Goodbye, 2012!
Another year is almost gone and, with it comes reflecting. Unfortunately, this year seemed to see more struggles than victories in my life but I’m grateful that God’s mercies are new every morning. For me, the end of the year marks the perfect time to re-focus, get my mind back on God, my hand in His, and my face set toward my Home instead of the things of earth. I’m asking God to show me the things He desires to change in me. I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions per se but I do resolve to continue to serve God and follow Him.
I am grateful to God for bringing my family through another year. We’ve put on tons of miles (literally) but, through it all, God has covered and protected us. We’ve seen people drawn closer to the Lord, heard testimonies of people coming to know Christ, and been able to encourage countless others. God’s Word does not return void.
As I say goodbye to another year, I know that I still have a lot to be thankful for. God has never left my side and has proven over and over just how much He loves me. Thank You, Lord, for bringing me safely through another year. May I continue to grow because of the trials and may I never cease to thank You for Your many blessings.
Reflecting on Psalm 98
“O sing to the LORD a new song; for He has done marvelous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, has gotten Him the victory.The LORD has made known His salvation: His righteousness has He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.He has remembered His mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Psalm 98:1-3).
I received some bad news last evening but, this morning, as I opened my Bible, Psalm 98 came alive to me. Everything that happens is for a purpose. I know it in theory but many times, I have no clue what that purpose is. I have to believe by faith that “all things work together for good to those who love God” but many are the times I question how a situation can produce good at all.
The above verses reminded me that trials sometimes come to give us the opportunity to be a witness to those who don’t know Him. “His righteousness has He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.” Are you coming through your trial bitterly or are you coming through righteously so those who are watching can see the salvation of our God?
If you go on to read the rest of the chapter, the Psalmist talks about praising God with song and instruments. As the Hoppers used to sing, don’t let the battle steal your praise. Keep singing and praising God, acknowledging your love for and trust in Him. There are certain mountains I pray I never have to climb but, if the day comes when I do indeed need to climb those mountains, I know that God will be right there showing Himself strong in the most dismal circumstances. I know He’ll do the same for you.
Being Willing to Change
It’s been a very odd Autumn with no real snow to speak of as of yet where I live. Now that winter has arrived, I wonder if that will change. Winter did hit with a lot of wind, and I’ve heard that snow is in the forecast. I’m SO glad I didn’t have to go out today.
Christmas is less than a week away so, as I was praying this morning, I went ahead and started asking God to show me the things He desires to change in my life. I pray that He gives me ears to hear and a heart that is willing to follow Him wholeheartedly whatever He asks.
My goal is to remember that His plans for my life are good and not evil. His love for me is never ending. He wants me to be like Him because He is perfect, He is pure and holy, and it’s the pure in heart that shall see God. Without Him, there is no way I can be what He wants me to be but, as I take His hand and allow Him to lead me, He can begin to mold me so that I can be more greatly used of Him. That’s my desire, and I hope it’s yours as well. Let’s go through this Christmas season with our eyes on Jesus and our hearts turned toward Him so we can hear Him when He speaks. Then let’s encourage each other as we hear His voice. He’s no longer a baby in a manger but He’s the King of kings who desires to be your friend. Will you say yes?
Random Thoughts for December
It’s hard to believe Christmas is now less than a week away. I love this time of year but, as much as I’m looking forward to some time off and a change of pace, I don’t feel quite ready for it.
Weather is changing everywhere it seems right now. Up until a year or two ago, we would be experiencing freezing weather this time of year. Proof that God is God and we are not?
This is the time of year where people talk about peace on earth and good will to men. Are we exhibiting the peace and love we talk and sing about? We can’t expect the world to show those things if we’re not.
As I always caution this time of year, don’t get so into the hustle and bustle of the season that you forget the Reason we celebrate. CHRISTmas is not about gifts and trees and lights. I enjoy those things but the Reason we celebrate is that Jesus Christ humbled Himself and came to earth as a baby in a manger. He came to His own and His own received Him not but, to those who did receive Him, He gave power to become the child of God. THAT is what I’m celebrating. All the festivities are just a reminder of what Jesus has done for me.
Walking Through Grief
This is probably the longest I have gone without making a post since I started this blog, and this may seem like the wrong post to make this time of year but hopefully you’ll understand why I’m writing about this now.
The last couple weeks found me watching the children of a dear friend whose mother passed away. Although I’ve probably lived over half my life already, I’ve not had many really close friends or family members die so I had to pray for wisdom to walk through this difficult time with these children who were saying goodbye to their grandma.
I’m very thankful for the opportunity to be there with them. My friend stayed in touch so I got to hear first-hand the grace God was extending to her and her family. We read verses about God’s grace being sufficient and His strength being perfect in our weakness but I’m not sure there’s anything quite like experiencing it.
I have several friends who have lost loved ones this time of year. In some ways, it seems like a really bad time to lose someone but, on the other hand, humanly, I’m not sure there’s ever a good time. I do know that, when God calls a person Home, He extends grace, strength and peace to those left behind.
If you have a loved one who has recently graduated to Heaven, don’t mourn as those who have no hope. Thank God for the time you had with your friend or relative and trust Him to do as He’s promised and walk beside you during the difficult times. Feel His arms around you as you cry your tears but praise Him that you will see your loved one again if he or she knew Him. It won’t be long at all until we see Jesus ourselves and then every heartache we had on earth will be of no importance.
Don’t Let the Battle Steal Your Praise
The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone, and many have gone back to work today. Some have the whole weekend off and will therefore continue the celebration for a while but I wonder how long the attitude of gratitude will continue as life resumes and the stresses and trials of life come back into focus once again.
Life is a battlefield. Reprieve never lasts long but we still have so much to be thankful for. Don’t go back to being stressed and focused on the problems at hand. Continue in a spirit of thanksgiving, praising God for your many blessings. He has been so good to you and will continue to be. Praise Him for His goodness and His faithfulness.
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4). May that be our life every day that we live.
Happy Thanksgiving 2012
This evening, the song on my mind is “So Much to Thank Him For.” It sums up so well how I feel. Life may be hard but God is always good. If He never did another thing for us, He’s already give us much more than we deserve. Shouldn’t we then give Him the praise that He deserves?
I hope that, as you count your blessings this year, you realize that you have many more than you can count. In the midst of your hectic day, take time to thank Him and name your blessings one by one. He is the Reason we celebrate. Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me!
Accentuate the Positive
I don’t remember what came up in conversation the other day but I was thinking about how easy it is to focus on the negative instead of seeing the blessings around us. This brought to mind the old song, “Accentuate the Positive.” Although not a gospel song, we can learn a lot from it. You’ve heard the saying, “There are two sides to every story.” This is also true with life. There are good things and bad things that happen in a day’s time. We can focus on the negative or we can realize that God works everything for good and strive to find that good so we can praise Him in the midst of our circumstances.
I’m one of those who has fallen into seeing the negative more than the positive lately but I don’t want to dishonor my God. When I think about it, I truly am blessed. I need to be faithful to proclaim His goodness to everyone I see. With Thanksgiving less than a week away, what a great time to start accentuating the positive. Won’t you join me?
Concert Review: Primitive Quartet (11/8/12)
This past Thursday, I once again had the blessing of seeing the Primitive Quartet in concert. I hadn’t seen them in over a year so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see them once again.
They opened with the title track from their latest CD entitled, “He Included Me.” Then they went into “Fallen Leaves,” which brings tears to my eyes whenever I hear them sing it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have more friends around than leaves upon the ground? Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that has friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.” I pray that will be known of me when I die.
After that, Jeff Tolbert sang, “He Didn’t Stay Dead,” followed by Reagan Riddle singing their acapella song, “The Same God.”
Next, they sang a couple more new songs, one of which featured Mike titled, “Thank You For Saving Me.” I don’t hear Mike sing a lot so I was glad he sang several songs on the program.
Jeff sang “No Longer an Orphan” and Reagan sang “Look How He Found Me.”
Randy Fox is one of my favorite people to watch sing. I’m sure I’ve said it before but, when he takes the lead on a song, the Spirit resonates from him. He sang “I Wonder What They’re Doing in Heaven” and then they went into an instrumental number.
Reagan sang “The Greatest Nation” after they acknowledged the veterans who were attending and then Randy sang “Walking in the Highway.” From my viewpoint, a Primitive Quartet concert is not complete without that song and I’ve never attended a concert where they’ve not sung it.
After intermission, they sang “Jesus Came Searching,” “That Soldier Was Me,” “I Don’t Have to See the Tomb” (another song Mike sings), “I’ll Be Waiting at the River,” “There’s a Record Book” (one of my personal favorites), and “If I Could Give You Anything for Christmas.” Then they played two instrumental numbers back to back: “When They Ring Those Golden Bells” and “Holy Manna.”
They ended with “Didn’t He Shine” and came back out for an encore with “Gloryland.” “If you have friends in Gloryland who’ve left because of pain, there’ll be no pain in Gloryland. They’ll suffer not again.” Amen!
Redemption Draweth Nigh
I’ve noticed on Facebook a lot of people discouraged and fretting over the results of the election this week. Regardless of who you voted for, the future is uncertain and there’s no doubt we are heading for tough times. I stopped paying a lot of attention to the news years ago because the stories would make me depressed and afraid to leave my house. There is hope, however. God is still on the Throne, He never slumbers or sleeps, and He has promised to never leave or forsake us.
Luke 21:28 says, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” I would challenge every Christian to begin to look up. When you look around, life can bring you down in a hurry but, when you see your Father looking down on you with eyes of love, it gives you strength to go on. It reminds you whose child you truly are and that you are here for a purpose.
Don’t waste time fretting and complaining. Praise God for who He is and ask Him to show you how He desires to use you. There’s a reason we are on this earth at this time. Let’s be faithful to be focused and steadfast until He returns. I don’t believe it will be much longer.
