A Good Year...

Though we are at the end of the first month of the year, it is still relatively a new year. With that being said, I came across this piece that I had scribbled a while ago and decided that it would be appropriate to share it now.

"A Good Year" - winemakers talk about this. Do they know that it will be a good year before the wines are produced or is it something they can only see once the grapes are harvested?

In life, looking back, "A Good Year" involves looking at things that have passed, things that have ended, moments gone. It is in one's memories.

In looking forward "A Good Year" promises things to hope for, wishes to be fulfilled.

As people who put their faith in God, how are we supposed to look at "A Good Year"?

In God's eyes it would appear that we should look at it positively. "Good" is a positive word. God is a God of good things. Love is positive, full of hope, encouragement - He is Love. God is a God of abundance; He has come to give us life in abundance. He wants the best for us.

Life is about learning from our past - mistakes, failures, victories and good things. It is also about looking to our future, because that is where we are heading, whether we like it or not.

If we put our faith in Christ, then our future will surely hold "A Good Year" - Jeremiah 29:11-13

I am linking up to Shanda's On Your Heart Tuesdays

Seek...

During my readings recently, verses about seeking the Lord kept popping up. Now, I wonder, is God trying to say something to me??? Of course He is; He always has something to say to me when I read His Word. 


Psalm 63:1 (NIV) 
You, God, are my God, 
   earnestly I seek you; 
I thirst for you, 
   my whole being longs for you, 
in a dry and parched land 
   where there is no water.
Do I earnestly seek God?


Psalm 9:10 (NIV)
Those who know your name trust in you, 
   for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Do I trust God?


Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) 
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Do I seek Him with all my heart?


These are questions I should ask myself on a regular basis. If I am honest with myself, I have to say that my answers are..."No".


Oh, I seek God, but not always earnestly. I trust Him for some things, but not everything. I seek God, but not wholeheartedly all the time.


On looking at the context of these verses, I saw that they were written to God's people when they were facing times of trouble, captivity or persecution. These circumstances, mostly, seemed to be due to sin on their part. What I find so encouraging is that God still told them to seek Him and He would help them. He is still doing that today; He is waiting for us to seek Him, to call on Him for help. He is longing for us to seek Him out just to spend time with Him and not only for what He can do for us.


So let us...

Isaiah 55:6 (NIV)

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call on him while he is near.

I am linking up to Shanda's blog for her weekly On Your Heart Tuesdays

New Year...New Goals

It is the third day of 2012 already and only the first time I have got down to writing a post this year. It is a good thing that I have not set myself a goal of doing 365 posts!!

  Goals. I have been trying to decide what my goals should be this year, but cannot do so. The year ahead is going to be one of big changes for us. We are hoping to move to our new home in South Africa sometime around April. Not only is it a new home, but it will be a change of country too. 

  For over twenty years we have been expats. Actually, we have only lived in two countries in that time (Mauritius and Nigeria), but we have lived in eight homes. Though not too bad considering other people in the same position have probably lived in twice as many, if not more, homes. 

  As a result of this impending move, I have been finding it very difficult to settle in to anything, never mind sitting down to set goals for the year ahead. I am being an ostrich and burying my head in the sand at the thought of getting down to sorting out the last ten years of accumulated things in our house. Oh, I do understand that the sooner I get on with it, the sooner it will get done, but that is not helping right at the moment. I will get there, don’t worry!

 Proverbs 16:9 says A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.(NKJV). So, it appears to me that we should make plans/goals and then leave the outcome to the Lord. We are also told in Matthew 6:25-33 not to worry about our daily needs, but to seek Him first. That should be the first goal of my year.

  I wonder if these geese below, are setting goals for the year?? Somehow, I don’t think so.