Midweek Moment

Happy New Year!

I pray you each had a restful and wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations! Debbie, the boys, and I had a wonderful time just being with one another and seeing some extended family. It was a great time for us to be with just the boys and strengthen our bonds as a family.

When I think about a new year, my first thoughts are those new year resolutions. You know those acts we tell ourselves we will engage in to make the new year better than the last year. Maybe we look to our health and say we will watch what we eat or we will exercise more. Maybe we look to our relationships and say we will do a better job of connecting with our family and friends by calling more, visiting more, or writing letters more frequently. There are so many aspects of life that we can focus around. Whatever the arena of choice, we are at the threshold of hope and anticipation this time of year. Hope for the future and anticipation of a brighter tomorrow.

So as you make your list, I invite you to consider your spiritual life. I would like to invite you to begin our Bible Challenge this year. This is a reading plan that will take you through the New Testament twice and the Old Testament once, during 2013. We begin in Matthew on January 1st and read the first four chapters. Each day from then on, we read four chapters. When we reach the end on Revelation, we begin with Genesis. When we finish with Malachi, we begin Matthew again. I am amazed at how many times I can read the same passage of Scripture and come away with new insights or learning. God is always at work and one of those ways is when we spend quiet time reading the Word. Therefore, I encourage you to join us this year. Each Saturday morning on my blog I will post the reading schedule for the upcoming week, as well as some background information about what you will read. We also print the same schedule in the bulletin each Sunday. Please give it a try. If you get behind or miss a day, do not try and catch up. Just pick up fresh the next day you can and continue on. If this plan does not sound like one you would enjoy, there are thousands out there. You can find them online or in bookstores. If you do not choose this one, please pick another. Find a plan that fits you and your life. Scripture is God’s love letter to humanity, so I encourage you to read it, live it, and be transformed by it, by any means you can.

Whatever resolutions you make this year, I pray you are successful. I pray you find the joy and peace you seek and that you gain the results you desire.

Blessings,