New Year, Same God

Happy New Year!

Can you tell that the kids and hubby are still home on Christmas vacation?? Sorry I haven't had much chance to get on the computer and write, let alone think. Just 24-7 hotel service going on right now. (or so it seems!)
Anyway, I just wanted to share that even though times may seem scary (financially, culturally, etc.) right now, especially if you are a Christian, God has, is, and will continue to be in control. The financial stuff doesn't get to me as much as it does others because I stay home with the kids and don't earn a wage...so I'm not into money or stuff anyway. But I do worry some about the rising food prices, rising energy costs, and especially about how hard it is to proclaim my faith in this politically correct world. At times like this, it is very comforting for me to dive into God's Word and into the music and literature written by other Christians. One song that is powerfully reassuring to me right now is "God is God" by Steven Curtis Chapman (I bet he sings that to himself sometimes as he reflects back on his little girl's tragic death last May).
"God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God."

No matter what happens, God is God! I can't understand it all, but I do know that He has a plan for me and for everyone, just as he planned Jesus' coming way back in Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

T.D. Jakes writes in his book Follow the Star that he thinks of Jesus as a 5-point star (based on Isaiah 9:6). Jesus is

1. WONDERFUL -- I wonder why Jesus loves me so much that He died for me? I wonder how He can keep loving me, even when I stumble and forget about Him? He is too Wonderful for me to comprehend!
2. COUNSELOR -- God is there for me, through good times and bad. I can always turn to Him and His Word for the best guidance possible. I can confide in Him always. He knows me, he knows my thoughts, and he wants to hear from me on a day-to-day, minute-to-minute basis!
3. MIGHTY GOD -- When you stop to consider all that God has made, what He has done (i.e. Creation, the flood, the resurrection, the Pentecost, etc. etc. etc.) and what He continues to do in our lives (the people He puts in our path to help us or for us to help, the ways He saves us every single day, etc. etc. etc.)
4. EVERLASTING FATHER -- We have had 2 men die in our community over the past week. I hope and pray that their children (one of whom is on my husband's football team, so young!) turn to God as their Everlasting Father, for comfort, for wisdom, for love and strength as they miss their earthly dads. He is the only one who truly knows our sorrow, as He sacrificed His Only Son for us on the cross.
5. PRINCE OF PEACE -- When I start worrying and or feeling anxious, I just need to stop that thinking and focus on WHOSE I am and my purpose here. Then everything gets put back in perspective and a peace comes over me. You can't buy that kind of peace. You'll only find it with Christ.


I like that 5-point star reminder. Here's my New Year's Resolution: to focus on teose 5 points every day!