As the new year begins, many of us may find ourselves feeling weary and overwhelmed. But our God promises to be with us, always. He promises us hope.Together, let’s discover four ways we can carry hope into the new year.
Around this time of the year, it is normal to reflect on the past year in preparation for the New Year. Although reflection is good, it should be guided, or our thoughts can wander aimlessly, causing us to feel overwhelmed. This is one of the major roles of the Holy Spirit, to lead us and guide our minds. According to John 16:13 (N.L.T.), "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future." As you take a moment to evaluate this year and seek God about the upcoming New Year, here are four ways to facilitate an honest conversation with yourself and God.
A New Year is almost upon us! As everyone starts to think of resolutions and ways to start a "New Year, New Me" plan, take a moment to turn to Scripture for inspiration. These 12 verses will encourage you, challenge you, and are a guaranteed way to start the year off on the right foot.
We hope that as you read this article, you are reminded of your own personal prayers that have been lifted throughout the past year, as well as inspired to lift a few more along with other readers.
Embrace the future by letting go of past heartaches, worries, and things you cannot change. That includes forgiving those who hurt you, realizing you cannot change other people, and accepting what things cannot be undone. List what caused hurts, worries, and problems; let each one go. Grief is a process, so accept that if you are grieving a loss, allow time to get through it, and pray for God’s help.
There's a fine line between throwing goals out the window and extending grace to oneself. But one of the glitches with a New Year's resolution is it also comes almost without exception with an ominous thundercloud of potential—if not probable—failure. Some of that is because we set unreasonable goals, and some is simply because life isn't going to hand us the cooperation we need to accomplish what we've set out to do.
Each day of these monthly challenges gives you an opportunity to write out a passage of Scripture. We pray that as you meditate on God's Word throughout the coming year, you will be richly blessed!
As we leave the old year behind, how about we saturate the coming new year with prayers?So, let’s pray for three things that will remain regardless of circumstance: Faith, hope, and love.
Resolutions are merely decisions we make in advance. These are not big, glorious goals, they are practical steps you can take in the New Year to calm your anxious heart.
Gather together and share three things (or however many you wish) that you would like to see God help you with in the coming year. Teaching children that new goals are good, but including the Lord in their plans is even better.
Resolutions are rarely kept past 30 days but goals can be life changing. More than good intentions, goals help you put in place concrete steps to create a different life, and a different kind of love. Goals are simply dreams with deadlines. So take some time to dream together!
An unintentional side effect of being so connected is that parents—and children—have relational fatigue from the pressure of constant communication and competition for attention. By concentrating on disconnecting, we can reaffirm our commitment to each other and our children. Have regular device-free time together, such as during family dinners, on Sundays, and overnight.
As we enter the New Year, we pray that God will richly bless you in your marriage and work in marvelous ways for those going through a hard season. He is capable of more than we can even imagine and is the great Healer. Lean on Him as you face trials in your relationship, praise Him for every breakthrough, and rejoice when you experience growth and happiness together.
There are so many in this world who will enter 2023 without hope and without peace that can only come through Christ. So, before we focus on ourselves, let us remember our true calling to love others as we love ourselves.
More than simply losing weight or decluttering one’s home, believers can use the idea of making resolutions to place needed emphasis on their relationship with Jesus and strengthening their faith in God.
Raising children in this day and age is proving difficult, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there are some days that I question everything I am doing as a mom. The world is changing and appears to be going down several destructive paths.The combination of consuming (and highly addictive) technology, ever-changing school systems, online safety (or lack thereof), identity and gender confusion, among so many other hidden dangers, have become a revolving door for the deceiver to come in and capture our children's minds and sabotage their hearts. Evil no longer hides as it has weaseled its way into most of our public systems and now has made its way into our homes. Parents now wrestle with how to adapt to the ever-changing and challenging issues at hand while keeping their children safe.What's a parent to do? I wish I had the answers, but thankfully our God does! And He will lead and guide us as we raise our children in this day in age. Below are five simple parenting goals I plan to implement this coming year. Will you join me in letting God take the reigns and allowing Him to speak into the lives of our children and this generation?
