You are probably all too aware that the end of 2009 is coming rather quickly…
We get to leave the ‘naughties’ as some have nicknamed the decade and head into a new one.
I don’t know about you, but I looking forward to saying that I lived in the ‘twenties’. But I have to wait a little bit longer for that…

With a new year come new beginnings.
You can start again with any area of life we choose.
Many people make big decisions around this time of year because it just seems right somehow.

Some people like to make things we called resolutions.
Here are some interesting stats I found on them...

Forty-five percent of Americans usually set New Year's Resolutions; seventeen percent infrequently set
resolutions; thirty-eight percent never set resolutions.
Eight percent are always successful in achieving their resolutions; nineteen percent achieve their resolutions every other year; forty-nine percent have infrequent success; twenty-four percent (one in four) never
succeed and have failed on every resolution every year.
Thirty-eight percent set resolutions related to weight.
Thirty-four percent set resolutions related to money.
Thirty-one percent set resolutions related to
relationships.
The younger you are, the more likely you are to achieve your resolutions.
The less happy you are, the more likely you are to set New Year's resolutions.
There is actually no correlation between happiness and resolution setting/success

Stephen Shapiro, "Interesting New Year's Resolution Statistics," Stephen Shapiro's 24/7 (stephenshapiro.com)

I am not saying to make a resolution or not.
That is not my goal here.
I guess what I would like to say is...why not go back to the source of everything any how, and ask him for whatever help you may need.
Then the ball is in his court.
You can then rest in the grace he freely gives you.
And rock into a new year with confidence that God will help you to have a great year!

Something to think about…

We seem to have lots of ‘sayings’ don’t we?
Things like...
“Don’t watch too much TV or your eyes will go square”
“Don’t point or you will poke holes in the air”

What about this simple one?
“Curiosity killed the cat”
Did it? How did it do that?
And why is the cat the poor animal that pays the ultimate price?

Like most of our “sayings”, they start off with an element of truth or wisdom.
But ultimately most of them come across a little silly if thought about long enough.

I think curiosity is a good thing. It is not something to be afraid of or hidden from.
Curiosity is not a disease we should be vaccinated against.
Nor is it a condition that should be medicated.
Curiosity is a natural occurring part of the human experience.

A while ago now some very ‘wise’ people were curious about writings regarding a baby being born in a strange little place. They also noticed a strange astronomical event happening in the sky.
Their curiosity drew them to go on a long journey to see what it was all about.

That was the first Christmas.
People just like you and me curious to see.
They came and found a baby, who we now know was called Jesus.

This Christmas don’t be afraid to be curious.
Let it take you somewhere.
Maybe let it take you to one of the many Christmas celebrations around Taupo.
It won’t kill you! You aren’t a cat...

Something to think about...

is there anyone out there?

It seems that people have always had questions about whether we are alone in the universe?
As they gaze up into the night sky it seems to make sense to them that we can’t be alone in the universe.
How can something so big be so empty?
How can there not be planets like ours orbiting a sun like ours with people just like us?

In a movie I have watched way too many times (Independence Day), the President utters these words… “The question about whether we are alone in the universe has been answered…”
Movies like this help fuel I think in part, that belief for many people. Star Wars, Star Trek...all tap into our desire to believe there is something else out there.

I don’t think we can stand the idea that we are alone in this cosmos. It seems wired into us in some way.
And we are right!

Christmas to a huge degree answers that this age old question.
Years before the first Christmas, God promised it would happen. And that when it did finally happen it fulfilled a promise. The promise of someone coming also called Immanuel, which means God Is With Us!

That’s the deal. There is the answer.
The universe is not as empty as some have feared.
Our natural inclination to believe in something out there is right.
The Kingdom of Heaven is there...and then with one small baby...he brought it here!
God is with us!!!!

We are not alone!
Never have been and we never will be!

Something to think about…

inspired

Maybe I was inspired after going past a café earlier in the day?
Whatever it was, it set me up to make what you can see in the picture.

So I cooked up my baby potatoes in extra virgin olive oil and freshly picked rosemary.

Then added my acid free tomatoes…
and my lunch began to take shape.

Suze’s reaction was of surprise.
A sandwich would have been the normal thing to make.

But that is not me...and that is totally my point!
I have found that what you naturally have some affinity to, what comes at least a little natural…can be a big part of how God made you.

For me I love being spontaneous.
I like doing things no one expects.
I love being creative.
And I have found that is how God has wired me.
If I try and live any other way I quickly get frustrated.

So what about you?
What are you naturally good at?
What pushes your buttons in a good way?
If you are doing something with that then good.
If not...then take some time to think and pray...and then do something with it.

Something to think about…

what is revival?

Just the other day someone asked me a question that I found quite interesting.
Now that is not to say that people ask me questions that I am not interested in...it is just this one caught my attention a little more.

This person wanted to know about this thing we call ‘revival’.

I have lost track of the number of times I have heard people pray for ‘revival’.
I have read books on ‘revival’.
Watched dvd’s on ‘revival’.
And got really frustrated along the way…

Why?
Because it hasn’t seemed to happen maybe in the way I was expecting. And maybe that is the point really.
Maybe ‘revival’ isn’t about what I want, but all about what God wants?

I think there are many Christians praying and waiting for a thing called 'revival' and either getting disappointed because it hasn't happened the way they expect...or they are always just waiting.
Many people are praying that God will do what he did back in the early 1900's like in Wales and California. But God doesn't do things the same every time.
What if God wants to do things differently?
What if he already is?

All over the world 1000's upon 1000's are getting saved. Take Africa on its own...isn't that a revival?
We live in a country where the Holy Spirit moves in peoples lives and churches in general more than ever...isn't that some sort of revival?

Is it right to ask God to move and do something amazing? YES.
But it also right that while we might wait for that, we do something with what we have and where we are at now.
God also says that the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few...

I don’t know about you, but as I wait patiently I am going to work the best I can for God.
He says the harvest is already plentiful.
So I want to take his word at that.

Something to think about…