Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not see it?I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. ~ Isaiah 43:18-19
The ho-hum of after Christmas is upon us! Did you have a good Christmas? Maybe it didn’t go quite as you anticipated! The dreaded expectations vs. reality!
Come… let’s share a cup of tea (or coffee) and talk about some things I have on my heart!
With the closing of 2023… year end thoughts can go a few ways… glad to see the new calendar turn the page or maybe sadness of what you didn’t accomplish in the year???
I know for myself and my family… it was another very challenging year! Things you just cannot see coming, until the circumstances are there… staring you smack-dab in the face!
Can anyone relate? Being hit from behind with a baseball bat with no real warning?
You know when the calendar flips from December 31, 2023 to January 1, 2024… there is no magic to that! It is just another day… with brand new mercies… just like the day before or the days to come!
Not the news you wanted to hear??? 😉
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ~Lamentations 3:22-23
Okay… don’t leave me yet... just hang in there!
What if… just what if all the unexpected, unappreciated, unhelpful, unpleasant things of 2023 were looked at in a different light?
In Genesis 37… it tells the story of Joseph (coat of many colors) being sold by his brothers into slavery. Now that is a bad situation! However… Joseph continued to trust God. Even when he could not possibly know God was using his horrible circumstance to save His people from future famine.
What if… your perspective could change?
What if… your focus could be off the bad of 2023?
What if… whatever life brought to you in 2023… good or bad… could be used all for your good?
What if… God allowed uncomfortable things to come because He knew you could handle it and represent Him well?
What if… your testing could turn into the greatest testimony and save someone else?
What if… your eyes could be focused on Christ like never before?
What if… you looked at the good that has come out of a yucky situation?
What if… this very moment is the moment to bring honor and glory to Father-God?
What if… 2023 was a year full of lessons in grace?
I am by no means making light of anything you have been through in 2023! God just put on my heart today to share the message of hope! Eternal hope is found through believing and receiving Christ as your Savior… that is where it has to begin! Day to day hope in every day living comes from His Word, encouragement from friends or family, knowing you are never alone in this thing called life!
I know I am guilty of losing perspective so many times, BUT… God! He sends something or someone just at the moment I need it most… refocusing and changing my perspective!
Don’t let all that happened it 2023 fall by the wayside! Think of the lessons we’ve learned, the people we’ve met, the lives God has allowed us to touch, the people who have touched our lives?
You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end. ~Hebrews 3:13-14
Have a blessed end to 2023 and here's to new beginnings... again!
In His Grace, carin
PS: here's a song my hubby wanted me to share with you: