Wow, can y’all believe the “most wonderful time of the year” - Christmas - has passed! It's the end of the year; how did we get here already?? 2014 just began!
Maybe it went so fast because it was SO good. 2014 was certainly good to me! I’ve traveled a bit, grown in faith, made new bonds, and made bonds that I already had stronger! Best of all I’ve got to watch my 2 1/2 year old (WOW!) grow! And y’all I can’t even believe how much he has grown. Not only is he tall as can be, but he is also talking (a little too much), and so so sooo smart! It amazes me (and yes, saddens me a little) to see how much he grows and develops each day!
Well, today I would like to share with you a wonderful sermon we had in church last Sunday. I go to a church called 12 stone, and the sermon began with the explanation of where we got our name from. The name came from the story told in Joshua where the Lord dried up the Jordan River, like he had done before to the Red Sea, so that the Israelites could cross. When everyone had crossed The Lord told Joshua to select 12 men to go back into the middle of the Jordan River to pick up one stone each., carry them over and place the 12 stones where they were staying that night.
Joshua 4:24
"He did this so that all the peoples of the Earth might know that the hand of t he Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
Our pastor went on to talk about two things we should do in our lives:
- Celebrate how far God has brought you.
People seem to never be content in their present. How many times have you heard someone say “life was great back when…” or “life will be great when…”. For example, when I was in college, I often found myself saying “life will be great when I graduate” and then it was “life will be great when I get a big girl job..”. Why was I not saying “life is great NOW!” or “life is great because God has helped me reached a major goal of mine”! The main point I got from this is that I shouldn’t be stuck in my future or past, and I should celebrate my present! We live in a culture that tends to make one feel like they need more. We focus on "what's next?" or what the other person is doing, and how they are living. Focus on yourself and where you are now and be content! Plan for your future and take the needed steps to get to where you want to be, but everyone has their own story! Even if you are not where you want to be yet, you are also not where you used to be!
- Anticipate where God is leading you.
As I just stated, you should be content in your present, but you should also plan for your future! Before you of you do something think about how it will effect your future. Where do you feel like the Lord is leading you? Do you feel like you are supposed to work with children. Then take thought in your daily choices. You wouldn’t want to do anything that could hinder you from doing what you are chosen to do. Before you do something think “are you living as if God is finished with you?’. Know that God is not finished working on you. Your prime time was NOT back in high school when you were valedictorian and had a great body- God is still working! Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
I urge y'all to remember that God is faithful as David did in Psalm 40: 1-3. In these verses David is celebrating how far God has brought him! We should all take note from David and celebrate where we are now, how far we've come, and remember that God is faithful and will continue to work on us and mold us into the people we are destined to be as long as we trust in Him. So, I would like to end this post not telling you what I wish to accomplish in 2015, but instead telling you a few things I would like to celebrate from 2014!
I would like to celebrate:
My growth in faith
My growth in patience
My growth as a woman
My growth in being a mother
My growth in family
My growth in different relationships
My growth in mind
My sons growth and development
My sons health
The good Lord helping me obtain my degree
AND
The Lord providing me with my jobs and a way to support myself and my family!!!
I may not be where I want to be yet, but I am definitely not where I used to be!! 2014 you were good to me!!!
Happy New Years!!!
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