Footsteps In The Valley

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A Year Of New Beginnings

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful and blessed New Year full of new beginnings. It is great to finally get back to my blog and to begin posting again. With my schedule right now I am going to start posting weekly unless God has other plans.

God has been doing a lot of renovation in my life since I took a break from my blog back in April. The biggest change was my move with my daughter from South Carolina to the land of the mountains. I now live in beautiful Colorado where I get to see a glorious view of the mountains every day. It is a land and a time of new beginnings for both us. A new home, new jobs, new directions, new goals, a new church, new friends etc. I must admit there were many tough pills to swallow along the way. God's prescriptions for my faith and my walk with Him have meant some tough love as I walked through my valley, but it has made me a stronger person of faith and a better person all the way around. Oh, Satan put obstacles in my path trying to discourage me. There were times when I felt his blisters on my life too. I am sure that he hoped the pain would pull me away from, the "valley" that I was dealing with. However, even at my lowest God showed me that He was (and is) always there with me. He is just a prayer away giving me strength through faith to deal with whatever I needed to face. I can now look back over the last few years amazed to see how far through the valley I really traveled. My legs of faith were once so weak with fear that they would buckle whenever things got a little rough. Now I take strides stronger each day as I look forward to a year of new beginnings. Once it was hard for me to share my faith and writing with others. Now I know that the courage comes not from me but from our loving God and Savior. Even more amazing is how it has all threaded together. The pastor at the new church my daughter and I have been attending spoke of 2008 as a year of new beginnings. He spoke about the meaning of the number 8 in the Bible. It is a number that symbolizes: A new beginning, and a new day. It made me start to wonder if there were other things to learn by looking at the meaning of numbers. What I found out was amazing to me. My first footsteps in the journey God has had me on, began in 2005. I’ve been born again for over 20 years, I read my Bible, and went to church but at the time my faith had grown stale and dormant due to the painful fear and distractions that I was dealing with. It was a real low in my life. It was when I was facing a terrible divorce and when I realized how the trials of life had made me more and more distant in my faith.

We have a wonderful loving God that wants a close relationship with us. I realized how true that was when I turned to Him for comfort, strength, and direction. As soon as I fully surrendered to Him things started to happen. Several people that were close to me declared for me in their prayers, "2005- Glo's Year To Be Alive.” The other night I looked up the meaning for the number 5 in the Bible and found out that it is the number that symbolizes God's grace and overcoming obstacles in life. 2005 was truly the year that God's grace brought my faith back to life. It was my year to come alive for my faith. Since 2005, I have made up a new saying for each New Year. When I looked up the meaning for those other numbers surprisingly it all fit together."2006- Working On What God Wants To Fix.” 6 is the number that symbolizes incompleteness. God knew where I was and where He wanted me to be. The problem was that there were several incomplete areas in my life that were holding me down, holding me back, and things I needed to change. The more I turned to God the more God worked in my life to heal me, build me up, protect me, and direct me."2007- Nothing Is Impossible With Prayers Sent To Heaven.” 2007 was a year when so many things looked impossible. Yet God made things happen to open my eyes, open my mind, my heart, and even open up the doors necessary for me to continue my journey. 7 is the number that symbolizes completeness. I know God’s loving wish is for me to be complete through Him. The potter molds the clay to create a vessel suiting His purpose. The gifts that God has so graciously given us are there to serve and glorify Him. They are there so we may use them to better honor His will for our lives. If we our honoring His will for our lives then nothing is impossible!

I’ve now decided on my saying for 2008…

“2008- Are You Making God Wait?” 2008 is a year of new beginnings only if you hear His call and act on what He is calling you to do. Set your goals of faith for 2008 and then act on them. Don’t procrastinate waiting around of something to happen. God will continue to bring us back to the valleys in our lives until we are willing to deal with what He is calling us to face and change. He does this not to be mean and cruel. God does this because He loves us. You would not attempt to climb a mountain without the right training and conditioning. Our faith is the same. As God moves us higher and higher in our faith, from one mountain to another, we at times must pass through “valleys”. These valleys can be tough and discouraging if we don’t look up to focus on the mountain ahead. The valleys are there to train us, condition us, and sometimes just for a time of rest. God is preparing us for our next climb in faith. He calls us to use our gifts to reach out to others and bring them closer to Him. He calls us to use our gifts to honor and glorify Him. Are you ready to climb your mountain or are you stuck in a valley?

As I write my goals for 2008 I must ask myself, “Did I complete what God has already asked me to do?” We must have the courage to be obedient to His will even when we don’t understand the direction God is taking us. He will never lead us astray. He will always lead us closer to Him. We must spiritually prepare ourselves so that when God has a call for us we are ready. Do you have the passion in your faith to say as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:8, “Here am I; send me.”

FaithfulToOne©2008

A New Year’s Call

Crystal icicles shimmer
In a new pure light,
God’s majestic mountains
Now all robed in white,

New beginnings come
To greet me today,
Faith ready to receive
What He has to say,

Prayers said quietly
Seeking a New Years plan,
I know God’s is greater
Than any by man,

Willing to honor
My Savior’s direction,
Praising the blessings
As well as correction,

Reading scriptures and
Singing praises in church,
His words in fellowship
There guiding my search,

Devotional goals
Dedicate new vision,
Hands held high awaiting
His holy decision,

Lord light the path
You wish me to walk,
Guard my thoughts closely
And my words when I talk,

Give me strength to swing
Your battle sword,
Proclaiming to all
You’re our risen Lord,

My most precious Savior
Your will is my way,
Wherever You lead
I wish never to stray,

Intense passion comes
When we finally see,
Lord here I am
Oh please send me.

FaithfulToOne©2008

Isaiah 6:8
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me!”

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GOD GIVES US HOPE

HOPE_________________________ _____________________________ God is my comfort _______________ When I grow weak_______________ His love and grace_______________ Are what I seek_________________ _____________________________ Through Almighty God____________ There is Hope__________________ _____________________________ I will soar like an eagle____________ With strong open wings___________ Singing praises to Him____________ Like an angel sings_______________ _____________________________ Through our Praise______________ There is Hope__________________ _____________________________ I will not grow weary_____________ As I continue to run______________ My strength is renewed___________ By God’s only Son_______________ ____________________________ Through our Savior______________ There is Hope__________________ _____________________________ I will seek the Lord______________ For all that I need_______________ It is only with Him______________ That I can succeed______________ ____________________________ Through the Cross______________ There is Hope_________________ ___________________________ My heart fills with joy____________ During dark lonely hours__________ God’s love poured out to me________ With the Holy Spirit’s powers_______ _____________________________ Through the Holy Spirit___________ There is Hope__________________ ____________________________ I cling to the Word _____________ As my faithful guide ____________ Scriptures direct me____________ God always at my side___________ ___________________________ Through the Bible______________ There is Hope_________________ _____________________________ I pray for His wisdom_____________ To quench my soul_______________ With prayers I give Him___________ Complete control________________ _____________________________ Through our Prayers_____________ There is Hope__________________ ____________________________ My blessings come______________ With trust in the Lord___________ He is my strong shield___________ And my battle sword____________ ____________________________ Through our Trust______________ There is Hope_________________ ____________________________ My faith growing stronger_________ With sincere dedication__________ Inspired by Christ’s love__________ And His promise of salvation______ ____________________________ Through our Faith______________ There is Hope__________________ ____________________________ I pray for your new faith _________ Please search from within________ Believe in Jesus Christ___________ Free the chains of your sin________ ____________________________ Being Born Again_______________ Is our only True Hope____________ ________________________ FaithfulToOne © 1999______ _________________________ _________________________ Psalm 25:5_________________ guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. ___________________________ Psalm 31:24 __________________ Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD. ___________________________ Psalm 33:2 __________________ May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you._______ ___________________________ Psalm 62:5 ___________________ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. ____________________ ____________________________ Psalm 119:114 _________________ You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. _________________ ___________________________ Psalm 130:5 __________________ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. _________________ ___________________________ Jeremiah 23:16 _______________ This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. ___________________________ Jeremiah 29:11________________ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ___________________________ Lamentations 3:25 ____________ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; _________ ___________________________ Romans 12:12 ________________ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. _____________________ ___________________________ Romans 15:4_________________ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. _______________________ ____________________________ Romans 15:13 _________________ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.______ ____________________________ 1 Timothy 6:17_________________ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.