Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I stepped outside on this cold January morning to welcome in a new day of this New Year, and to dedicate it all to Him all over again. He is my Hope, my Strength, my Redeemer, and my Friend, and “there is no good thing in me apart from Him.” He deserves the first fruit of my Life …beginning with my Time. I know if I give it all TO Him and if I live my Life FOR Him, the Journey will be beautiful no matter what’s going on in the dark world around me. So, when I stepped onto the porch for the first time this year I thanked Him for the year behind me now, and I thanked Him for what He’ll be doing with me and through me in this New One. Isn’t that the way you step into “a new thing” too?

Plenty of people around the world are saying “good riddance” to the year we left behind…but not me. Oh, it brought some disappointments here and there just like all the years do, and there were all kinds of bizarre changes in a dark world that are not easy to comprehend these days. But last year had a Purpose in the Master Plan just as much as all those “when times were different years” did, and Beauty can be found everywhere if you look with the Right set of eyes and a Grateful Heart. I’ve spent just as much time as the next guy scratching my head in disbelief over what’s going on in the world and how quickly life has changed, but more than any other emotion or reaction to what I see and hear, I’ve watched with Great Anticipation for what God is doing at such a time as this. I don’t have all the answers, but I Serve the God who does, and I’m watching Him connect the dots to what He already had in motion since the very beginning of time. The only thing I need to concern myself with is how I fit into His Plan – and the only thing I can do that has any significance at all is to Live out my Faith “with fear and trembling,” to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as I can, and to feed the sheep He Orchestrates into my Life.

The world around me has changed, but God sure hasn’t. He never changes His mind and He never leaves His Throne. He’s never taken by surprise like we are and He already knows the rest of the story because the world is in the palm of His hands and He “wrote the book” on how and when the Story ends. He’s “the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.” He never grows tired of hearing our prayers…they’re like “incense in Heaven” to Him… and He stores up every tear we ever shed “in a jar” because He loves us. He sent His “only begotten son” to die for us so that we can live out Eternity with Him in the place He’s already “prepared for us” – at least that’s what the future looks like for those who Believe. God cares about each one and He died for all. But there are still plenty of people out there who don’t know my God – there are plenty of people who THINK they know my God but they don’t- and there are plenty more who have never been told about Jesus at all. And THAT’S where you and I come in…ESPECIALLY at such a time as this.

I’ve been blessed to have been loved BIG by countless people throughout my lifetime, but nobody has ever loved me as much as He does. I’ve loved so big that I thought my heart would burst, but I’ve never loved anybody as much as I love Him. So, the world can keep changing and I’ll keep clinging to the Only One with the Answers while I share Hope with the world around me. You’ll never hear me say “good riddance” to a year full of days to Serve the Creator of All, that’s for sure! I’ll keep Serving every day, year after year…in good years and in not-so-good years….because THAT’S what Love looks like.

Happy New Year, world.

Philippians 3:13-14 But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.