Friday Coffee with PJ - New Years Day Edition

This morning you may need a few extra cups of coffee after staying up late to welcome in the new year. For this upcoming new year of 2016 I pray for you what the Apostle John prayed for his readers of his third letter, "Beloved, I pray that all will go well with you, and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul" (3 John 1:2).

1. The beginning of a new year is always a good time to see what changes you can make in your life. I would suggest that you take a look at what steps you could take to improve your health (diet, exercise, etc.). I have been working out at Planet Fitness for the past month and have begun to notice some positive results. The Apostle John also prayed for the soul of his readers. The two most important spiritual disciplines I believe are Bible intake and prayer. You might want to check out these two articles on Bible reading and Prayer. 

2. This has been a difficult final four months of 2015 for my wife and me. A total knee replacement on September 4th .... a manipulation of the knee (while under anesthesia) on November 10th ... another surgery to repair a broken femur on November 18th (broken femur occurred during the manipulation). All of this has made doing even routine tasks difficult for my wife. There have been many tears shed, many frustrating moments. But through all of the hard times we have never (at least for long) doubted the goodness of our God. So we look forward to a new year, knowing that we are in our God's hands. And there are no better hands to be in than HIS! (BTW - Sharon sees surgeon next Wednesday (the 6th). We are praying that she will be given the green light to begin putting some weight on her leg. Thanks for praying with us!).

3. We welcomed Lucas Allen Hershey into our family yesterday at 1:38pm. He joins our daughter Emily, her husband Matt, and big brothers Nathan and Nolan. He weighed in at 7lbs, 11 oz. We are grateful to God for the gift of a second grandson in as many months (Logan Ryan Smith was born to our son Tim and his wife Kelly on Novembef 1st).

4. Finally, here are three very crucial reminders for all of us as we say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016. 

Again - a blessed new year to you all ... and thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj