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“Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And
whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through Him.” January 2005 Dear Friend, Happy New Year! Trusting that all is well with you and your loved ones. We are fine, and looking forward to what God has in store for ministry in this new year. Forgive me if I attempt to make a rhyme, but this is what has been tugging at my spirit for this new year. “A blessing to be alive, in 2005!” The story of a man who found a dollar on the sidewalk one day, and then spent the rest of his life walking with his head to the ground searching for another dollar caused me think about what life is really all about. As this man walked with his eyes on the ground, he missed seeing and hearing the beauty around him; the quiet and majesty of snow on a mountaintop brilliantly sparkling from the rays of the sun; the first chirping of a bird as spring gently moves in; the budding of trees after a long cold winter, the first crocus in bloom; the splendor of sunrise and sunset; the warmth of summer day; the vivid change of colors in the autumn, and so on and so on. His back became so hunched over from looking down that he could not look up again, and he never found another dollar. How often do we live in the past, searching for a duplicate of the blessings or experiences we once had? We even try to devise ways of making certain events or moments a mold to live by! We think we can remain happy and stable by recapturing those times or moments when life was so sweet. We even go as far as resisting new changes in worship service in church! We love the old songs, the melodies and words that once lifted us up from despair or discouragement, but then we fail to breathe in and receive what God wants to do now! This is a new year! It is a new time! How are we going to welcome it in? Will we have our eyes on the old, or will we welcome the new in with exuberant life and faith? Will we have courage to face new challenges, and new things that God wants to do in our life? Are we willing to feast on the things of God, and live each day to the fullest with life, and hope, and trust? It takes courage sometimes to wake up in the morning and start a new day! Things around us may not be all that we would like, and there are things we must do that sometimes are painful. It takes courage to go through chemo when cancer is being fought! It takes courage and perseverance to fight for the souls of our teen-agers when they are in rebellion! It takes perseverance to go to a job where we don’t feel appreciated or perhaps challenged enough. It takes patience and love and energy to take care of someone who is ill, or needs our special attention. It takes strength to fight for our marriage when things are going wrong. It takes discipline to study hard for tests at school when we really feel like going out and having a good time with friends! It takes the heart of God inside us to be a friend to the unlovely. This new year will bring blessings and trials. No one can escape either one; this is part of life. We love the blessings, but oh, the trials.... How are we going to face this year? The Bible tells us that there is a time for everything (Ecc.3:1-8). It goes on to say that “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” (Vs. 11).There is a purpose for everything, even though we cannot always see it. The idea is to find sweetness in the day and time that we have. We should not waste the sunshine of the good times; we should thank God for what we have right now, and here, where we are now. Instead of looking for things of the past, or the way things were, let us look to the future with hope and courage and life! We have seen many seasons in our life come and go, and we know that nothing lasts forever. When we go through the hard times, we should remember that, and if it helps to remind yourself of my attempt at rhyming, think “A blessing to be alive in 2005.” This year, let us wake up in the morning with a song in our heart, full of praises for God and Who He is! Instead of thinking about how tired we are, or how busy we are, or what we are facing in the worlds’ situations, let us pray, leaving everything in His hands, and ask Him to give us exuberance for life! Let us allow Him to show us what we should be doing each day, and how we can be a blessing to others. Let us renew our prayer life and take time each day to pray for our President, pray for our country, and for our world. Let us take time each day to ask him what He wants us to do that day! Let us put our agendas aside and go by God’s agenda! God wants to do a new thing in us, and in our cities! Let us allow Him to do so! This is a new season of life. It is a time to take hold of what is really important, and stay focused on it. It is a time to “soak” in God’s Presence, and enjoy Him. Have you ever taken time to do that? Soaking is a time where we become jealous of our time with Him, and we shut out everything around us to take in His Presence. I love to take a pillow and sit on the floor while listening to a worship CD, and just quiet my mind and concentrate on Him. Those precious times are life giving times! Hours can go by without realizing it. Try it! When your family is sleeping, or you are alone in your house, take a pillow and go into a room by yourself, even if it has to be a closet. Put your CD on low, so that no one is disturbed, and just begin concentrating on Jesus. Allow Him to minister to you, and He will. You will find a whole new level of worship and closeness to Him, and this will strengthen and encourage you. You will be filled with courage and hope and joy! God bless you. Rev. Barbara Anne Yovino, Ph.D.
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