On The Start Of a New Year

Once again it is a new year, and, as has become usual for me since I serve in a congregation that has both new year's eve and new year's day services, I simply went to bed and slept through the change of year. However, one of the things that I found to be a real answer to prayer for me, was that I actually slept well. I slept deeply and long, and feel better rested than I have in almost two weeks.

The reason I had not been sleeping well was that I had hurt my back shoveling snow on December 17th. Since then getting a good sleep has been difficult. Even pain killers and muscle relaxants did not give me the sort of sleep I had last night. Even though my back is not pain free, it no longer aches while I am not moving. That is something I have been praying for, and I thank God for it. I pray that he will heal my back all the way so that I can get my snowblower fixed and start to do things around the house again, but I am thankful that things seem to be getting better at last.

To everyone reading this, have a blessed new year, and may God by his Spirit and his Word, bring you to see him more clearly and love him more every day.

Today I started reading through the Bible. I am not planning on doing it in any quick manner. I have done the read through the Bible in a year plans, and they have value, but sometimes I find they simply cover too much for me to read it they way I would like. Over the past year or so I have been using a read through the gospels and letters of Paul. That has been very beneficial, but now I want to return to reading not just the New Testament but the Older one as well. How long this will take me I don't know. I expect at least a couple of years as I am going to take my time so I can consider what God is saying in the Bible more carefully.

Now I need to get going for our new year's day service.