Happy Old Year

Here it is New Years Eve and here I am once again

reflecting not just about the year before, but on the years of valuable lessons I learned growing up in my home in Brooklyn N.Y.

Every year on NYE, despite whatever other activities we had planned, my brother and I had one job and one job only. To clean up our room. Even if we just cleaned it up the day before, my parents always told us we had to clean it on December 31^st. I can hear my mother now saying “No matter how clean you think it is, there is always something you can clean up.”

Admittedly, it was not until I was much older did I understand why.

For my parents, cleaning our room was not just a chore they assigned, it was also an opportunity to teach us the importance of cleaning up what you have before pursuing things you may not need. My father taught us that knowledge of what we need only comes after carefully reflecting on what you already have.

So today I want to encourage you. Before you declare all that is coming to you in 2017, take some time to clean-up what you already possess. Maybe your time is cluttered with insignificant activity. Clean it up. Maybe you still possess a heart that is full of fear, doubt, shame, guilt. Clean it up. It is my prayer that God gives you the desires of His heart in 2017. But before He does, I a also praying we all start to clean up what we already have.  

If you want to learn how to clean up some of the clutter in your life, we invite you to join us Sunday January 8^th at 10:00am. For more information go to our website at www.onelifeumc.org

Happy New Year!