Autumn Macarthur

I can’t believe it’s New Year’s Day already!

I took some time yesterday to thank God for 2015, for all the lessons He taught me, for the way He supported us and kept His promises.

I won’t pretend it was an easy year. I sulked and struggled and kicked and refused to let Him carry me for a huge chunk of it!

But now coming out the other end, I can see it was a good year.

• God kept His promise to support us financially.
• My husband is getting better health care than he was, and he seems to be coping with his health issues better. I’m very grateful for that.
• Our old car passed its roadworthiness test and is running well!
• We lost our beloved little guinea pig after nursing him through a long illness, but the cats all stayed healthy.
• God showed me the sense of priorities He wants me to follow, to make supporting my husband my most important way of serving Him. My marriage is happier as a result.
• He’s helped me to be more surrendered, both to Him and to my husband, though that’s still a journey for both!
• He showed me I didn’t have to do it all and support us with my writing too, which took a huge burden of stress from me.
• He taught me that He doesn’t want me writing for money or sales or popularity, but for Him, and to touch the hearts of readers. My priorities were all wrong. When I look at my hopes and plans written down this time last year, they are laughable!
• He gave me my joy in writing back again.
• He gave me lots of starts of new stories that I hope I can use next year.
• He taught me to listen to His whispers of guidance, and that I can only be happy and productive when I am on His path. Hoping I can listen and obey sooner in 2016!
• He showed me that I have a lot of control over my physical, mental, and emotional health through changing what I eat and drink.
• He’s given us the seeds of a solid plan to build a better life for ourselves by perhaps buying a small transitional property overseas.
• In the meantime, He’s helped me feel happier with where we are right now, and support my husband better in dealing with what he has problems with.
• He’s shown me an effective way of working, using Pomodoros AND using the breaks to get away from the computer. Genuine multi-tasking by only doing one thing at a time and being fully focused on it is way less stressful than trying to do five things at once!
• He’s blessed me by leading me to some good books by other Christian authors that I’ve gained a lot from.
• He’s led me to dig deeper into His Word and given me the tools to do it
• He’s shown me how to rediscover the joy of hand sewing I had as a girl. That’s something I will get both pleasure and practical use from doing (and help the decluttering project by selling or donating the sewing machines and overlocker!)
• He’s helping me to be less attached to “stuff”
• He’s helped me to find comfort in Him, not food.
• He’s blessed us with a good trip home and some quality time with my parents.

My word for 2016 is surrender.

Deeper surrender to God, and to my husband. Giving Jesus total Lordship over my life, and not using my husband’s health problems as an excuse to hold back from giving him headship of our household.

My verse for the year is Psalm 37:7-
Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

My prayer today as set my goals and intentions for the new year is:

Thank You Lord for all You did to help me in 2015. Help me please to always see the blessings You shower us with, and to thank You.

Help me to appreciate all You do, even the learning experiences! Help me to listen to Your guidance, the quiet whispers, the shouts, and occasionally the bricks dropped on me, because the learning experiences have mostly happened when I wandered off the path and sought my own will not Yours.
Please help me to keep turning to You in 2016 and surrendering all aspects of my life deeper and deeper to You. Help me to seek You first, knowing that in You is the only true comfort, love, peace, and joy.

Help me to open myself fully to You, to have a heart and mind and body filled with Your Spirit, to live a life of service, love, and compassion, and to do it with joy. Help me to live the life You designed me for, and to be the woman You created me to be.

Thank You, dear Father God, that You are always there, ready to love me, support me, guide me, and even carry me if You have to. Help me to always trust in You, with all my heart and all my mind and all my spirit. Help me to know that I am Your child, and that in You, all is well.

All is very well.

Thank You!

I hope you all have a blessed and joyful 2016, and feel God’s sweet Love working in your lives, more and more.