I hope that you and the people you love are having a wonderful Christmastime!  In the church calendar, the season lasts until the last moment of January 5, so keep the celebration going. Of course, within that time frame comes the beginning of a brand new calendar year, sweetening the season even more. I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things to do during this season is to look back at old pictures of Christmas celebrations and enjoy the memories they contain. It is so much fun to see how all of the children and grandchildren have grown and changed over the years, and to reflect on the different eras of life each photo represents. It is so good to remember.

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day to begin a fresh, new year. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there is such a crisp feel to the air. But as tempting as it is to start marching ahead into the newness of a new year, what an opportunity the slower holiday season affords to spend at least just a few minutes looking back.

Somehow, so many of us are wired to look back and focus primarily, and much too deeply, on the things that we regret, or that disappointed us, or that we got wrong. When we turn and look back, we too often see the negative or the not-enough, and concentrate on our own failings. Sadly, we neglect to see the many ways God met us in so many situations.

So today, many of us might be relieved to start again with a new year, really ready to leave 2025 in the dust. We might look backwards and see frustrating relationships, or unmet expectations, or unresolved conflict. Frankly, there is always plenty of that no matter what the calendar year is.  Of course, at least part of the problem is with who we put at the center of our lives—ourselves, or God?—and how we look back is quite telling. When we can only see the negative, it is a sure sign that we're putting too much emphasis on ourselves and our own abilities or lack thereof. If we think the entire burden of life rests on our own shoulders, we are sure to be disappointed, year after year. But if we put God at the center, and train our eyes to see that, it can absolutely revolutionize our faith moving forward.

Focusing on only the negative in life would be like keeping a photo album of the worst days of your life, or constructing a shrine to purposely remind yourself of something awful. Strangely, there actually seem to be people out there who do this very thing, and then wonder why they are always miserable and bitter. But in His wisdom, God asks us to remember the beautiful, joyful, victorious things—and there are so many wonderful things that God in his faithfulness does for us, all the time!

And this is where I will round out my musical theme of this year with one more song that has been a heart song of mine, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" . The verse that I am particularly thinking about right now goes like this:

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by Thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed His precious blood.

The word Ebeneezer refers to a remembrance stone, and this idea is found throughout the Old Testament, most specifically in 1 Samuel chapter 7. The Lord loves for us to purposefully remember! I hope that there is some sort of enormous photo album room to go through with Him someday, when heaven comes down. So often in the scriptures He encourages, even commands, His people to build something or to make something so that every time they pass there again, they will remember His great faithfulness.

So what better day is there to take a look back at the recently departed year than today? Eli and I have allotted ourselves sometime in the afternoon of January 1 to spend some time together reflecting on the highlight reel of this past year. Together, we hope to compile quite a list of the many beautiful things that God did for us,  showed us, or spoke to us in 2025.

You might not have time today, but I encourage you to let this thought lodge in your mind, and sometime this week take at least a bit of time to compile your own list. We know in our hearts and would even tell others that God is always there, that He really never leaves us or forsakes us. But too often we neglect to actually believe this. Our thoughts are too crowded by the many disappointments life brings. And those heartbreaks are what comes to the forefront, even when we’re looking forward to a new year. We’re left sort of bracing ourselves for what awful things might happen this next year. 

But instead of beginning this year with that outlook, taking a backward glance specifically to focus on the faithfulness of God can give us such a different vantage point as we march into the new year. Take the time to at least think of them, better yet write them down. What wonderful things happened in your life last year? Think of the...

-Relationships that were mended

-Miracles of provision

-Healing in your own body

-New experiences, new friends, and all of the new things God led you into

-Moments of peace and contentment

-Any of these things in the lives of people you love

-Or fill in the blank!

The point is just to look back and look for the wonderful things, which are surely manifold. The enemy wants you to focus on the negative, on the lack, on the frustration, and to fool you into thinking that you ought to really live in despair and hopelessness because so many things go wrong, surely God can’t be as good as He says He is…  

But God IS as good as He says He is, and you can trust Him!  All of those frustrating things are just part of wading through this broken world. And, guess what—God uses and redeems those frustrating experiences to make us stronger and more full of faith.

The wonderful news is the fact that Jesus is making everything new, and those encouraging points in life where we see that in such a real and powerful way can propel us and sustain us and encourage us through the dark bits. Don’t let the negative things of the past be your point of reference. Instead, let God and His faithfulness be your north star as you walk into 2026.

A few posts ago, I mentioned how in our church gathering we’ve been learning that faith is looking backward at how good God has been in the past, love is realizing all of the amazing things He is doing right here and right now, and hope is resting on both of those things as we look forward. We can be sure that He is going to be just as good as always as we move into the new year. 

So sometime this week, I encourage you to take time to remember His faithfulness. Build your own mental photo album or memorial with God and share some great memories together. Let Him build your faith, let Him fill you with his love, and may you be absolutely full of hope throughout the new year!
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A blessed Advent to you! As the scripture says, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light..." and this is what Advent is all about. The darkness and despair of the world was absolutely invaded by the bright and shining light of Emmanuel—God With Us—and this season reminds us that His brightness is what changes the hearts of men even still. His light is ever-growing and ever-spreading, just like the candles we light each week, and we are reminded that nothing can or will overcome His light. 

I'm exploring a theme this year of songs that have impacted me deeply, and would love to launch today's thought from a beautiful poem by Christina Rossetti called "In the Bleak Midwinter". It was set to music at some point in history and is now a beloved Christmas carol, and I encourage you to listen to this sometime today, by your favorite artist, as you reflect on the following thoughts...

Hope
Think of the dreariness and hopelessness of life without Christ...what if He had never come? There would be no churches or all of the loveliness that they stand for, no hospitals or soup kitchens or pregnancy care centers, no loving and forgiving your enemy, no redemption or reconciliation or restoration, no Christmas, and no Easter.

But He DID come, and now we live in the amazing place of HOPE. Jesus was born as a sweet and helpless infant, to a young couple who delivered their special child on the road, and from that momentous night, the world has never been the same. With His coming came all of the promise of a renewed Eden—for God so loved the world that He made, that He gave His only begotten Son to save it. And one day we will all live together in the Garden, with God among us, as it was meant to be.

Hope is filled with Resurrection power. The enemy thought he was winning when he enticed the powers-that-be to kill Jesus to save their precious status quo, and when he enticed Judas to betray such a wonderful friend with such a treacherous kiss. Yet how wrong that wily rebel was: Jesus' death brought all of us life! JESUS DEFEATED DEATH! Death no longer has the final word. Now we can actually live—hope is alive, and flowing through the heart of everyone who believes in Christ. 

​Peace
A common understanding of the word PEACE is simply a time without war or conflict. But there is so much more to it than that! The Biblical understanding of peace means making things complete and whole, as in a complex system fitted together and in perfect working order. When such a system breaks down, peace is lost...but when it is restored, peace is a strong and flourishing reality. 

One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 133, written at the special and unique time in history when all of God's people were actually getting along. 

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

Please note the last verse: it is there, in peace, that God COMMANDS the blessing of life forevermore! When we choose to forgive one another, to think highly of one another, to believe the best about one another, there God commands His beautiful blessing of life. What a lovely ideal! May God help us to allow the resurrection power of peace to flow through our relationships. 

Joy
There are so many things in the world that claim to bring a person joy, yet none of them deliver: money, status, power, position, substance, education, acclaim...all are found wanting. There is no way to artificially manufacture real joy. 

But in Christ is found true joy. Furthermore, that joy in Christ is our strength to face the world each and every day. 

I am reminded of a time long ago that my boyfriend and I spent a semester apart. I had gone ahead and moved on to Texas, and he had remained for one more semester of athletics at the university where we met in California. I am sure that all of the people in my new church just rolled their eyes every time I brought up my wonderful boyfriend that would be moving our way at the end of the semester. I couldn't help but talk about him, often—he was the person that I thought about all the time, and that I centered my life and future upon. 

Of course, that boyfriend is the man who became my beloved husband, now of thirty-three years of glorious marriage. He has been such a godly husband, a wonderful father to our children and grandchildren, and a superior best friend. Yet, as much as I have put my faith in a man, how much more can I put my faith in my Savior? 

Each and every day spent waiting on Jesus is a joy. He is our strength, and gives us so much excitement for what is to come. One day soon, there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth where He will dwell with us in person. There will be no more death or sorrow, and life will be as glorious as God intended it to be when He created this world! This same joy fills our hearts today, and with its resurrection power can change every conversation we take part in.