I hope your Christmas vacation and New Year's celebration were full of joy and fun, family and friends and lots of love. It's good to be back here at W2W after a couple of weeks off.
I still get butterflies about Christmas just like I did when I was a kid. I can't wait to get up on Christmas morning and gather round the tree with my family. When I was young, I was filled with excitement and anticipation to see what was under the tree for me. Now that I'm grown, I'm excited for my children and grandchildren to open up the gifts I'm giving them.
In Psalm 31:19 it talks about the goodness that God has laid up for us. It reminds me of the weeks before Christmas and the gifts I had laid up and hidden away until they were wrapped and placed under the tree in anticipation of Christmas morning. In a much greater measure, I think God anticipates and delights in doing good for His children.
Sometimes, especially after extended times of trial and testing, we can get into the habit of anticipating trouble and problems. What if we cooperated with God and asked Him to help us to have a change of mind, one that anticipates the goodness that our Father God has laid up for us. What if we trusted in the fact that He really, really is a good, good Father. Filling your mind and thoughts with scriptures like the one above will help renew your mind. Speaking them aloud is another powerful weapon to defeat a defeatist mindset. I think just this simple change of mind could change this new year we've just begun!
still following,
Thank you Elizabeth for reminding us that God has indeed laid up treasures in Heaven for His children!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! He delights in giving us good things here on earth, too. Unfortunately, we forget that those good things aren't always earthly riches, which causes us to miss all the good things He does give us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this encouraging post. It was timely, as I sit here discouraged about everyone going back to school/work tomorrow. I needed the reminder to focus on the good God has in store for us, rather than the sadness of going back.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, I always got blue when vacation was over and everyone headed back to school, when summer or Christmas vacation came to an end. God bless and fill you with hope and expectation as you get back into the routine.
DeleteAMEN! It's easy for me to dwell on our struggles and uncertainties. Thank you for the reminder that God has good things for me up ahead!
ReplyDeleteBarbie, it's hard to break evil foreboding after a long Job season. It definitely takes effort on our part to feed our mind and heart with the truth of the hope that is in God's Word.
DeleteWonderful message, Elizabeth! Thank you so much for sharing, Love! Happy New Year and GOD bless you, beautiful friend! :-)
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