I'd like to bring in the New Year focusing on God's faithfulness. He has always been true to His promises and to who He is in the Word. I'd encourage you to start out the New Year right-- by focusing on Him. Living a life devoted to Jesus requires total abandonment to Him. We give up our lives and our rights to our own life. We no longer focus on ourselves and what we want but on God and want He wants. We no longer make decisions for our own lives-- we let God make those decisions for us as we walk in surrender. My prayer is this... that we would not focus on our plans for the New Year--but lay them down at His feet and surrender to His plans. Let's learn to trust Him again and give ourselves wholly over to Him. Let's pursue Him with our whole Hearts and trust Him to know what's best for us and His Kingdom.

For those of us in a valley, let's have faith for a harvest. For those of us on a mountaintop, let's pursue just as hard after Him as we did when times were rough. Let's let 2012 be a year about Him and not a year about us.

Amen.