A Message from Ronda
2023 is coming to a close and always brings a time of self-reflection. One way you can reflect - insert every emoji or meme you’ve sent someone this year! Think about it….laughter to tears, stressed to celebratory, or my favorite the “deer caught in headlights” surprise emoji. It’s exhausting just thinking of them all, right? Extreme highs to extreme lows, we’ve experienced them all. As I was processing through what this past year has looked like for me, I discovered a common thread, one truth that was constant, one thing that never changed no matter what scenario I was in. It was God’s faithful love, an unwavering, unchanging love that never gave up on me and always believed the best, the kind of love that keeps you from drowning when you feel like you’ve been under so long, you don’t even know if you have another breath left in you (Isaiah 43:2). His love rescued me from my own wondering thoughts and from the lies of the enemy. When I felt unloved or unlovable, he reminded me with a tender whisper that I belong to him. God’s faithful love, endured in every situation I found myself in (Psalm 136). This same steady love, lead me to give up things for myself so that I could give to others; it called me to forgive, ask for forgiveness and work toward restoring broken relationships that helped me love beyond my own self-created borders. Love beckoned me to sit with him; listen and receive and in those moments and seasons, it changed me! To live in union with Jesus, is to know what it means to fully live (John 10:10).
As you look back at the past year, what sustained you?
What things did you allow Jesus to do in and through you in 2023?
What areas of your heart do you need to surrender to make room for more of him in 2024?
Come thirsty this year, come with longing for Jesus to meet you in ways that you didn’t even know you needed (Psalm 63:1). Then settle in, sit with Jesus, allow him to speak the dreams he has for you (Jeremiah 29:11); then follow his lead to live loved out loud. Believe me, you will never be the same.
Don’t miss our on-line service for families this Sunday at …. On our app or Youtube channel.
Happy New Years Family!
Ronda Parin
NextGen Director
