Grace in the New Year

"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For You will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders", Isaiah 9:2-4.

"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever", 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

These verses are what I'm praying for you, for myself, for my family, in this new year:
*that instead of being a hot mess, you will be saturated with the heat of Jesus light, filling you with His grace, dispelling the darkness and depression.
*that you will spend time soaking up Jesus presence, like a butterfly basking in the sun; and you will let Jesus lift the yoke of your slavery to sin that is chafing and rubbing your shoulder raw.
*that you would let Jesus fit your yoke to His, so that you can walk through this year easily and gracefully, with Him by your side, in gentleness and humbleness, in rest for your soul.
*that you would surrender your life to Jesus, for real this time, and let Him lift the heavy burden that's weighing you down, flattened and spent.
*that you would not give up in your difficulties , but would glorify God in the way you walk through them.
*that you would fall in love with Jesus and keep your gaze fixed on Him always.

Wishing you a blessed, happy, and grace-filled new year, 2014. Peggy

His Strong Right Arm

    As I sit here the week before Christmas, thinking about how I feel, I decide that I feel joy. Joy is a new concept for me, as is feeling like The Holy Spirit lives in me.
    I lived a huge portion of my life, after the abuse, feeling empty, joyless, and hopeless. Last Christmas I wrote that, for the first time, I felt like I was in the manger, worshipping the Christ child; whereas before I had only looked on from afar.
    This Christmas, I feel like I've gently touched that tiny, sacred, right hand. That powerful, right arm of the Lord Jesus Christ is enabling me to live with victory, joy, and hope. Praise God!
"Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. the strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things", Psalm 118:15.

Singular Focus

    My two year old granddaughter was here over Thanksgiving. She's so precious. My daughter said she had been talking about coming to see Mema and Papa for days. She cried when she got home because she had to leave us. But while she was here, everything we tried to do for her or with her she said "Let Mommy do it"; over and over we heard "Let Mommy do it".
    You have to admire her singular focus. Her focus was on the one who loves her the most and the one who she loves the most. Her focus was on the one who takes care of her every need, the one who protects her from every harm, and the one who will always keep her in her heart.
    Sound Familiar? Jesus is the one who is all that to me and I need to keep Him in singular focus.
"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You," Isaiah 26:3.