Dear Editor:

Ten resolutions to keep loving my country, even though my country doesn’t love me.

1. To stay warm in cold weather and give the gift of love to as many children as you can.

2. To donate time, care and concern to hungry children and help save a child's life.

3. To honor God’s creation of every child on planet earth and thank God for their beautiful colors, their unique gifts of love and kindness even under adversity, and their special gifts of creative solutions to world problems and issues. Often our best answers come from the mouths of children.

4. To be mindful of the need for civil discourse when offering solutions to problems, especially complex problems that need multiple perspectives. 

5. To remember that only God is the judge of the human heart.

6. To acknowledge all gifts with a grateful heart, the gift of a new friend, the gift of a good meal, the gift of a job that helps pay the bills, the gift of a car that brings you to visit family, the gift of mistakes, which are key to learning, and above all the gift of life and love.

7. To remember your smile brings joy to every one who sees it. Use it abundantly.

8. To keep your life full of music that brings out your smiles and soothes the mind.

9. To keep learning something factually new every day of your life. New facts grow brain cells even at 100 years old.

10. To develop a budget that pays down all debt while saving 20 percent of your net income.  

When my country mistreats my neighbor I am not loved. When it demeans the value of my children, I am not loved. Every mean act, or statement against either of these is also against me and others who care. Each resolution carries the power of love that leads this nation to a better place.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb