Start the New Year with Confidence
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” I Peter 5: 6,7
by Health Minister Jeanette Divine
I love the New Year. For me it’s a time of fresh starts and new beginnings. I usually have more motivation this time of year than at any other time. I am motivated to clean my closets, exercise more, stay focused on eating the best possible food, strive for better communication with my husband, and most importantly, develop a closer relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Many women, however, don’t feel this way at the beginning of the year; I certainly didn’t for most of my life. With November and December embracing my two favorite holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), I was always sad and depressed when they gave way to the cold, dark months of winter. I have talked to many women who feel this emptiness when the New Year comes around. There could be any number of reasons why a woman wouldn’t look forward to the New Year. Perhaps, you may be dwelling on your reasons as you read this.
It wasn’t until I read certain passages in the Bible that I realized this attitude needed to change in my heart. Lamentations 3:22, 23 says: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” John 17:13 says: “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” God does not want us to be downtrodden or depressed. He wants us to be joy-filled women! We can focus on Jesus and what He did for us at the cross. We know we are saved and will spend all eternity with Him; that alone should lift our spirits!
Here are some ideas that may help you flow victoriously into the New Year:
- Start a Bible Study focusing on women of the Bible in your home or church with several of your friends.
- Share food and fellowship by organizing a ‘ladies night out’ potluck supper once or twice a month.
- Visit a nursing home where senior women would be blessed with your friendship.
- Kidnap your husband for a fun getaway-weekend.
- Plan a vacation with your friends to a warm sunny retreat. One of the Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Centers would be ideal. The Health Ministers who own and operate these Lifestyle Centers are the perfect hosts. They serve delicious food, conduct morning devotions, teach the Hallelujah Acres Diet & Lifestyle,and much more.
- Take your children or grandchildren to a fun park and be a ‘kid’ yourself.
- Register for one or more of Hallelujah Acres Culinary Classes.
- Re-arrange the furniture in your living room (this always works for me).
- If you love to snow ski, seize the opportunity to find snow at one of the many ski resorts across the country.
- Learn to play a musical instrument.
- Take a class on stained glass or painting at the local community college.
If we plan something that we can look forward to, it will help to soften the ‘letdown after the holidays’ feeling many women experience.
Often times, women may have experienced tragedy in their lives and never completely recovered from it. The loss of a child, a husband or other loved one, an abusive relationship, a divorce, or even the loss of a job are all traumatic life experiences. It is during these times more than ever that our relationship with Jesus Christ must remain sound and intimate. Women are such loving and tender hearted children of God and when tragedy strikes we need His love and support to see us through.
We can rest on the fact that
God loves and cares for us.
I Peter 5: 6,7 says: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” This really is the key to a joy-filled life. His Word proclaims in Hebrews 13:5b, 6, “For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
The New Year brings with it the opportunity to start over, put the past behind us, and look forward to seeking God’s will for our lives today. Life is so precious and it can be joy-filled if our focus stays on the Lord. We can plan days and days worth of fun things to do, but without the Lord guiding our footsteps, we will still come up empty-handed.
My goal as a woman of God is to bless Him with my thoughts, actions, and words. I don’t ever want to go back to the joyless days of my past where I couldn’t climb out of the fog of sadness. Months of the year are just that, months of the year! A woman’s state of mind and heart determines whether or not she is secure and content no matter what month of the year it happens to be. Our contentment is secure in Christ alone. I learned many years ago that no matter what happens in my life, I will trust my Lord. He is the lover of my soul (and yours); He knows all about us and loves us more than we know.
So, ready or not ladies, the New Year is here! You and I have a whole year ahead of us. About eleven months from now the year will come to an end. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could say at the end of the year that we have accomplished most of our goals? If we take the time now to write down the things we would like to accomplish, we will have a better opportunity of seeing those plans come to fruition.
Each year comes to an end in December whether we have accomplished anything or not. Let’s join together as women of God, present our lists to Him, and ask for His wisdom and direction. He is our Heavenly Father and He wants to bless us with a life filled with peace and joy. May your New Year be filled with the desires of your heart, and may you experience the joy of the Lord. Have fun making your lists, I know I will. With the Lord’s help, this can be the year of great accomplishment in our lives. Let us commit together to implement our goals for 2008.
Jeanette Divine is a Hallelujah Acres Health Minister, and a Staff Writer at Hallelujah Acres Headquarters.
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