The End of the Year 2019

As I write this on NewYears Eve 2019, I am reflecting back over the year. It has passed by so quickly.  I feel I have learned a lot this year in my relationship with God. I asked God what are my wicked ways according to 2 Chronicles 7:14, and it seems I see so many areas of my life where I fall short. I don't feel condemned, I feel like I am in school and learning new things. Just in recent months, I have thought much about keeping a sabbath, a day of rest. What struck me was the sabbath for the land in the seventh year. A year of rest for the land and it was called a sabbath for the land. A time to restore and fill up the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical tanks. The sabbath was meant to be more than going to a house of worship on one day of the week. That is the way we fill our spiritual tank, but there are three other tanks to fill. So I see the sabbath is meant to be much more than going to church on Sunday or Saturday or any other day of the week we choose. Stewardship in recent weeks has been another area I feel falls under one of the wicked ways I need to fix. I have learned we are all stewards, every last one of us already having been created, God has a mission for us, a job if you will. I remember thinking when I first started the job that I retired from some seven years ago already that even though I wasn't a minister I was, in reality, working for God. Everything we do we need to do as though we are working for God. I had gotten that right, and I believe God blessed me for that. That was the right attitude to have, whatever we do in life we are working for God, we are stewards of the life God has given us. We are stewards of the children God placed in our hands. What other relationships has God placed in our hands? We are stewards of those relationships.  I think of being grateful, and I do want to thank God for a blessed life. Isn't it nice when you do something however small it is and someone just says thankyou? I want to develop a spirit of gratefulness. Dennis Praeger in his book "Happiness Is A Serious Problem" made the statement you cannot be happy if you are not grateful. I believe that is true, some of the unhappiest people are ungrateful and never say thank you.  Giving is another area of my life I would like to improve.   Here I would like to tell the story of a young boy from Costa Rica that I read about in "The Blessed Life". At this boys school, they had a "Bless Another Day". The students would bless another student with something. This poor boy didn't have anything to give, he worked for a peanut farmer to pay his tuition at the school. He asked the peanut farmer if he could have a peanut so he could have something to give at "Bless Another Day" at school. The farmer said it was OK. Friday happened to be "Bless Another Day" and he would bring a peanut to school to give to another student. The young boy and an unselfish liberal heart and God blessed his giving a peanut. Attitude is so important. By the end of the semester, this young boy had money to give to others, he bought pencils and other school supplies for the poorest students. By the end of the year, he was able to pay the full years tuition for another student.  By the time he graduated he was paying the tuition for ten other students besides himself. Within a few years of graduating, he bought the peanut farm he had worked at. He was paying the tuition for scores of students who otherwise could not afford the school. He developed a giving heart when all he could give was a peanut. I think I have learned from this, we all have something to give. So if I have a New Years Resolution it is to develop a giving heart. It really doesn't matter how little it is, develop a giving attitude. I think I want to have a "Bless Another Day" in my life. God bless. LVZ.