Happy New Year! I love the beginning of a new year. I love mornings, Monday's, and the first day of each month. It is so exciting to have the privilege of....new beginnings.
2016 was a good year for our family. David and I celebrated our 46th anniversary last May and on December 29th he celebrated 47 years of "railroading." I was blessed to visit several Christian Schools and preschools and share my children's book, When God Created the World, and share the beautiful story of creation with eager hearts and minds. (Mom, please teach your young children spiritual truths. It is so much easier to teach them the truth when they are young than to un-teach the lies of the enemy when they are older.) We enjoyed milestones with each of our grandchildren and witnessed God working in the lives of our sons and their families. I look forward to this year in our church and I dearly love teaching my Sunday School class and occasionally writing for Parent Life. And of course I love sharing on the blog and getting to "know" women from all over the world.
I am not one to make resolutions, but I do like to evaluate the previous year and look for ways to improve the new year. One thing I do at the beginning of the year is to choose a verse of scripture and designate it as "My Life Verse" for that particular year. And this is my verse for this year: Psalm 67:1;
"God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us."
I need God's mercy, I need Him to bless me. But what does it mean for "His face to shine upon me"?
We live in sin-darkened world. In John 1:9 Jesus is the True Light. Light exposes things that are hidden in the dark; light is warm and inviting. When I ask God to "shine His face" upon me and my family I am asking Him to look at me, to expose the dark places in my heart, and to feel the warmth of His love and embrace. With each new day I need new mercy, new blessings, and I need His face to shine upon me.
So ladies, for this new year I encourage you to choose your life verse and:
1. Pray it out loud each day.
2. Pray it with faith and confidence and watch as He blesses you more and more.
3. Look for a display of His mercy in unexpected ways.
4. Take the time to sit quietly before Him and feel the warmth of His gaze upon your life.
5. Determine to know God better and love Him more in 2017.
Have a very blessed and Happy New Year. Tell someone about Jesus; that He loves them and what He did for them on the cross at Calvary.
I'd love to hear from You.
Penny
