"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:2-4
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "
Jeremiah 29:11
God's voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,'
and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'
Job 37:5-6
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine... Ephesians 3:20
"He could if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food;
or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers;
or knowledge without the aid of learned men;
or convert the heathen without missionaries.
Instead He allows soil and weather and animals,
and the muscles, minds and wills of men
to co-operate in the execution of His will."
~C.S. Lewis
You could, if You chose, raise up children without mothers. But You choose to use us.
May my mind,
and my will
and my tongue
co-operate in the execution of Your will today, Lord...
Put Your words in my mouth, Your love in my heart, Your thoughts in my mind today, Father.
All of me is an instrument of Your will.
Use me.
Thank you, Lord, for this priviledge. I am your servant...use ME.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!"
2 Cor. 5:17
Questions for a New Year
Written by Don Whitney
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) — Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. "Consider your ways!" (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.
Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going.
The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up and get our bearings. For starters, here are 10 questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God:
-What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
-What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
-What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
-In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
-What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
-What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
-For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
-What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
-What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
-What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?
-In addition to these questions, here are 21 more to help you "Consider your ways." Think on the entire list at one sitting, or answer one question each day for a month.
-What's the most important decision you need to make this year?
-What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?
-What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?
-What habit would you most like to establish this year?
-Who do you most want to encourage this year?
-What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?
-What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?
-What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?
-What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?
-What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?
-What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?
-What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?
-In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?
-What's the most important trip you want to take this year?
-What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?
-To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?
-What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?
-What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?
I-f those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?
-What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?
-In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?
The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year, you will be more likely to remember to encourage that person than if you hadn't considered the question.
If you've found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace – in a day planner, PDA, calendar, bulletin board, etc. – where you can review them more frequently than once a year.
So let's evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, and live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage" (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things let's also remember our dependence on our King who said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Don Whitney is associate professor of spiritual formation at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of Simplify Your Spiritual Life (NavPress, 2003).
The stockings DID finally get hung "on the railing" with care! 
Last week Chad and the kids COMPLETELY surprised me with a Willow Tree nativity set!!!
We celebrated with friends on Friday night! (Micah had already "hit the hay" before we got around to picture taking!)
Christmas morning was full of "squeals of delight"!!! =)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!!!!! We continued our tradition of baking Jesus a birthday cake...singing "Happy Birthday"...and the kids get to blow out the candle!
How cute is this little guy??? He was all smiles as we enjoyed our "1st Christmas" together.
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:16-20
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
Philippians 2:8
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
...and a certificate to boot!
