Reflections and Resolutions

I finally took my Christmas tree down today and put away all the Christmas decorations. It seemed kind of sad, as I had really been enjoying the tree lights this year. However, as with all things, time marches on. As I reflected on this Christmas season, the one word that came to mind was "blessed". I feel so fortunate to have a wonderful christian family, great friends,and an absolutely wonderful husband. The greatest blessing of all is that our Lord and Saviour who came to earth on that first Christmas, also made the extreme sacrifice to die so that I might live with Him.
I've also reflected on the loved ones that are no longer with us, and although we miss them very much, especially at these special family times, I know that they are celebrating and rejoicing with the Lord Himself. What a wonderful hope we have in knowing that we will see them again!
As for resolutions: I haven't really made any New Year's resolutions. I would really like to focus on being a little more healthy and losing some weight, but sometimes I think if I write it as a resolution, it sets me up for failure. (that's probably just a really good excuse!) However, mostly this next year, I'm really going to ask the Lord to help me to be a blessing and an encouragement to those around me, and to be a testimony to those who don't yet know Him as Saviour. We can't control some of the situaions we may face this next year, but we know that our Lord will never fail us, and will be there for us in good times or bad. There is a phrase that we say often and it's so true: God is good all the time; all the time, God is good.