Happy New Year 2016! As you reflect on all God has brought you through in 2015, let me leave you with these random thoughts:

This (and every day in 2015, as well as those coming down the pike in 2016) is the day that the Lord has made! We can rejoice in each day!

His strength is made perfect in our weakness. If he chooses to bring weakness our way in 2016, let us embrace it as an opportunity to rely on His strength.

We ought to walk circumspectly, because the days are evil, and there is an enemy who longs to see us fall away in 2016.

A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. No matter what your plans for 2016, and you should make plans to serve Him and stretch yourself in some way in the coming year, remember that the Lord, in His lovingkindness, is the ultimate authority on your accomplishments. As you surrender to Him, may you be blessed, and may you find new and better ways to bring glory to the name of the one by whom we live, and have our being.

Happy New Year!

Failing to plan is planning to fail...

A friend asked me a question today, and I thought I'd put the same question to you. Have you thought through your devotional plan for 2016 yet? If you wake up on January 1 wondering what you should read, it will be easy to get bogged down in the many choices before you, or to be distracted by the holiday festivities. Either option could find you discouraged and missing days before you know it.

I subscribe to a couple of emails and FB groups that let me know about free or discounted Christian books. Two I've found this year are on my short list for 2016. One is Designed for Devotion by Dianne Neal Matthews. While I'm not familiar with this book, it purports to highlight Old Testament stories, give close-up looks at Christ in the Gospels, and review the historical background of each book of the Bible. I'm looking forward to enjoying these short excerpts as part of my spiritual journey starting this weekend. The other book I've discovered this year, and plan to start into in January is A Woman's Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year by Diane Stortz. It is organized by week, and gives readings that can be done in any version of the Bible you choose.

If you'd like to come along with me on this journey, you can find either of these books on Amazon at the above links. They're both on sale for 99 cents right now. Use the comments below to let me know what you're planning for your time with the Lord in 2016. I'd love to hear, and maybe we can sharpen one another spiritually. :-)

***Stay tuned for the first installment of "My Year in Books" coming later this week!