New Years Greeting!

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Welcome to 2016!  Hope you like the fresh face on my blog.  I do!  As you may notice, I declared a 2016 verse.  I didn't put much thought into it, actually.  Everyone should find one, I think, if you believe in the power of the bible as God's Word.  My process was to flip to January 1 on my little daily devo flip thing......I bought it for myself instead of a bunch of stocking stuff.  January 1 was entitled, "LOVE" with The Message's version of Romans 12:9......"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it."

I really love this version of Romans 12:9.  Love from the center of who you are.  For me, that means loving from my passion, my glass-half-full, my brokenness, my sinfulness even.  Loving from the center of who I am sometimes requires an apology later......or a humble and contrite spirit,confessed to God.  Loving from the center of who I am means understanding who I am.  And I do.  There is a challenge here, to know yourself, to understand and accept who you are, and to love others through it.

I went to my favorite bible that I have had within reach for over 25 years and read it in that version, which is what I posted on the sidebar here.  I loved Romans 12:9......but as I considered making it my verse for my family in 2016, and kept reading......I wanted all of it through verse 13!  There are alot of us in this family.  We can work on all 5 verses, praying and striving and working to live them out each day.

Most of the content of my 2016 verse is beliefs I already practice but I have not done a very good job of parenting them into my children.  I want to teach Romans 12:9-13 to my family this year......intentionally......in a way that plants deep seeds from God's Holy Spirit into their hearts and lives.  I want us to live this from January 1, 2016 forward, all the days of our lives.

From time to time, I may reference a part of this passage, as God reveals new wisdom and truth to me.  Come along for the journey......and maybe pick a verse of your own and take your own journey of wisdom and revelation with God.  Remember, don't overthink it.....everything in the bible is good to learn.

Blessings to us all in the new year......may we be found faithful again at the end of 2016.  365 days and counting!

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