It’s the end of the year and you may feel you don’t have much to show for.
I visited a city not long ago and as we strolled its downtown streets I came across an abandoned and deteriorated building sitting on a busy street.
Almost naturally I thought of how sometimes we look at our lives and feel exactly that way: abandoned and deteriorated in the mist of a world that goes on unaffected by our existence.
Perhaps today you look at yourself and see an empty building, a building in decay, crumbling, just falling apart and abandoned. Perhaps you even feel that the world around you goes its merry way without even noticing you or being affected by your presence… Well, it is time to start rebuilding!
As the new year approaches let hope spark in your soul and welcome a new opportunity to be refreshed, restored, revived! Open up to the possibility of living rather than merely existing, of having an impact rather that being stagnant.
The new year is just a few hours away and this is a special new year as it begins a whole new decade! Decide to make drastic changes in your life, WITH your life. Not cosmetic changes, not good wishes, not just improvements BUT drastically do a 180 degree turn-around. Chances are you are where you are because of some wrong decisions you’ve made, or some mistakes, or some off-target path you have taken. Just like the building… if the wrong actions or no actions are taken it’s going to deteriorate.
Examine what you have been doing that brought you to this point and decide to do the right things. Invite someone to live in and within you! (and I am not talking about moving in with someone). You need a friend. A good friend. The best friend you can have. Enough of the type of friends that drag you into trouble, you need a friend that will make you the most important person and that will love you as you are, and have your best interest in mind. That friend is Jesus.
Just as this building, without someone living in it will collapse, you without Jesus living in you will perish. Perhaps this building’s condition would’ve been totally different if people lived in it and use it for something!
2009 went fast and 2010 will too. Go ahead say good bye to the old year, say good bye to the old you. Look forward and expectantly to the new decade with your new best friend forever. Jesus will rebuild your life!


Last night as I was examining my schedule to serve in translation the Holy Spirit awoke my conscience to examine my heart. Gently, He posed this question, “why are you doing this?” My almost immediate answer was, “what do you mean WHY am I doing this? Obviously because we need people to do the simultaneous translation of the message!” AINK! Wrong answer.
Have hurtful words, insensitive actions, a contemptuous look, an unkind remark, a neglecting attitude, found their way into your heart and started to build a nest?
I was listening to my husband’s phone conversation with our oldest son. Of course I could only hear my husband’s words as we were both sitting in the living room. My heart was touched by the wisdom he was imparting to his firstborn –– who is close to 30 now –– about being the aroma of Christ in the workplace.