fall on? It wasn't always January 1st.
The ancient Babylonians, for example, celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they didn't have a written calendar - no mean feat considering that this was long before the ubiquitous datebooks and wall calendars we can't live without.
Time passed, and with it came the development of the ancient Roman calendar, which was based on a lunar system. Better, but still not very accurate.

Then, in 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar (the Julian calendar). This was a vast improvement on the Roman calendar, which had become wildly inaccurate over the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur on January 1st, and within the Roman world, this became the consistently observed start of the new year.
But then, in the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to officially fall on December 25, the birth of Jesus. This lasted for a while until it was changed to March 25, to coincide with a holiday called the Annunciation (remember, this is a "brief" history of New Year's Day).
Now we jump all the way to 1582. In that year, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar due to the ever-increasing discrepancy between calendar time and calculated astronomical time (Illuminati influence?). This new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated on Jan. 1st once again. Many countries, however, resisted the change (people were probably getting tired of not knowing when they were). In fact, some European countries held out for centuries (Scotland until 1660; Germany, Denmark, and Norway until 1700; and England until 1752).
And we come to today, when we heartily celebrate New Year's Day on January 1st - for the time being, at least.

The New Year's Resolution
The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.
Bill C. Messick
Attorney At Law

Freedom of Mind

In this new year you should think about redoing your will. A will gives your loved ones directions on what you wish after you have gone. Knowing what you want them to do gives them much freedom of mind. They will not keep wondering if they did or did not do the right thing. Wills become out of date. Certain circumstances may necessitate the changing of a will.

These may include:
*Family changes such as new births, marriages, or deaths.
*Considerable changes occurring in the amount or type of property you possess.
*Changing tax laws.
*The inability of your designated personal representative to serve.

A will is a written legal document. It allows you to:
*Name the people and organizations that you choose to receive your property: both personal property and real estate.
*Name the person you wish to be guardian for your unmarried children under 18 in the event there is no surviving parent.
*Name your "personal representative" as well as an alternate personal representative. A personal representative is a person or trust company that you wish to handle your affairs after your death.
*In some cases, you may be able to avoid or minimize, in a legal way, any taxes your estate or your family may owe;
*Make special provisions, perhaps by means of a trust, for the case of your minor children or some other family members who may have special needs;
*In general, avoid many problems which can occur if you die without a valid will.

Debt Free

I do not do bankruptcy but the following info may help you get started.

If you are a resident of the USA who is in need of a financial fresh start, and you have tried everything possible to get back on your feet, it may be time to consider bankruptcy.
Filing for bankruptcy is a difficult decision. It will get rid of most, if not all of your debts, but it will also make it hard to acquire credit in the future.

There are several different types of bankruptcy in America and understanding all of them is crucial. Typically debtors will choose either chapter 13 or chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is for individuals who want to pay back their debts but need an extended period of time to do so. In this type of bankruptcy, debtors will make payments to the people they owe biweekly or monthly. The amount for payback is based on how much they can afford after necessary living expenses. In Chapter 7, debtors will surrender all of their property over to a case attorney. The case attorney will convert the property into cash and will pay back the creditors. Certain property can be protected from seizure. Chapter 7 should be considered a last resort. A bankruptcy attorney can help you determine which bankruptcy chapter would best suit your personal needs.

The cost of filing for bankruptcy will vary depending on which chapter you choose. Fees are subject to change; however, you can expect that filing will cost approximately $200. You will also need to consider the cost of hiring a bankruptcy attorney.

Bankruptcy is a complicated legal process and should not be attempted alone. Making the right decisions and ensuring that you do everything properly can be overwhelming. I strongly advise you to contact a bankruptcy attorney in your area, so they can point you in the right direction and help you determine which option is best for you and your family.

Freedom

Uncontested Divorce
I find that a lot of married couples decide to give each other a divorce for New Years. There is just something about setting priorities that shines a light on what is wrong in the marriage. If a couple can not get along and they just can not stay married, when they do not want to fight anymore about anything, then they should look at an uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce is a proceeding in which a person sued for divorce does not fight it and instead reaches an agreement with the spouse during the proceedings. In these cases, the terms of the divorce are agreed upon by both parties. Uncontested divorces are generally much more friendly and more economical than other types of divorce. It is possible to get an uncontested divorce for as little as $250. Plus the filing fee. If you more information on divorce you may contact me at http://greenthomason.com/ or contact your personal attorney.

I Reslove

So many of us are making New Years resolutions. I've decided that mine are going to be small so that I may be able to keep them. I understand that being accountable will help. If you see me out ask me about how these resolutions are being kept. Leave me a comment about how you are doing with your resolutions.

1) I will drink at least 8 oz of water everyday. I said small but this is not a nothing resolution for me. As a child our well water had suffer in it. The smell was of rotten eggs. The taste was just yuky. I have never drank plain water. I know it is good for you so I will start small and see if I can train myself to drink water after over fifty years of drinking anything but water.

2) I will eat breakfast. I'm fat. I do not like breakfast. The two things go together. Lots of fat people do not like breakfast. It is good for a person's health to eat breakfast especially one of whole grain cereal. I'm going to eat breakfast. I'll see about oatmeal and Cheerio's.

63% of people are keeping their resolutions after two months.
67% of people make three or more resolutions.
Top four resolutions:
Increase exercise
Be more conscientious about work or school
Develop better eating habits
Stop smoking, drinking, or using drugs (including caffeine)
People make more resolutions to start a new habit, than to break an old one.

Here is a link to help with the smoking issue. http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/aboutquittin1/a/resolutions.htm

If you want to be more healthy get more exercise, eat healthy and loose weight here is a link to help. http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/newyear2004.htm

If you want your home to be more organized here is a helpful link http://housekeeping.about.com/od/getorganized/index.htm?terms=organizing

Here is a helpful link to be better organized at work http://add.about.com/cs/organizationtips/tp/tpworkorganize.htm?terms=organizing+work

Merry Christmas

I worked most of yesterday. A fellow was arrested and locked in the Limestone County jail because he stopped payment on two checks. They charged him with theft by deception. If a person gets arrested over a holiday it is difficult to get them out of jail. No one wants to work at Christmas time. It took most of the day but he got home for Christmas. I'm thankful his Christmas has been made a little better because I worked on Christmas Eve.

Last night my family went to church for a candlelight service. We celebrated Christ coming in to the world as a babe. He brought light and life into a world of death and darkness. It was wonderful to see my church family and to start off Christmas morning remembering Emanuel. It is so moving to take the Lord's Supper with my family. John is home from school. He and Grace were with my husband and me. I prayed for my grown children and the grandchildren. My older sons are both in Virginia. Rob has a wonderful wife, Kathleen, who is a fantastic mother to their daughter Jaden. Rob has two grown daughters who live in Ohio. The oldest is Angel and she has a daughter, Zoe, who will be two in a little less than a week. The other is named Brandi. I did not get to see them during this holiday season. I did get to see my older son James and his three girls Joanna, Bailey, and Abby. It was great to see them just before Christmas. I prayed for each of them while I was thanking God last night.

This morning we all got up to see what Santa had brought. The children were busy with all of their gifts. My mother stayed with us last night so that she would be able to see Hannah open up her gifts from Santa. Hannah is seven and believes in Santa and Christmas magic. This morning we want to church. It was a wonderful service. Each of our pastors talked a bit about Christmas. We had six people join our church. What a Christmas gift.

Of course we went home and sinned right away. We all ate way too much food. My husband fixed a great meal and my mother fixed deserts. Christmas is a time to remember family and a time to fill our homes and hearts with the grace of our LORD.

I hope each of you had a Merry Christmas. I hope that God's love shines in your hearts and homes. May God keep you close all of the year and may 2006 be the best year of your life thus far.