into 2008

As we near the end of 2007, we enter the season of lists. It seems that every publication has lists of the best, the worst, the most, the least, the whatever...

• Time has 50 lists.
• New York Times has a list of 70 of the ideas that helped make 2007 what it was.
• bbc 100 things we didn't know last year

Although most of the lists, because they are drafted earlier in the month, miss the major event of 2007 - the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Browse the Year-End Lists: (thanks to Brent) via provocative church

• Browse the Fimoculous list of year-end lists.
• Browse Christianity Today’s list of year-end favorites.
• Browse Christianity Today’s 2007 Reader’s Choice results.
• Vote in NPR’s All Songs Considered’s poll for song of the year.
• Browse Amazon’s list of their favorite music of 2007.
• Browse Paste’s list of their favorite albums of 2007.
• Browse Boomkat’s list of their picks for the best albums of 2007.
• Browse Large Hearted Boy’s list of favorite 2007 albums.
• Browse the Christian Science Moniter’s favorite 2007 fiction.
• Browse Boston.com’s selections for nonfiction.
• Browse Josh Kidwell’s reflections on 2007.
• Browse Harp’s top 50 albums.
• Browse Steve McCoy’s top 30 albums of the year.
• Browse Josh Brown’s 10 favorite albums of the year.
• Browse as the Village Voice picks their favorite books of the year.
• Browse as the Times Online picks the 100 best movies of the year.
• Browse Mojo’s list of the best albums of the year.
• Browse VH1’s albums of the year.
• Browse Pitchfork’s year in photos.

I'm not going to add to that craze, although I am a list person. In fact, I have been known to create a list to track my list, or even worse added things to a list simply so I could cross them off. I know I'm weird, as I'm sure will be affirmed by some of the comments.

Instead I give you this Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort,
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger,
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

My God bless you with tears,
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their
pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness,
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.