Looking Ahead....2009

I am sure I am not the only one chronicling on this last day of the year 2008. Its a day to reflect and a day to aspire to the year that is before us. It has been a good year, really a great year! It was in Jan. 2008 that I sought to stop wrestling with His plan and to embrace His will for Joel's 3 years 4 months and 10 days. Not to say that I have weak days but it was like driving a stake in the ground and in the grief world it would be considered the phase of "acceptance." I don't believe I arrived there on my own but it was a work of the Holy Spirit and the truths of scripture that granted the grace to say within the depths of my heart "His plan and providences are right." I will, as long as I have breath on this earth miss Joel and be sad that he is not here but I can move forward with hope! This past year we were blessed in ways that cannot be numbered, His faithfulness, His mercy, His provisions, His protection, His forgiveness and the grace to seek to "live" out the faith that is given by Him!! Now as we look ahead aspiring to accomplish goals, visions, plans, hopes and dreams, may our one motive be "all for His glory." Its so easy to come up with ideas of what "others" should set as goals for their life but I think for others to change sometimes it starts with me changing, so with that in mind I have two points for my self for the New Year......Plan and Prayer. My plan is in Matt. 5:15, Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. This is where it has to start.....at home, in my own house, with ME, amongst my own people, those that know me.....the best and the worst!! My purpose is to do the right thing first and first off would be to seek and love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and then next to love my husband and then to love my children. Now under each of those the list is endless but I want to be practical and real. I want to be consistent in my time with the Lord, reading and praying and listening and doing! I want to be better at loving Terry and demonstrating that with the things that he enjoys....he is very "lovey dovey," and I'm not so much:) I want to give him honor and respect in the presence of the children and be an example to them of husband and wife. I want them to see that Terry is second on the list under the Lord and they come under that. I want to seek to nurture the children and admonish them in the Lord and for me one way I need to improve is to tell them often of all the wonderful things they are doing instead of all they are not doing and also to encourage their character where they are strong and exhort them where they need growth, all in a gentle teachable way. To be praying for them in specifics ways, their futures, their life mates and then the younger ones that need Jesus in their hearts. This is a BIG challenge for me, especially to be consistent at it and carry it out daily. I start out well but I get to "sputtering" out and life just falls back into the mundane. Starting in "my house," and giving light is a goal that can only be reached by His grace. Now the way I can carry out this goal is in another scripture I read this morning. There is no way I can do all the above if I have a bad attitude for whatever reason, if I have a complaining spirit, if I use the excuse of "I do not feel like it." I can only carry out the visions that I mentioned if I have a spirit of praise/thankfulness. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. Ps.61:8. If I have praise and thankfulness I can fulfill and perform daily the desires above. We praise/be thankful first then perform. I read this scripture this morning and it is my prayer for the New Year, Ps. 90:14-17, O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto they servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. Of course there are tons of "mini" things I want to do and pray the Lord will work and bring forth, such as being a vessel for those outside of my home, to minister to, sharing hope with any that walk a path as such we have been on, and then there are the fun things I want to seek to be consistent at, like walking and eating better, being thrifty, working on projects around the house and having a good attitude if they do or do not get done!! Those things are not top priority but when they are accomplished it is rewarding. Its so good to have a vision, for without a vision people perish. Set goals, strive for them (with the Lord's help) and reap the rewards by His grace and according to His will. May each family out there be blessed and may the Lord do a mighty work amongst you!!

Happy New Year !!!!

Cindy

P.S. these are the last pictures we took of Joel on his farm, the next pictures were of him in ICU, unconscious.......