Prepare to be AMAZED!

Happy New Year everyone!  Yes, another year has passed into the history books and a fresh new start awaits each of us as we enter into 2018.  But, before we move on, let’s take a step back… 2017 started out a little precariously for my wife and I.  We ended the previous year with Piper spending two days in the hospital and on January 1st my mind was awash with concerns for her and a bit anxious about the Hospice folks that I was scheduled to meet with later that week.

The following months were a time of transition for me.  Since 2009 I had basically taken care of Piper all by myself.  Sure I had help from family and friends, but the day to day care was all mine.  You have to understand that I am very protective of my wife and am quite careful of whom I allow to physically assist her.  So, to suddenly have a team of individuals available to help was a little overwhelming on many fronts!  I gradually came to the place where I felt that I could implicitly trust the Hospice team, and as of today, it almost feels like they are an extended part of our family!

My biggest concern for Piper was (and to be honest, still is…) the reduction in her food intake.  For a while there, I wasn’t sure if my best friend was going to make it to her next birthday.  But God continues to show Himself strong on our behalf and August 14^th has come and gone while Piper continues to demonstrate a strong will to live and all her vitals have regularly stayed consistent and strong.

As you can tell, Piper consumes the majority of my activities, thoughts and prayers.  But throughout 2017 I also had opportunities to complete many other goals around our property, for me personally and enjoyed my family near and the others spread around the country.

One of the most difficult things for me in 2017 and now as we enter into 2018, is to keep my eyes upon the truth of God’s Word, no matter what's happening in front of me.  People I meet will often times ask me how I can keep such an upbeat attitude in the midst of the situation we find ourselves living right now, and without thought, I always answer the same… Piper and I keep ourselves flooded with the Word of God.  From it we draw our strength, our expectations and the vision for our lives.

Do I ever get down, YES!  (This Christmas season was extremely difficult) But it doesn’t usually last long as something inside of me always seems to kick in and NOT ALLOW me to feed the doubt, unbelief and to be honest… the self-pity!  And you know?  Every time I have gotten on my on my knees over the last year and implored the Lord for added direction on what more I can be doing for my sweetheart… He has always told me the same thing… “Keep saturating her with the Word!”

While praying over the direction for the blog, for 2018 and for life in general during the month of December, I found myself continually returning to an early part of the Christmas story in Luke 2 after the heavenly messenger spoke to the shepherds tending to their flocks on the hills outside of Bethlehem.  Luke 2:15 in The Voice translation paints a picture of excitement and expectation in the shepherd’s reaction to the unusual event.  It declares: “As soon as the heavenly messengers disappeared into heaven, the shepherds were buzzing with conversation.”

From the fields they immediately rushed into Bethlehem to see what was happening and find the child the angel spoke of.  Once they found Mary, Joseph and the baby they couldn’t help but spill the beans on what they were told!  Then in Luke 2:18 the reaction to their story is described saying; “Everyone who heard the shepherd’s story was AMAZED!” (God’s Word ©)

In the God’s Word New Testament the term “AMAZED” is used 43 times, with the vast majority of those uses describing the people’s reactions to the Word that Jesus taught and/or the miracles that were wrought through the use of His name!

As I read that verse over and over again for the last 31 days, I found myself coming back to the same conclusion and turned to my wife each morning at the dining room table and stated: “That’s the way I want us to continue to experience and respond EVERY TIME we read and/or hear God’s Word!”  What do YOU think about that? 

I began to sense a few weeks back that God was giving me a special word for 2018… and yes… you’ve probably figured out what that word is…

“PREPARE TO BE AMAZED IN 2018!”

I’ll be sharing a lot more on this subject over the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime, pray over that word for yourselves as well.  Allow the wonder, excitement and expectation of God AMAZING YOU in this New Year to light a fire in YOU!  Whew!

Have a GREAT New Year’s Day and dwell on the AMAZING things that He just might have in store for YOU and yours in 2018… and as you do… keep asking yourself… “What AMAZING things am I expecting God to do for me in this New Year?”