This could be the day God does something amazing! Joyce Meyer, Quiet Times with God

I awoke to thunder this morning….yes, it is the first Sunday in a brand new year but a thunderboomer was my alarm. And as I sit in my comfy recliner this afternoon, weather forecasters are still saying we will get some snow tonight. It appears we dodged a bullet regarding ice and I, for one, am very grateful for that….there were others inundated with ice and I hope they have a warm place to be. But what do you suppose is uppermost in my thoughts on this dreary afternoon as I await the white stuff? Spring! That’s right, my thoughts are filled with spring. That’s a good thing, you say? Well, I suppose it is. It means I’m looking forward, hoping for something new and fresh to appear. In only a few weeks I’ll walk my landscape perimeters in search of tiny green shoots. It never ceases to amaze me that all my beautiful perennials can die back with the first frost in fall and re-emerge in March through May re-energized and ready to deliver on their promise of a new season of foliage and colorful blooms. God is amazing, isn’t He?

Sometimes I forget that we humans need seasons to replenish ourselves as well. As much as I dislike the cold and especially the short days that are often nearly as dark as the nights that follow, we need that quiet time to lay back a bit, give our minds and bodies a chance to recharge. Of course, if you have kids who are involved in all kinds of activities and bringing home every nasty little bug that happens to be going around, you’re probably wondering what in the world I’m talking about. Take heart, your turn is coming. They won’t be kids forever and the time will come when you’ll wonder what happened to all those exciting times.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun. Do you not see it? Isaiah 43:19a

The thing is…we all do need that time to set a course, determine our focus. So even if you’re meeting yourself coming and going, winter is the time to find a few moments now and then to align your priorities for this new year of opportunity that lies ahead. And if your kids have reached that age that doesn’t require so much of your direct attention, maybe this is the year to take on a new project, start a new course of study, find a rewarding volunteer position.

The sidelines aren’t a place for you anymore. Take a risk. Be bold and courageous.

Bob Goff, Live in Grace, Walk in Love

Aldersgate offers so many ways to serve, to learn, to pray for others who really need some intercession. And whether or not you choose to believe it, every single one of us has been given a unique skill that was intended to equip us to accomplish our very unique role in the script of life. If you haven’t yet discovered that gift, this may be the year it happens, so open your mind and heart and soul to opportunities. And whatever role you play, do it to the best of your ability, just as if you were doing it for God, because you are!

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

Just looked out the window and the snow has begun, a heavy shower of big, fluffy flakes! A blanket of white will soon cover my perennials to protect them from the cold and help prepare them for their spring appearance. Thank you, Lord, for this season of dreaming and recharging.