Are you ready for it? It will be here tonight at 12 midnight whether you are ready or not! 2010. I remember that when I was in elementary school the '90's seemed futuristic to us. I remember my science teacher saying "One day your mother will call you to dinner and you won't mind leaving the program you're watching on TV because you can hit a button and just record it." Wow we were all wide eyed at that! Now you can watch TV from your Ipod, record more than one program at a time, bring movies home that were just on in the theatre. On this night 67 years ago, my parents went to church together, it was a Wednesday night, just like tonight, daddy sang a song and mother played the piano for him to sing for the first time. They married the next night, at midnight, as the bells, whistles and fire works were ringing in the New Year, 1943. They are the perfect example of "what God has joined together." A song from the '70's by Peter Allen says "everything old is new again." Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That's what the Quester says.] There's nothing to anything—it's all smoke. What's there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it's business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round. The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.All the rivers flow into the sea,but the sea never fills up.The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again.Everything's boring, utterly boring—no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye,boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again.There's nothing new on this earth. Year after year it's the same old thing.Does someone call out, "Hey, this is new"? Don't get excited—it's the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody'll remember them either. Don't count on being remembered.This passage was written by Solomon, the man who asked God for wisdom! Sounds lke something we could say today, doesn't it? But should you be discouraged that nothing ever changes? Not at all, your destiny is in your hands, you have to commit yourself to God and let Him show you a path carved for you. Jeremiah 29:11...I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. That is God's promise to us, He has, for us, a future and a HOPE! A few promises to start the year with: Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Jeremiah 33:3 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.'2 Corinthians 1:20-22 Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete. Let God start the New Year with you, tonight!   Be Blessed and Happy New Year!

If you were awakened in the middle of the night by God and He said "What do you want from Me? Ask!" What would you say? Would you ask for all your bills to be paid, to make more money, for a new job, instant weight loss/gain, beauty, riches, what? The possibilities are endless and it is a mind blowing offer. This question was posed to Solomon, his answer? "Give me wisdom and knowledge as I come and go among this people—for who on his own is capable of leading these, your glorious people?" God answered Solomon, "This is what has come out of your heart: You didn't grasp for money, wealth, fame, and the doom of your enemies; you didn't even ask for a long life. You asked for wisdom and knowledge so you could govern well my people over whom I've made you king. Because of this, you get what you askedfor, wisdom and knowledge. And I'm presenting you the rest as a bonus—money, wealth, and fame beyond anything the kings before or after you had or will have."  God saw that Solomon was not greedy, that he really wanted to be able to rule with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and that could only be with the kind of wisdom that God could gift him with. He got everything his heart could have desired because of his request. Do YOU need wisdom to be able to acquire all the good things in life? James 3:16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats. James 4:17-18 Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. Verse 18 (KJV) And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. This is the verse I have most often heard my mother quote through the years, it is from the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' own words: Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers:  for they shall be called the children of God. Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Be blessed, ask for wisdom, get peace!

I was thinking about cravings for, chocolate, pop corn, pizza, fried chicken, in other words, anything that is sweet, salty, fatty, or generally un-healthy for you! So I looked up why we crave certain foods. Psychology Today says that we really don't crave it but it is a learned reaction or an addiction or addictive behavior, too much needless information! It seems that if I decide I am not going to eat a certain food, that is the very thing I want, so what is the lesson here? One thing would be to never think about things you know you shouldn't have, then you will never want it, getting too deep in here run get your boots! With the New Year coming up I am already seeing commercials about weight loss and physical fitness. I have read that more memberships to gyms are bought in January than in any other month of the year! What does that say about us? I think it shows that we all have good intentions, whether or not we carry through with them! There is a phrase, "guilty pleasure", which are things that we do or want to do that someone else would think was silly, or just plain wrong. Maybe eating Peanut butter out of the jar won't send you to hell, but sometimes our guilty pleasures are things that could ruin your life. Do you think that control or will power problems started with us? If you do, I have a scripture for you! Romans 7:15-20 "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.The Apostle Paul said that, but doesn't it sound just like you or me? I say the "spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" kind of sums it all up!  What do you want to do? Diet? Start a new physical fitness program? Wake up every morning at 6 AM to have an uncluttered prayer time? Read through the Bible? Any of the above, ALL of the above? I have decided that there is no such thing as will power, at least not in myself, so again I have to turn to the scriptures, I would bet that you know what's coming! Philippians 4:11-13(emphasis on V 13) I'm glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess— Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. There are some things that are just too difficult to do without divine help!  Jesus is our Advocate, defense, helper in time of need! What ever you decide to try, you know He is your helper! Proverbs 18:10 The Lord is our strong tower: the righteous runs into it and is safe. Be blessed, try,run into His protection and be safe!

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love .... I will.  I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over an imperfect body despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched onto my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong. I like being older. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day(if I feel like it). I don't know who gets the credit for this, but it fit the occasion as my birthday has passed. Is it spiritual? Probably not, Be Blessed, Pray, enjoy life!