A New Season of Hope

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --- Jeremiah 29:11

In less than twelve hours there will be a New Year.  2010.  That looks odd just writing it.  With a New Year comes reflection time of the year that is about the close --- the joys, the sorrow, the excitement, the fear.  With a New Year comes a sense of renewal and hope of better things to come ---- hopefully more joy than the sorrow and more excitement than the fear.

It's truly amazing to me that one can find a passage in the Bible that fits for the moment in your life.  I must confess that up until about a year ago, I was truly spiritually unhealthy.  I was in that state for many, many years, and I truly did not know that until last year.  God had been talking to me in His own way, but I was not open or willing to hearing His message.  I was under a great deal of stress at that time.  I finally gave in and, as they say "let go" to Him.  You can probably guess what happened....the stress I was feeling went away.  The "stressors" were still there, but it was as if God had wrapped a magic shield around me and made the feeling of the pain go away!!


I was raised in a fairly strict Catholic family and went through all the sacraments and rituals of the Catholic religion.  But I truly did not feel that I was close to God or felt that He was a part of my life.  I always felt a distance from Him.  I also did not/could not see the relevance of Scriptures to the day to day experiences of my life.  When I attended Mass on Sundays, I felt like I was in another world and escaping from the real world.  After Mass I felt the same as I did when I entered the Church.  I'm not writing to knock the Catholic religion, but I truly believe that one's spiritual path and religion they pursue is a very personal one.  One's relationship with God can only happen with one's self and not one that is forced upon by another.  So if you ask what faith I practice, I can tell you it's the path of Christianity and Jesus Christ.  I now find great comfort in reading the Bible and finding relevancy in my life to various passages.  The answer to everything can be found in the Bible.  Whatever your faith is, I truly hope that you are "spiritually healthy" or will soon be.   I truly believe a healthy spiritual life serves as the basic foundation one must have in order to live through life's many journeys and to appreciate those journeys as well.



The passage from Jeremiah 29:11 so fits my life today.  I believe that my life and that of my family's is in His hands.  We must have faith, trust and hope that God has plans for all of us, and it is for our own good.  We must be patient and seek His wisdom to do what He has planned for us, and that means keeping an open ear, eye, mind and heart to what He is trying to say to us.   And we must have patience as He will reveal His plan for us in His time, not ours.  With a New Year closing approaching I pray for myself, my family, and friends (including new friends who may find this site helpful) a new season of hope!!

A Real New Year's Resolution I Intend To Keep!

For the last few weeks I've pondered on whether or not I wanted to make a New Year's Resolution. I don't know about you, but I have never been able to fulfill a resolution. I often have great intentions but never the follow through. So why do I even bother making a "real New Year's resolution I intend to keep?"

It's different this time, and I mean different. The recession has greatly impacted me and my family. I truly believe everyone is being affected by the recession.  Some may be blessed to not have to experience a personal job loss or that of a loved one and the struggles and frustrations of trying to find any job. But one way or another the recession has directly or indirectly impacted all of us.  Like so, so many people, my husband and I made financial decisions that we probably should not have made.  But there were also things that we could not control.  It's like the "perfect storm" scenario.  All the little negatives coming together all at once and creating havoc.  Yes...the should haves, could haves, and would haves. Yes, there were things we should have never bought on credit but did. We, like so many, were not financially prepared for the length of this recession. It has forced us to re-examine our priorities and to trim our expenses and cut back. We still have more to go, and that is a "work in progress." Never in my entire life do I ever remember a time like this where I feel like I have been "slapped" in the face to wake me up to the real reality. That's what makes this time "different."

I believe that God works in mysterious ways. My family and I can choose to do nothing and just let things take its course without us having some control of our path.  We can simply be observers in life and not seek out what message and lesson God has in store for us.  I have faith and hope that if we truly listen to Him with our hearts and open mind, then He will lead us to something that is better for us and will better prepare us for our next life journey. Please know, though, that I do sometimes have moments of doubt and frustration, but somehow, with God's grace He always sends me a signal or sign to remind me that my family and I are not alone and that He is with is.  The picture of the footprints in the sand on my blog and the "Footprints" prayer serves as a reminder to me that God is always with us.  Sometimes when we feel that He is not, he is undoubtedly carrying us as we go through very challenging times.

I firmly believe that challenges we face in our lives serve as mechanism for Him to get a message across to us. Sometimes we may not hear a message He was trying to get through to us in less apparent ways, so He resorts to challenges that will wake us up.  I am not totally clear on the EXACT message He is trying to get across to me, but I do know that a message of daily reflections on the teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ, living within our financial means, live frugally, save money and spend money wisely, and focus on real priorities of family. I am sure there is more, but these are crystal clear to me.  So what exactly is my "real" New Year's resolution? It's to do all those things on a daily basis. Do you have a "real" New Year's resolution? If so, what is it?