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Hope for the Day

A New Way Forward

Diane Houghtaling
Posted 1/7/22

I have learned some things during the month of December that I would like to take with me into this new year. These nuggets came in various ways, from blogs, books, articles and messages. But God has …

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Hope for the Day

A New Way Forward

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I have learned some things during the month of December that I would like to take with me into this new year. These nuggets came in various ways, from blogs, books, articles and messages. But God has been weaving together a new way of life for me to move forward with.

One thing I am learning is that for me, success has nothing to do with how hard I work, how many possessions I have, or how much I have accomplished in life. I’m seeing more clearly that my success is based on how much peace and joy I can have each day, and how much I have loved and been a blessing to others.

I have learned in this past year to let go of a mentality that says I have to be working all the time in order to be loved and accepted, and it no longer has control over my life. I have let go of the stress that had been a constant companion. Not only is it alright to rest and enjoy life, but it’s God’s best for me and a blessing He desires to pour out upon me.

For the last few months I’ve been working on cleaning out the clutter from my home. It was very hard at first to let things go, but the more I do, the easier it becomes and the more I want to complete this. This has led to a desire for a simpler way of life filled with more peace and joy than I’ve experienced in a long time.

I have had a December like none other I’ve ever experienced. This is the first year I had completed all Christmas preparations weeks before Christmas. This is the first stress-free December and Christmas I’ve had since probably being a child. I have been able to enjoy times with family and friends without being distracted by all I still needed to do.

I hope to move into this new year with more simplicity and greater joy, filling my life with simple pleasures, joy moments, and a renewed passion to love others well and be a blessing to all that I come into contact with.

God has shown me that I have a choice on how to approach each day. I can control my thoughts and attitude and how I respond to what comes my way. Each morning I pray that the Lord will remove from me and my surroundings all strife, tension, bad attitudes, stress, negativity, grumbling and complaining. Then I ask Him to pour out upon me and my surroundings His love, peace, joy, hope, favor, blessing and His presence in abundance. It’s been a blessing to watch how God answers this daily pray.

It’s true that I still sometimes encounter some of those negative things in myself or others, and I still have to sometimes keep stress from invading my peace, but the difference is in how I approach these things now. With the Lord’s help, I try to keep my focus upon Him to help me maintain a peaceful, joyful attitude, and ask Him to flow His love through me to diffuse these circumstances.

I am learning to follow a better and new way forward – the way of Christ. I invite you to join me in this endeavor as we move forward into this new year.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 482-5300.

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