IN THEORY:What do you resolve for the new year?

May New Year's Eve find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do tomorrow night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their calls until after you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you've been watching, and may your checkbook and your budget balance — and include generous amounts for God's work.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God's love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding of petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

(THE VERY REV'D CANON)

PETER D. HAYNES

Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

I resolve to be healthier, thinner, more energized and walk one to two miles a day. I resolve to be even nicer and more helpful to my wife, my family, my friends and my congregation. I resolve to love God by doing my very best to serve God's creation and universal peace.

I resolve to be a voice for the inner presence that lights the way for those seeking a better way to live their lives. I resolve to use love to calm my fears and remember my purpose. I resolve to be willing to let God move by means of my creative intelligence. I resolve to live in a state of constant gratitude realizing that God created my life to be a rich and meaningful experience. I resolve to think the highest and best and pray unceasingly. I resolve to live in a state of faith, acceptance and belief, knowing that my life is forever revealing a greater and greater potential.

I bless all of my colleagues who work within their own spiritual beliefs to heal, help and rekindle God's love for all. I thank God for all my blessings, and I know for each and every person who reads this column there is a power greater than you and I working to awaken all of us to a spiritual magnificence we have never known before.

Never give up on your quest to live a life of love and peace. Never give in to the temptation to think negative thoughts about yourself and others. And never withhold your love.

SENIOR PASTOR JIM TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

Costa Mesa