A Brand-Spanking New Year

Off with the old, in with the new!

What does that mean to us?
Here's what it means to me:

This is a time for new beginnings. One of my best friends is a missionary, and every year, we individually ask God for a word for the year. Then we share our words with each other. Many years, we've received the same word. Sometimes, we receive words that dovetail together. That's what happened this year.

God gave me the word Rest. He said that our world is in much turmoil, and we're all feeling the effects of that turmoil. We have roadblocks, or someone in our family is one of the people in this country without a job, or the unrest between nations is taking a toll on our own family. But God wants us to trust Him and rest in Him. Worry should not be a part of our lives. We need to keep our eyes on Him, and let Him fight our battles. Remember a whole host of angels surround us to do that very thing.

Rita's word was Choices. (Another friend told me she received the word Decisions, which I see as almost the same thing.) And I feel that all three of our words connect in a precious, holy supernatural way. 

When we have Choices and need to make Decisions, we must look to the Lord first, listen to Him, then Rest in the decision and let Him bring about what He wants for us in our lives.

That's my words for the new year. Please share yours with us. Leave a comment with your word or words from the Lord for this year. 

And I'll have a gift for one of you--a copy of my latest book release Maggie's Journey.

Maggie had to learn how to look toward the Lord for her choices and then rest in His watch care over her.

Maggie's Journey grabs you on page one with characters and events that reflect real-life joys and heartaches that change the characters forever. Make room on your "keepers" shelf! —Loree Lough, best-selling author of 80 award-winning books, including From Ashes to Honor.

A girl who’s been lied to her whole life…

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she was adopted. The daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed both by her real parents and by the ones who raised her.

Maggie desires a place where she belongs. But her mother’s constant criticism and reminders that she doesn't fit the mold of a young woman of their social standing have already created tension in their home. With the discovery of the family secret, all sense of her identity is lost.

When Maggie asks to visit her grandmother in Arkansas, her father agrees on the condition that she take her Aunt Georgia as a chaperone and his young partner, Charles Stanton, as protection on the journey. Will she discover who she really is and, more importantly, what truly matters most in life?

Lena Nelson Dooley is an award-winning author with more than 690,000 books in print. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers—where she received the Mentor of the Year award in 2006—DFW Ready Writers, and Christian Authors Network. She lives in Hurst, Texas, with her husband of over 47 years. 

Maggie's Journey, received 4 stars from Romantic Times Magazine