Happy New Year! Well, 09 is finally here. With it comes an opportunity to look fresh at things and plan for what we want to accomplish that perhaps we have been wrestling with for months or years. That's one of the things that is great about the New Year.
For me, since I'm always looking into what is next, it is just one more reason to take a closer look at my life and ask myself: where do I see myself at the end of the year?
I have definitely experienced many changes this year... a new job, new ministry, new friends, and a reestablishing of old ones. Through it all two things I value most have been constant:
#1. My Family. The relationship with my wife Grecy of 24 years is the most precious to me. Seeing my young adult kids deal with life's decisions and being there to assist them is also a huge blessing; even when it is through difficult situations.
#2. My relationship with my Lord. He has been my true source of strenght and wisdom every step of the way, so many times. I need Him every day to help me keep things in perspective and to make decisions that honor Him. This year I want that experience to go to another level, and by doing that make a bigger difference in this world.
To remind me, I have selected these verses:
Psalm 139
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
I want His presence to guide my every decision. How about you? This is the real way to have a Happy New year!
