The Princess Talks 2016

   As I said in my Thanksgiving post, I'm a sucker for ANY holiday.  I'll take any excuse (as if I need one...) to party with my family.  Maybe I should have named my blog "The Holiday Honey" or something equally as ridiculous.  Joking aside, just because another beautiful Christmas came and went does not mean I've given up posting for the year!  In the months ahead, I'll be posting crafts and ideas for nearly every holiday you can imagine, birthdays, family gatherings, and to simply share the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

   With that being said, Happy New Year!  Now, I realize the start of the new Church year already occurred but I will maintain this simple fact:  You can find Jesus ANYWHERE, even in the secular, if you CHOOSE to put Him there.  That's a reoccurring theme you will read throughout the life-span of this blog.

   I think the start of a new calendar year is a wonderful opportunity for us as Christians to spend some time in reflection.  As I posted on my personal social media page, "2015 has been one of the very best, filled with an abundance of love and happy memories".  How could it not be?  We welcomed our Chunky Money into the world and more importantly, into God's family.  We became a complete family with his arrival and to watch the way our daughter loves him is impossible to articulate.

   Our year wasn't all sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns, I'm sure you realize.  Yes, there were difficult days, there were marital disagreements, there were struggles with screaming children and a drama queen toddler, there were uber-tight budgets, and there were days we were thankful to have, yet happy to know would pass with the setting of the sun.  As I look back on those times, I know they were there.  I know they happened.  Yet, I have a difficult time remembering the context or details of even one of those days.  What a blessing!

   No, we are not perfect.  We don't have a perfect family or a perfect marriage.  We ARE, however, PERFECTLY FORGIVEN.  Think about that.  Perfectly forgiven.  There's no, "I forgive you but I don't like you."  Perfectly forgiven; red to pure white.  Done.  Over. In the past.  May we always be slow to anger and quick to forgive.  May we also forgive perfectly, just as we have been.

  I know many who will read this struggled this year and some of you also suffered loss.  I'm not insinuating you ought forget those struggles and if you don't, then you must be, in some way, inferior.  Not at all.  I'm simply asking you as we embark on this new year, to reflect on all that has happened and to await God's merciful plan.  We don't know why He chooses to remove His protective hand but we do have this promise: Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

   What a humbling thought.  Even our struggles will benefit us in the end.  He promised us this and we have proof in His Word that our Savior keeps His promises.  Worry is an easy emotion to succumb to and if I'm honest with myself and those reading this, I know that it's my "pet sin".  Well this year, my resolution is to give up worrying like the bad habit it is.  I'm giving it up because it's toxic for my health but more importantly, because God demands it: Luke 2:25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life."

   Draw near to your Savior this year.  Hold true to His promises.  Let go of your fear, worry, and your anxiety.  Leave it all at the foot of the cross.  I'm filled with humility and awe, when I reflect on what He has worked for my benefit in 2015. I wonder what He has planned for 2016?  Come quickly Lord Jesus!

May the Lord bless you and keep you this new year and all the days of your life!  May you humbly await His plan!

In Him,
Alyssa