Have A Blessed New Year In 2009!

Okay, it’s now Wednesday, December 31, 2008 and I’m still trying to figure out how if the low in my neighborhood was 37 degrees Fahrenheit, why did my auto windshield freeze so solidly? Well, just so you know, I did some research and after perusing many different theories and ideas, this one from an internet based meteorology column seemed to make the most sense: “Note that when conditions are clear and calm, it is quite possible for a radiatively cooled surface to drop to 4, 6, 8, even ten degrees below the temperature of the air above. Also note that the supercooling and freezing upon contact and spreading over a subfreezing surface is a process that occurs in freezing rain situations at or near the ground, and in scenarios aloft in which clear icing occurs on aircraft.” In other words, the windshield can be much colder than the ambient temperature. I would try and figure out a way to apologize to my weather forecasting folks for incriminating them in this issue, however, they have more than enough to answer for before dealing with this minor glitch. Now that you have had your science snippet for the day, we can move on to things of greater importance.

Here we are counting down the last hours of 2008. Those of you who have tracked along side our journey over the past twelve months might chuckle at a recent prediction from our youngest son: “One thing I really believe, dad, is that you are going to have a much better year in 2009!” We are not promised that or anything else except that God will be with us without regard to the challenges we end up facing. This, of course, is the appropriate time to take stock of where you have been, how have you done, and where you would like to see yourself make progress in the brand new year. We are all aware of those pesky efforts called ‘resolutions’ that make a lot of noise early on but typically fade about as quickly as a balloon losing its air. However, this doesn’t mean the idea is bad especially when we think about the most important area of our life.

That involves making progress in our spiritual development and our walk with our God. He desires to have intimate fellowship with those who are His very own. Many people come up with targets that will accomplish desired outcomes for the New Year. Sadly, very few of us make spiritual goals our first priority as we seek to make progress in our journey here on the planet. Having zero targets will almost always make sure you hit them every time! What are some meaningful goals for one’s spiritual walk? First would be to spend significant time with God. We do this when we immerse ourselves in His Word, spend time in prayer, and in devoting personal worship towards Him. Secondly, we should seek to serve Him by serving others along side fellow believers with the time, talent, testimony, and treasures He has provided to us. Lastly, we should embrace those He has given into our care like our families, our associates, our fellow Church members, and others in seeking to influence them with the love and truth they need. Those are just three and there’s no doubt more but I will be doing good to stay focused on these three.

I do pray that you and yours will have a blessed New Year and that we all will find ourselves thanking God for His goodness to us and in serving Him more in 2009 than we did in 2008! Amen. Lord willing I’ll see you once we top that hill over there called a brand spanking New Year! …..More later.