Hope, the dog

     The years seem to come faster as we get older.  I’ve heard this said most of my life.  I now believe it is true when we look at family we don’t see often, when it takes longer to complete tasks and when babies grow from far away.  I’m also seeing more gray hair on Hope’s chin.  However, time as itself, is still the same.  I organize my days a little differently and I know it takes me 10-30 minutes longer to get my cleaning and organizing done.  What hasn’t changed is the way we drag our feet and try to find ways to do everything ourselves!  At some point I think we each ask what is the purpose of this life?  We are each given a set amount of minutes, hours, days, weeks, you get the picture.  The difference is each of us has a predetermined amount and we don’t get to know what that is.  When we tell people to have this wonderful New Year no one knows how much time that represents.

Kaden and Bryton

More grandsons: Brecken and Sawyer

     God has a timeline of His own.  No one knows what that timeline is but the bible lays out how it began.  It also leads us to the universal truth of what God’s purpose is for us.  He lost us in the Garden of Eden and He has been sending people (prophets) and a Savior, ever since, to get us back.  He came and died on a cross, then arose to tell us the good news!  We can rise above our sins, actually be washed clean and begin a new life filled with His grace, His love, and His salvation.  We get to be with God again!  We can then offer our talents and skills so others will also hear the good news.  This is the timeline we get as believers!  How?  Listen to your Pastor, visit homeless shelters, join a prayer group, sign up to help on Sunday with preschoolers or teenagers or even shut-ins.  You can always join a small group as well or take a bible study class.  Don’t forget what Christmas was and is about and don’t forget to make your new year merry.   Fill it with His LOVE, His JOY, His PEACE.  These things I pray for all of you to have as we make our way into new time, every beautiful and hard and lovely and challenging day.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; – Luke 2:10  NASB