Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Let's Start This Year Different {Coffee For Your Heart}

Hey there friend!

Are you excited about this new year?

I've been hearing people say - " I'm so glad 2013 is over!"
Or "This will be my year."
And "2014 has got to be better than last year."

It's a brand new year with so many possibilities.
We're filled with hope and dreams of a new beginning and a brighter future.

Yep and I'm right there with you.

And yet........
if we stop and think a moment........ this happens every year.

We start it off with hope and dreams of better things {or at least not as bad as previous years}. We make declarations and resolutions. And at the end of the year we're so glad to say "good-bye", "good riddance", and "glad to see you go".

I understand that there is the reality that each year has it's ups and it's downs. It's sadness and it's joy. It's good and it's ugly.

But I wonder, are we in the habit of just remembering the bad and that's why we're so quick to say "out with the old and in with the new"? Hasn't anything good or special happened?

I know there is. I just don't know why, for many of us, the negatives seem to stick in our minds more readily.

Don't we realize that each year day can be greeted with hope?

So friend, as we start this new year let's choose to greet every day with the same hope of a new beginning and unlimited possibilities that we had on January 1st.

We can do this and here's why - God is faithful and loves you.

One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible says -

"Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." 
Lamentations 3:21-23

Sweet friend, are you grasping just how much God loves you?
He has unending love for YOU!
He is forever faithful.
He begins each day with fresh compassion and mercy towards you.

You can dare to hope! Every. Single. Day.

And if you dare to do this .......

At the end of 2014 I bet you'll be saying -
"I hate to see this year end." 
Or "What a great year!"
And "I don't know how next year could ever be better than this one."


* I'm linking up with Holley Gerth's  Coffee for Your Heart  link-up series on Wednesdays



* Today's prompt is - What encouraging words do you want the people you care about to hear as they begin a new year? Click  HERE to see what the other wonderful ladies, with hearts full of love and a cup of coffee in hand, have to say to encourage you today.



Love ya,

8 comments:

  1. So beautifully put, Debbie. They always say, "You are what you eat." I feel that you are also what you focus on. Focus on the positive things in your life and you will live a positive and happy life. Focus on the negative things in your life and those things will drag you down and all those around you. We need to remind ourselves that we are walking, talking, and shining witnesses of God working in your life. We need to show that because of our love for God and for the blessing of those who see you and want what you have in your life that makes you glow with joy. Love ya, too, dear friend

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by! You're so right! The word "focus" was almost my One Word for 2014.

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  2. Thanks so much for linking up today with Coffee for Your Heart, friend! XOXO

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    1. So glad you took the time to stop by! I love this idea of encouraging others. It's one of the reasons I started to blog in the first place.

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  3. Such encouraging words shared here. Blessings!

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    1. Thankful that my words could be encouraging and thankful that you stopped by!!

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  4. Debbie,
    Thank you for the wonderful reminder. I have to remember that even in our rough times, something beautiful comes out. And you are right, we must greet every day with hope. Jesus came and did that, He gave us hope. Thank you for the encouragement.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by. Glad you were encouraged by my words, but more importantly by the fact that Jesus is our example and is our Hope. Be blessed!

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