OK, I know that is a tired and worn out statement (title), but it is genuinely how I am feeling as we close out 2014 and look to begin 2015.  There are so many things that weigh on my mind and heart, and so many things that are going on in my life and ministry – I am ready for change and to move on!

This has been a busy and involved year in regard to ministry, family and life.  There have been lots of blessings as well as challenges, ups and downs, and plenty to keep me busy.  We are going through change in our ministry, and we are experiencing change in our family.  Peggy and I have had times of long distance relationship as she has cared for extended family, and now we are back to being together.  There have been times of great celebration, and times of incredible pain.

And, God is good, dependable and faithful through everything we experience.  He is the giver of all good gifts and the one who is always there for us.  He is also the comforter that sees us through the pain and gives us the peace that passes understanding, and again is always there for us.

I have found in my own life that the times when we experience pain and problems, are the times that God is closest and when I have the greatest sense of his presence and strength.  Those are also the times when I have grown the most in my walk with him, and in my relationship with the Lord.

I have also found that when things are going well and we are experiencing great advancement, it can be times that we take for granted.  Dare I say it, we can think we are the reason things are going so well and forget to give God the credit he is due.  These need to be times when we are just as thankful for the Lord’s work and presence, and when we should be learning new and wonderful things about him.

As we come to the close of this year, Christmas has always been a great time for our family, from when we were first married and gathering with our extended families, especially since God blessed us with our two boys, and through all the years since.  Even as the boys have grown up and established themselves in jobs and their own families, Christmas is a time to get back together, to connect, and to celebrate the joy, hope and peace of the Lord.

What I am rediscovering this year, in many ways, is that the celebration of the Lord’s coming to pitch his tent here on earth (John 1:14), to live and teach and show us God in the flesh, and then pay the price for our sin so we could be forgiven (Philippians 2:5-8) – – – what I am reminded of and have to relearn from time to time, is that Christmas is about God’s love for ME, expressed in the most unbelievable way in Christ (John 3:16).

I am going to love being with family this Christmas, and I am going to enjoy the season of celebration with our church family.  And I know already, none of those experiences will be perfect, and they will simply have some measure of being flawed (because as people we are imperfect, including me).  SO, what I am going to do, in the midst of all the gathering and celebrating, is choose to keep my focus on Christ, and revel in the depth of God’s love for me that I share with my family.

And, as we walk into the unknowns of this next year there will be great joys, plenty of sorrows, wonderful new opportunities, as well as many challenges.  And right smack dab in the middle of all of that, God will be there (Hebrews 13:5c) – good, faithful, dependable, and everything I, and we, need for him to be (Deuteronomy 7:8).

So, yes, out with the old, and in with the new…  “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV)

Hey, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!