Resolutions, Reinventing or Recommitting?

Does everyone make New Years Resolutions? I don’t usually but I’ve been inspired by a site I belong to. They encourage you to do something you have always dreamed of doing, whether it's climbing a mountain, literally, losing weight or learning a new language.

Is this a good way to occupy my mind and my time? What of God? He has a plan for us all. Perhaps I fail at so many resolutions because I am not aligning myself with His will for my life.

Perhaps this year I should begin with prayer, ask my heavenly Father what He wants me to accomplish this year. And then ask for His help with it.

There is a desire within me to come closer to Him, to know Him more, to seek Him more and to love Him more. Maybe the Lord is calling to me and my spirit is answering with this desire for a closer relationship with Him.

Perhaps I should reevaluate the way I live. Change my routine and let go of those things that do nothing to help me accomplish those desires replacing them with time spent with God my Father.

Instead of immediately turning on the television to catch the news in the morning perhaps I should place a chair where I can see outside and sit quietly before Him. Then after everyone is gone for the day I can start mine with His word and pray for myself and all those I love.

The New Year is a good time to start new things, but I don’t think I will wait until then. I think I will start today. Change can be a very good thing if we allow God to lead us.

What do you think?

May you have a Wonderful, Joy Filled, New Year!!

The Other Gift

The Holidays, The Season, Christmas. No matter what you call it the feelings it brings are many and so varied a book couldn’t hold them all. We cherish so these days of celebration; sending cards to loved ones, family and friends, practicing for weeks with the church choir for a special presentation of worship in song, baking and making things ahead of time so we will be ready, decorating and making our homes look festive, getting surprises together and hiding them until the day nears, keeping our little secrets and hugging close the feeling that this year we will really surprise our loved ones.

All these things go together to make the Christmas season the most celebrated on earth. Done so that we can in some way let our Lord know what His birth means to us. That His birth in the stable, His coming to earth is remembered and celebrated with thankful hearts and joyful spirits.

We are eager to treat each other with kindness during these weeks. We work, shop and practice, cook and help others until we are on the point of exhaustion, for Him. And yet the other gift He gives us every year is overlooked by most of us. This gift, this celebration of love.

What is the other gift, you ask? The gift of family. One of the best parts of the holiday is gathering with friends and family to celebrate. We give gifts, bake special treats to share, dress up and make time for each other. What a wonder I didn’t realize it before. This wonderful gift, is because of Him.

He came to earth, a babe in a manger, in order to save us from sin but in doing that He gave us this chance to celebrate Him and in the celebrating He gives us each other; a closeness to family and friends, clarity of mind, fullness of spirit and a joy that overwhelms. How blessed we are to know Him, to have the gift of Salvation brought by Him and to have this other gift, one of celebrating with each other.

May you enjoy “The Gift” this Christmas and may you praise Him for it.

Have a wonderful, beautiful, joyful, love filled Christmas!

What Do You Think?

The things that are going on today seem to be leading us down a path we would rather not face. Those things are a consequence of our lack of attention to what went on years ago. So, we are paying the price of the inattentiveness of generations who went before us. What things, you ask?

At the top of the list must be the phrase Merry Christmas which is being killed off by those whose interest in being P. C. (politically correct) carries more clout than our desire to honor the One who blessed this country and provided us with freedom.

Common courtesy, without being judged by what you say, do or how you look is also vanishing, though during these Christmas holidays it does resurface for a few wonderful weeks.

Violence is growing at alarming rates and though our lawmakers and justice system say they are working on the problem I haven’t seen any improvement.

So, what should we do? Should we sit at home and hope things get better? Sign petitions and hope they get into the right hands? Trust the government to take care of the situation? Believe what the news media says? Keep our focus on trivial bits which fill the news about which Celebes are divorcing and which ones are getting botox or having surgery?

Or should we agree together in prayer daily. Ask God to forgive us for our sin and for letting our country get in this deplorable shape without seeking him? Ask Him to take control, bring us back into His will and make us truly one nation under God. Then ask our Lord to protect and bless us as a Christian nation.

What do you think?