Happy 2020! Let's Be Front-Liners!

I am amped up about this new year! I share these words that I texted my children yesterday. Since I’ve attained the “wiser, older” status with all these years under my belt, I get to pour it on -- believing they are words straight from heaven-central:

“Praise God. I am so excited for 2020. I see it as a year of overcoming, many victories won, and what the enemy meant for evil, God is going to bring about so much good (Genesis 50:20). I see dreams and visions coming true for my family. I see above and beyond all we can ask or think according to the power that works (God’s power) in us (Ephesians 3:20). So, let’s power-up! Miracles upon miracles, blessings upon blessings, I decree and declare over my family in Jesus’ name. I have something stirring inside me that believes and sees it for all of my family – from the youngest (Bryson) to me, the oldest. There is an anticipation building inside me that this is going to be a miraculous year for our family. God is setting up His people for a powerful, mighty move of God. Let’s agree together to not settle for less than His power working in us this year – being instruments of His peace everywhere we go and we see others through the lens of Jesus and we encourage them, give them words of life and peace. They will leave our presence with new hope and expectation for their lives. I decree and declare it so, in Jesus mighty name. Amen. I love you so, so much!”

I encourage you to stand up strong and take faith-filled words and declare them with fervent belief over your families. Display and live out holy, righteous boldness in faith this year.

Some of us are skeptical about 2020 because 2019 was such a rough year. We can take the woe-is-me approach to this new year OR we can be a front-liner on God’s team and we can let Him strategically position us for a major harvest of blessings – and while we’re being blessed – we’re positioned in His army for bringing in an army of lost souls to His saving grace, too! We’ve been in boot camp, so to speak, and we graduated with flying colors. I have holy butterflies fluttering inside me because I'm determined to be on that "front-liner" team.

I sense, for those who are willing, that God is opening our eyes with 20/20 vision for our assignments this year -- having depth of perception, skills that discern the enemy with the ability to take him out with precision. I'm believing for now-moments where God will download breakthrough strategies for this year.

I sense that radical faithfulness to standing strong in the heat of the battle in 2019 was seen by God. Despite what we went through, we trusted God. He was and is watching us TODAY – this first day of the new year. I believe He has been singling out front-liners and I'm raising my hand! Pick me, Lord!

I sincerely believe this will be a new year of such closeness to God that we’ll hear His heartbeat and we'll see through His lens for His people. He is giving us 20/20 vision and we shouldn’t be afraid to step out boldly in faith. Remember Moses and his fears? “Then Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant. But I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." The Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who made the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you must say" (Exodus. 4:10-12).

I believe that in this new year and new decade, we will respond to God's nudges and His whispers to stepping up and going where He sends us. We will conquer because He goes before us. He is our Father and will not leave or forsake us. So, won’t you join me and be a front-liner this year?

Are We There Yet?

Happy New Year! Yes, we are there! 2019 came in like a breath of fresh air – especially if you walked outside at the midnight hour to light some firecrackers or simply to take in 2019 from the outside in. Now, an entire year of awesomeness awaits us. The squares on our 2019 calendars are blank, but very soon those squares will be filled with a host of activities, events, ceremonies, birthdays, anniversaries and exciting opportunities for a new year of great conquests, victories, and adventures.

Back to my post title: “Are we there yet?” Those are familiar words to moms and dads who venture out to take road trips with their young ones. After the first hour of an eight-hour journey, they'll ask: “How long until we’re there?” Then, it’s “Are we there yet?” And that’s the language we often use with God. We pray for a quick fix or an on-the-spot answer to our prayers, but more often than not, God’s timing is NOT our timing. I’ll admit it. Sometimes God’s Word doesn’t make a lick of sense to me (as we say in the South). “If you say to this mountain, be removed and do not doubt in your heart, it will be removed!” (Mark 11:20) Okay. I’ve got this! “Mountain be removed!” Nada; nothing; zilch! I’ll try this one! “All things are possible to those who believe.” (Mark 9:23). I AM believing! Nada; nothing, zilch! I stare at the words on my thin-papered pages of my Bible and end up scratching my head with the end of my Bible highlighter.

I felt that way when I recently read this, “So God led the people by the roundabout way” (Exodus 13:18). This mind boggling little passage is about the Israelites leaving Egypt to go to their Promise Land. It’s before they messed up and God said they had to wander around for forty years. This is a whole different deal where God intentionally led them the roundabout way.

Have you ever felt that way? Did you have a lot of roundabouts in your 2018 year? I sure did, and I suspect that last year didn’t turn out the way many of you planned also. There might have been some chaos and something unexpected happened. If so, let’s take heart. It doesn’t automatically mean that we’re not in God's will. Sometimes He just leads us the roundabout way.

Why? Because His ways are not like ours. Because we think in minutes and He thinks "eternity". We barely see a foot in front of us and He knows the whole story, the whole winding way that is going to get us where He wants us to go. It makes me sigh and laugh when He sometimes takes the slower, scenic route.

Maybe this year I’ll act less like the kid in the back seat asking “Are we there yet?” every two minutes. Maybe I’ll roll down the window and enjoy the view. Maybe I’ll remember that life is like a road trip. It’s about so much more than just getting there.

We don't know what tomorrow holds -- or this new year holds -- but one thing we do know -- HE KNOWS and HE holds our tomorrows and, better yet, He holds our hands and is with us through the straight and narrow AND the roundabouts. Our future is so bright. Let's purpose to wake each day to the prospects of what each day will hold by Him Who knows everything about everything -- and with that kind of Trip Advisor, if we pay close attention, He'll guide us into making 2019 to be our best, most blessed year EVER!

Happy NEW Year -- NEW is the Word of the Day

I was checking in with Headquarters (God – my CEO) on what my assignment for 2018 would be, and the message I received was "Word of the Day”. My blogging began in 2010 and it started with daily posts that spoke of the faithfulness of God during our roller coaster ride that sure had its ups and downs in it. That was the year my Sweetheart battled Stage 4 Kidney Cancer until he received his "eternal" ticket to ride to his finish line, and go to his home sweet home. In any case, it was the NEW beginning of my blogging and daily posting on Facebook.

The next year, 2011, I asked God for my NEW “widow’s” assignment, still desiring to serve God in the best way I knew how, and I received the words ‘’This is your mandate – every day provide a positive, uplifting and encouraging message the first thing in the morning so that others will have those thoughts to hold onto in their new day.” So, here I am, starting my ninth year of blogging, and I still love greeting each new day with words that have the potential of altering the course of someone’s otherwise negative start or finish to their day. Since the beginning, I’ve received all kinds of encouraging comments from my friends and family – you know who you are! God bless you for being my cheerleaders! From that time to this – I’ve purposed to post before 6 a.m. every morning – only adjusting if I’m in a location that doesn’t permit easy access to Wifi. A few years later, 2015 to be exact – my assignment was to find a photo inspiration for each day and to write my post based on that photo.

Now – with 2018 ahead of me, the message I received from Headquarters, is what I’ll be doing – seeking God for 365 words for 365 days of 2018. I’m making a conscious choice to focus on ONE word for each day – and I hope and pray the words God gives me are THE WORDS that will encourage you and give you added fuel for your daily faith journey. This year starts with the word, “NEW”.

There is just something about the start of a NEW year -- with a NEW journal or a NEW calendar. It's a clean slate. There’s something in us that naturally draws us toward fresh beginnings. 2017 was a doozey of a year for many its end brings the hope of a NEW start. I’m sure God engineered us for do-overs – fresh starts. Why would I start this year with NEW? Because even God seems to think new starts are pretty sweet. Here are some of God's "NEW" words from His WORD (the Bible), to help us enter into 2018 with a NEW beginning.

~~~ GOD MAKES US NEW: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become NEW." 2 Corinthians 5:17

~~~ GOD GIVES US NEW SONGS OF PRAISE. “He put a NEW song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." Psalm 40:3

~~~ GOD MAKES NEW WAYS FOR US “I am doing a NEW thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

~~~ GOD’S MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are NEW every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

We have a NEW year to be the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be; NEW potential for achieving our goals; NEW clean slate to start fresh to show ourselves and others that we are a finisher – not a quitter; New will to overcome; NEW desires to trust God in the sun and in the rain; NEW goals to break OLD habits. It's time to begin again with NEW expectations of great NEW adventures and blessings up ahead. But most importantly to write some NEW stories that leave a NEW legacy for those who are following us -- a legacy of "I can" and "I will"!!

I’ve already started on my NEW chapter. At the end of 2018....I'll glance back at the victories won and the many, many NEW doors that opened up for me to great NEW opportunities! Today, I close the door to the past, open the door to the future, I take a deep breath, step on through and start a NEW chapter of my life. How about you?

The Best Part of a New Year? A Clean Slate!

A happy and blessed 2017 is my prayer for all of my FB friends and family today! Being the body-guard for my two youngest grandsons was no less charged with anticipation and celebration than any other year for the last twelve years. We had lots of fun making videos (or should I say, Brennan made videos). Yesterday, New Year's Eve, I picked up our low-risk fireworks, decorated with our elaborate New Years decor', shopped for our gourmet treats, made Granny's chocolate cake, and held back the troops from taking over the loot for as long as I could by encouraging them to decorate their gingerbread houses. Based on their lack of desire for artistic finesse, we won't be entering them in a Gingerbread House competition any time soon. Having big brother Barrett with us this year was a real treat! Our low budget celebration wasn't a disappointment at all!

It was our annual night of waving good-bye to 2016 and celebrating in style -- the clean, fresh slate of 2017. Having mediated a brothers' conflict during the day, I had the opportunity of an object lesson based on "clean slates". In conflict resolution, it's best to propose an option that provides forgiveness of oneself while forgiving others. That was the case when I mentioned to the boys that "today marks the ending of the past, and at midnight we can start with a clean slate of love and forgiveness".

The boys popped some little firecrackers, we wore our Happy New Year hats, blew our celebratory horns, then we toasted each other with Sparkling Grape Juice. We watched the giant ball of sparkles descend in Times Square, prayed the New Year in together.and gave each other lots of hugs and kisses.

Now, an entire year of awesomeness awaits us. The squares on our 2017 calendars are blank, but very soon those squares will be filled with a host of activities, events, ceremonies, birthdays, anniversaries and exciting opportunities for experiencing a year of great conquests, victories, and adventures.

There's something quite exciting about a clean slate, starting fresh, opportunities for "do-overs". We'll set new goals, resolutions, and hope for some major life-changes. Each new day in our new year will be as fresh and white as new snow. Each and every day starts with God's fresh mercy and new grace. And those new days don't come in with the fanfare of this 1st day of the year. Typically, our days dawn quietly and peacefully -- a sunrise introduces us to our new day, and reminds us that God has given us another day to make a difference in our world.. We'll hear birds chirping, which makes us very aware of God's care for them -- and how much more does He care for us?

We don't know what tomorrow holds -- or this new year holds -- but one thing we do know -- HE KNOWS and HE holds our tomorrows and, better yet, He holds our hands and is with us through them all. Our future is so bright. Let's purpose to wake each day to the prospects of what each day will hold by Him Who knows everything about everything -- and with that kind of ADVISOR -- if we pay close attention -- He'll guide us into making 2017 to be our best, most blessed year EVER!

#HappyNewYear

Thinking Back and Looking Forward

It's the 365th day of 2016. I made it!!! 365 days of posting a positive word for my FB friends and family. After all, there's enough negativity in social media with politics, the weat her, the economy, the disappointments many speak about or vent about in their relationships. Once upon a time, I didn't want to be on social media because of those reasons, but then I sensed that God was calling me to bring some sunshine to a world that can be quite dark, and then my special thoughts and words would, hopefully, bring inspiration to others. I can't begin to adequately explain how rewarded I feel for staying true to my commitment. Purposefully, I've had to make sure to stay "in the zone", seizing the moments, noticing little and big God-encounters, recognizing that God is always speaking. I just had to tune in to His still small voice, and, often, His big booming voice as I witnessed His illustrated messages to me through nature, His Word, His kids and His embrace. Fact is.....I showed up for my daily appointment with God.....and He was faithful and true to His promises.....He ALWAYS showed up for me.

I'm not exactly sure what this next year will look like, not only in my commitment to daily posts and blogs, but in life overall. But one thing I do know for sure......I know WHO knows and I'm excited for the journey that awaits me. There will be many opportunities for making FB posts and writing my daily blogs because I'm very aware that God has many more exciting adventures and trails for me to blaze in this new year. So, I'll continue to be on daily assignment.

These photo inspirations are from this day in 2014 and Brennan's video from 2015 with my two little men -- my annual New Year's Eve dates! Tonight, once again, these two and I will be donning our hats and making toasts with our sparkling grape juice, and blowing our horns. We'll even shoot some little fireworks, and we'll watch the giant sphere of sparkles descend in Times Square an hour behind East Coast time as 2016 makes its exit and 2017 makes its debut. We'll be silly and dance and give each other hugs and kisses. Eat your heart out, single women everywhere! LOL!

A new year -- new hope for our future. There is something inherit within us that craves a new fresh start -- a chance to make wrongs right, and good things even greater. The promise of a clean slate is thrilling. I've already begun to think about new horizons, new seasons, and new adventures. My personal motto will continue to be "I'm still here....so I'm not done." I know that God will give me courage to face each new day and the best part, His mercies will be new each morning.

The great news is that God is the author of 2017! He knows each and every twist and turn that is up ahead, both for you and for me. He has planned 2017 down to the minutest detail—all with the goal for our good. Look out, 2017 -- HERE WE COME! Let the GREAT ADVENTURES begin!!!

An Entire Year of Awesomeness Awaits Us

Happy 2016!   An Entire Year of Awesomeness Awaits Us
Our brand new year is officially here with its clean slate to start fresh and new, and my two boys and I celebrated each time zone from East coast to West coast.

Packed into our last day of the year was seeing Star Wars again, but this time in 3D, recliner seats -- all cozy comfy and we were just as enamored as we were the first time we saw it.  Then to Chuck E Cheese for a little game play before heading home for our traditional photo-opts and Brennan, the Producer's, latest movie.

We toasted to the new year in style with our sparkling grape juice.  We watched the giant ball of sparkles descend in Times Square, had lots of goodies to eat,  and we prayed the New Year in together for those who lived in each time zone we celebrated.  

We celebrated with dancing, hoverboard antics, fireworks, laughing, and hugging!   As has been the tradition for 14 years now, hanging with my boys makes New Year's Eve a night to remember.  Best dates a gal could have....at least at this season of my life. ;-)

One thing we ALL have in common, rich or poor — is the desire for a blessed and successful new year. Reflecting over 2015, I ask myself, "Did I really embrace each day, taking time to 'smell the roses' -- being 'present' in the moments and to cherish the people in my life -- and when I'm with them -- to be 'with them' -- without distractions?" I've thought a lot about that during the visit with my family in Texas and here in Washington -- really cherishing these times.

You've probably seen my postings about that.   In reality, every day should be treated as a gift from God and we should cherish each one with thanksgiving. We can't change the past, but we can always determine to celebrate each new day in our todays and tomorrows as the days God made for us and to determine to use our time wisely, with the purpose of LIVING every moment, LAUGHING every day, and LOVING beyond words....after all, we will NEVER have these moments again!

Our future is so bright. Let's purpose to wake each day to the prospects of what each day will hold by Him Who knows everything about everything -- and with that kind of ADVISOR -- if we pay close attention -- He'll guide us into making 2016 to be our best, most blessed year EVER!  A happy and blessed 2016 is my prayer for all of my FB friends and family today!

Happy New Year's Eve! 2015 is Almost Here!

This was the headline from Sydney, Australia at their midnight this morning:  "Kiss 2014 goodbye! Sydney kicks off New Year celebrations with seven tonnes of fireworks in spectacular display over Harbour Bridgen."

But it's still New Year's Eve to us in North America -- and my celebration, tonight, will include my little grandsons who will be nestled in bed, long before the new year rolls in.  It's been this way for 14 years -- peaceful and quiet New Year's Eve -- as we were always the "on duty" Papa and Nana on New Year's Eve with our grandsons.  We always loved it because we were able to peacefully and intimately hold each other, praise God, and truly be grateful for another year gone, and optimistic and hopeful for the new and great opportunities to come in our new year.  For the last 4 years, it's been just me and God -- but what a twosome we make.  He who understands my yesterdays, and holds my tomorrows.  The PERFECT match!  

In Times Square, tonight, there will be thousands of people bundled up in freezing New York weather to witness a few short seconds when the descending ball of light announces the arrival of 2015.  Those hardy people will endure the freezing air to mark the passage of time, but even more, because they are anticipating a "new beginning!" Saying goodbye to a tumultuous 2014, they will be looking forward to making a fresh start in 2015!

One thing we all have in common, rich or poor — is the desire for a blessed and sucessful new year. It gives us hope and great expectancy to think about the potential of good things coming our way in the new year.  Reflecting over 2014, I am astounded how quickly the year seemed to pass.    And looking back over it has caused me to ask, am I really embracing each day, taking time to "smell the roses" -- being "present" in the moments and to cherish the people in my life -- and when I'm with them -- to be "with them" -- without distractions.  Every day should be treated as a gift from God and we should cherish each one with thanksgiving.  We can't change the past, but we can always determine to celebrate each day we have in the future as the day God made for us and to determine to use our time wisely, with the purpose to make a difference in the world around us!  May you all experience a new year of much laughter, joy, happiness, love and peace!
#HappyNewYear