Parson to Person - Joyfully looking towards 2016

Happy New Year! I?m looking forward to electing in a new president, watching the Olympics and seeing what new things might be in store over the next 352 days.

Will we deepen our connections to one another or a higher power? Will we form new relationships with our neighbors through different activities? How will we seek to bring justice, peace, love, hope, joy and mercy into the world around us? While I don?t know any of the answers, I trust that God will be with us each step of the way as we continue our journeys.

As you look forward to the days, weeks, and months ahead, I wonder what you?re dreaming about? What are you planning to do differently in your daily life? Do you have habits you want to break or new activities to try? Whatever you decide, I hope that you remember you are loved and have many chances to make a difference in the world.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation; the old life has gone and a new life has begun. Just by accepting this offer, we get a ?do-over? when it comes to our relationships and everything else that impacts our lives. Set free from sin and the things that bind us, we walk into a world where love trumps everything and God invites us to bring light into the world wherever we go. So, what old things will you set aside this year? What still needs ?tweaking? in your relationships with one another or God?

Of course, our personalities don?t change just because we?re committing ourselves to following a different way of life. What happens instead is that our way of engaging the world becomes more and more in line with divine plans and purposes for the world. I know I have much that needs restoration and renewal in the coming year and trust God will help me let go and follow his ways wherever I go. Perhaps, like me, you need to check your spending to better take care of yourself or others. Perhaps, like me, you want to learn more about other people so openness, mercy, and justice top fear, bias, and oppression of any kind. Whatever the case, know that you do not walk this journey alone. Your mistakes can be overcome, and God will not leave you stranded. What steps will you take this year to better live your life each day?

I look forward to seeing what will happen this year to make the world better. Remember, all is not lost and whatever you go through, God and others will be with you. May God bless you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control. Whatever you?ve done in the past is over and today is a day with no mistakes in it . . . yet. Let us live the best we can each day. Amen