New Year's Eve Ponderings...

My prayers and ponderings on this New Year's Eve-

Change is part of life....

• Days change with each new sunrise...
•  Our age changes each year as we grow older...
•  Friends change as we gain new or lose old...
•  Family dynamics change with new life, old life and growing life...
•  Jobs change as we strive to provide for our families...
•  Realities change as death, illness or hardships occur...
•  Seasons change four times a year as God ordains...
•  Years change as the old turns to new... and this is where we are today! 

Some changes are the result of our choices, some changes are the natural part of life and some changes happen because we live in a dark and fallen world. But through all the change of life, there is ONE constant that will never change and that is JESUS! He was, and is, and is to come!

As we embark on the change of a new year, I, like many of you, have been contemplating and praying over much needed changes in my own life. Changes that bring me closer to the heart of God. Changes that lead me further away from worldly desires and from ungodly chaos. Changes that keep me away from mundane living and lead to more passionate faith. Changes that lead solely to God-honoring, soul-satisfying, Christ-following moments of running this race of life for the glory of my God! It's all about HIM!

Maybe you're doing the same....

Yes, it's going to take more praying and submitting to the Word of God. It's going to take some uncomfortable moves on my part. It's going to take putting feet to my faith. It's going to take total surrender in all areas of my life. It's going to take understanding that full obedience comes with great cost. And it's going to take understanding that it won't happen overnight.

Am I ready for that?

To be honest, I'm a little scared...but hopeful. Scared of what that change may look like but hopeful that Christ will be glorified in me. If I desire to live fully submitted to Jesus Christ, then I have to be all in for HIM...no matter the cost! And because of HIS great love for me, I have tremendous hope!

So, I'm a work in progress. Daily laying down my own desires so that I can be all that God wants me to be. I'm grateful for God's grace and mercy. When I stumble, He forgives me of my sin and accepts me right where I am. He picks me up, brushes me off and sets me on the right path. I'm thankful that He continues to mold me in His hands as He continues His masterpiece because He is the Potter and I am the clay. I'm thankful for His love and discipline over my life. O, how I desperately need it. And lastly, I'm thankful for the opportunities to give Him praise on every mountaintop and through every valley! In HIM there is joy evermore! Hallelujah!

What about you?

What changes need to take place in your own life to bring you closer to the heart of God?

Maybe it's changes in your relationships, your priorities, your attitude, your health. Or maybe the change you need it to just surrender it all on the altar of God and allow Him to maneuver and direct your life... that's right, a new manager over your life.

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

~ Corrie Ten Boom

As we close out this day, this year, let's commit to letting God change us so completely in Him! Let's surrender it all and let Him have His way in us!

Change...

2016....

Here we go.......

"You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalms 16:11 NKJV)

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."

Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

"Yet Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we all are the work of Your hands."

Isaiah 64:8 (HCSB)

"Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand."

Psalms 37:24 (NLT)

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:8 (NKJV)

"You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance."

Psalm 65:11 (NIV)