New Year's Greetings!
Happy New Year!
As 2016 has come swiftly to a close, our hearts and thoughts are turned to all of you.
As some of you are aware, Gerry has suffered a few small strokes this past year. And as you can imagine, our lives have taken quite a different direction as a result. Overall, Gerry is doing okay, and we continue to lean into the Lord as we adjust to this new season of our lives.
“But God!” I'm sure you remember hearing that phrase from me many times over our years of love, friendship and ministry together. Nothing, absolutely nothing takes our Lord by surprise. (Sometimes we do wish He would clue us in, though.) Like the apostle Paul, we can declare that none of these things move us! I know in whom I have believed, and He will keep me. Every area of our lives, with every passing day, is a special gift from Him. He has blessed us and continues to bless us in so many ways — far more than we can think or imagine.
In my daily reading a few weeks ago, I was reminded once again of His love, care and faithfulness from the words of this passage: "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass: and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun who rideth upon the heaven in thy help… The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms..." (Deut. 33:25–27 KJV).
I remember our friend Corrie ten Boom saying to me so many years ago, "Peggy, you don't need your ticket until you get on the train…” How true that has been to me through the years. His "tickets" of grace, love, faith, trust and peace have always come just in time!
We can always depend on:
*the strength of His joy resonating deep within our soul;
*the strength of His love filling every area of sorrow and disappointment;
*the strength of His grace flooding our spirit with life and light;
*the strength of His power in us and through us — as we wait on Him — so that we can
mount up with wings as the eagle and fly with Him wherever and however He leads us; and
*the strength of His presence that reminds us that He will never leave us or forsake us.
As we look forward to 2017, may we draw more and more on God's strength (Eph. 6:10). But, in reality, God wants to do more than just give us strength — He wants to BE our strength! For the joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold. May we lay hold of this word for the new year that lies ahead. His joy, His love, His grace and His peace be with you in every way for every day!
Love,
Peggy
P.S. One of the most exciting things in our lives this year has been the birth of our first great grandchild! (Am I old or what!?!) I had the opportunity to be with Steve and his family in Nashville recently and got to snuggle with little Caeden, born to Cameron and Lyssah, and love on him almost every day I was there. What a delight!