“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

My three year old has this habit of climbing up onto my lap at random times throughout the day, nuzzling her head into my chest, and whispering, “I love you too, mom.”

Her term of endearment brings a smile to my face. And I can’t help but giggle a little too. She never waits for me to say, “I love you,” first, as is the typical order of affection in most relationships. She simply expresses her reciprocal love for me, as though she is already keenly aware of my love for her.

A few mornings ago, this same scenario played itself out once again, and as it did, I heard the Lord speak. “Oh, that my children would be so confident in my love, as this.”

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Hope for the New Year

Happy New Year, friends!

I am beyond excited for what this new year entails! I may not know all of the details, but the Lord certainly does. And He can be trusted to work all things out for good! Amen?

If you’ve been joining me here in this space for very long, you may notice that things look a bit different around here.

I’d like to welcome you to my new blog, with a new name, a new design, and a new direction!

So Why the Change?

Towards the end of the year, I had an disturbing experience that led me into a two-month-long wrestling match with God.

Something inside me was churning. And I knew that the Lord was preparing to teach me something new.

As I pursued Him through prayer and the study of His Word, He began to awaken my senses to an integral part of His character.

One that I seemed to have dismissed, over the years..

I will be sharing more about this journey in the months to come, but for now, it is enough to say that God is on the move! And I, for one, cannot be more excited about it!

My One Word

My One Word of the year directly correlates with the new path that the Lord has graciously set my feet on. Imagine that!

Without further ado, I’m happy to share that my One Word for the 2019 is HOPE. And it is the new focus of this here blog!

Feel free, (if you feel so inclined), to take a peek at my updated home page, where you can hear more of my heart behind the future of this blog- Rediscovering Hope through the Lens of Suffering.

Do you have a Word that God has spoken to you for the new year? I’d love to hear what it is! Please share in the comments below.

Prayer for You

I came across this beautiful prayer, whispered by the lips of Billy Graham in 2008. It directly aligns with my own prayer for the new year, and so I wanted to share it, and pray it over each one of you, as well.

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.

In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need.

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith.

This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.
Amen.

To read this prayer in its entirety, visit Billy Graham’s Prayer for the New Year.

Be blessed, fellow writers!

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