Year in Review

So how has 2010 really been for you? Difficult, memorable, awesome, challenging? If you had to choose a word to describe this year, what word would you choose?
I think I am going to choose... 'Defining!'

There have been some really tough things to deal with in 2010, but we have also been blessed with some wonderful memories. However, there have been a few things that have been 'defining' for me:

1. Writing and publishing NOW
2. Celebrating Easter in our new Church building
3. Enjoying the World Cup soccer with my family
4. Deciding to commit to stay at Wesley until 2013
5. Listening to Trevor Hudson's sessions at our Minister's Seminar
6. Saying sad goodbyes to awesome friends and colleagues at Wesley

Obviously, there are many other events that had impacted my life, but these six I have mentioned have changed me in some way. Amidst the pain and loss, there have been moments of celebration.

I thank God for my wonderful family and great friends. I am blessed to be a child of the King.

May God bless you abundantly in 2011. Thanks for your support in reading these daily thoughts - this blog is nothing without your interaction and encouragement.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Optimist or Pessimist?

So what has 2010 been like for you?
This quote gets me thinking - am I a pessimist or optimist?

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." - Bill Vaughan

Despite the difficulties one has to endure during a year I still believe that, with God, things can always get better! The best is yet to be!

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Thought for the Day

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let each new year find you a better person." - Benjamin Franklin

Start saying goodbye to 2010 and let's start preparing to seize every moment of 2011!

Living in God's grace,
D3LM3

Stand Firm

"If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all." - Isaiah 7:9

If you are looking for a great place to start 2011 from, I would recommend that you start from your faith. God will get you through every obstacle you face, but we need to stand firm with Him.

“The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing; the main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unseen attack.” - Marcus Aurelius

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Jesus inspires

"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men, the conviction and the will to carry on." - Walter Lippman

I know that we have been focusing a lot on Jesus' arrival into our world, over the past few weeks, but we mustn't separate his birth from his ultimate death (and resurrection). The awe inspiring truth about Jesus was that he left behind a legacy that has been going for almost 2000 years. He is a true leader.

May we seek to understand His truth and then to live it out. If we do this I am convinced that others will follow our lead!

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

The miracle

This is the miracle of Christmas...

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) - Matthew 1:23

God is with us - this is the miracle we must remember throughout our lives.
God is not against us.
God is not above us.
God is not angrily watching us, hoping we fail.
God is not absent from us.

GOD IS WITH US!

May you know God's presence deep in your inner being this Christmas.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Christmas Prayer

May you encounter Christ this Christmas. God bless you and your family during this festive season.

Here is a prayer for you:

"Loving Father,
Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus' sake.Amen." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Living in Grace,
D3LM3, Kim, Declan, Nathan and Joshua