Did you stay up last night? All the way until midnight? My parents - in their 60's - made it. Me? Not so much. Should I be embarrassed? Meh. When the boys were younger we'd
Actually, we had a fun time last night, livin' it up with our friends at the Chapel. Taco dinner, story-telling, games, movies. Some of us watched Narnia while Wyatt learned to play Texas Hold'em. I think some of the college students stayed until midnight, but most of us headed for the barn by about 10:30. Back home, Kerry stayed up with the boybarians, watching something cheery and festive. Probably Sons of Guns, or Future Weapons. I - apparently lacking the necessary testosterone - went to bed.
Other than staying up late, we don't have any particular New Year's traditions. You? Maybe that would help. Or maybe what would really help is just more sleep in general ;D
At any rate, I don't think I was the only one yawning in church this morning, and that's no reflection on Pastor Bert's sermon, which I'm still chewing on. And since I'm at a loss for wisdom, let me pass on some of his.
He preached from Philippians 3, "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what it ahead." But what should we forget? Two things.
Out bad deeds, and our good deeds. Which covers a lot of ground, right there. But here's the good news - our sin (bad deeds) can't condemn us (Psalm 103:12, Jeremiah 31:34, Romans 8:1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Jeremiah 50:20), and our righteousness (good deeds) can't save us.
Only the grace of God counts.
Let go of bitterness and regrets. Drop the self-righteous "credits" we think we've earned. Let it all go.
And press on toward the goal.
Amen.
Wishing you a joyful new year,
Julie
3 comments:
Hey Julie...Praise God for that scripture...pressing on and letting go and changing from glory to glory...amen! We just stayed up past midnight. In the past our family tradition was to play cards, dance and and listen to music. I really should keep that tradition in my own family, but my husband doesn't play cards. Anyway looking forward to a new year. :)
AMEN INDEED!
I love that - a Joyful New Year. I haven't written any Christmas/New Year posts because I (almost) completely unplugged and spent the time with family. Something I want to do more of in 2012! A Joyful New Year to you, too!
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