2013 is Winding Down

It is appropriate to take stock of the year as it draws to a close. As you reflect on the past year, what were the highlights in your life? What trials did you face? And even more importantly, what character lessons did you achieve in response to those trials?

Here are some tips (recommendations) for this season that come to mind:

1) Give thanks by returning a just tithe. Most financial cycles revolve around Jan 1, and now is a good time to check your increase and donations. "'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.' Shall we obey God, and bring in all our tithes and offerings, that there may be meat to supply the demands of souls hungering for the bread of life? God invites you to prove Him now, as the old year draws to its close, and let the new year find us with God’s treasuries replenished." {CS 89.1}

"He tells us that He will open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. He pledges His word, 'I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.' Thus His word is our assurance that He will so bless us that we shall have still larger tithes and offerings to bestow. 'Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.'" {CS 89.2}

2) Give thanks for the health you have been blessed with, by ministering to those who do not have that same blessing. This past year our family has been visiting an elderly man in a local nursing home. This friends mind is strong, but his body is broken and weak. He appreciates our visits so very much. Do something for someone else who can not repay you the same kindness.

3) Give thanks for the Bible. Make 2014 a year of solid Bible study. I am working on compiling several
forms of reading the Bible through in a year plans, and I challenge you to read the entire Bible within this next year. There are many benefits for being deeply rooted in God's Word.

4) Give thanks for your farm and fresh produce. This time of year, you are using from the food stored from the past summer, and we all look forward to the coming growing season. We have just past the shortest day of the year (Dec 21), and from now on, the days will slowly but steadily lengthen. (Day length calculator.) In our area, February 1, 2014 is the date that our day length returns to 10 hrs per day. After this point, plants will start to grow again. That will be the time for your green houses and covered grow boxes to shine. Giving thanks means not just enjoying the blessings of good wholesome food, but also give thanks in sharing what you produce with others.

5) Give thanks for Jesus is returning soon. The babe of the Advent season is the King who is returning soon to take those who incorporate His law into their characters. And in that sentence, we have both an expectation, a hope, a salvation; but also a task, a goal and a mission. 1 John 3:2-3 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure."