Tom’s Message: Stoked about December 29, 2023!
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re getting ready for an amazing New Year’s Eve!
I love our latest New Year’s tradition! It’s been this way for about 17 years at our house!
Every year on New Year’s Eve around 9:45 we brush our teeth and get in our PJs!
Then we jump in bed!
We pass New Year’s Eve the way I used to spend Christmas Eve as a kid.
We go to bed…
go to sleep…
and when we wake up…
magically…
it came!!
I know it must be amazing to wait up and count down…
(“Twenty seven!…Twenty six!…Twenty five!!…”)
until the “Ball” drops at midnight, but it’s not like by the time the Ball drops in Times Square, they haven’t already practiced it about 47 times that day!
Did you know that in Hersey PA they drop a 300 lb Hersey’s Kiss?
In Bethlehem PA (because it’s where they make ‘em) they drop a gigantic marshmallow Peep!
(Imagine adding two tons of paper confetti and an 85% chance of rain! What a mess!)
In Dillsburg, PA a giant pickle marks the moment!
Sometimes I’ve wondered why everyone is so excited that 2024 is FINALLY here!
If I remember right, it seems like they were that excited last year about ‘23 getting here.
“Three…TWO…ONE!!!!! YAY!!!!!”
And by the end of it, lots of folks couldn’t wait to “move on”!
“So are you sayin’ you ain’t excited ‘bout the New Year gettin’ here?”
Well, I’m not super sure I’m supposed to have an opinion on what the year’s gonna be or bring!
James tells us that we shouldn’t say “we’ll go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”…
because, he adds, “you do not know what tomorrow will bring!”
I can say “This’ll be my best year yet!”
But I don’t really know!
I’m not sure if I should or shouldn’t be super enthusiastic about what 2024 may or may not be or bring but y’know what I’m really excited about?
I’m pumped about December 29, 2023!!
I’m SUPER stoked about today!!
Here’s what I know about this day…
The day the Scriptures likes to call, “Today”…
Today, December 29, 2023…
1) Jesus has promised to be with me all day and never leave me alone for a nanosecond! “For He has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor ever forsake you’”! (Hebrews 13.10)
So., I’m not alone or on my own all day!
2) I can throw every problem I run up against over to Him to solve, smooth, or remove as He sees fit!
I’m letting Him take care of me all day!
3) Today is the only day I can say “Yes!” to Him, do what He asks me, and/or please His heart! I can’t do that “Tomorrow” because it isn’t here yet! And forget about doing it “Yesterday” because “Yesterday” is always so…well…yesterday!
If my goal is to win His smile, “Today” is my only chance!
4) Another thing I know is that not matter what happens today…
good or bad…
happy or sad…
fun or tough…
sweet or bitter…
it’s an ingredient in a plan my Jesus is “cooking up” for me to make me more and more like Him!
So, if I do get another day on Earth and wake up on December 30, 2023, I should be better at handling anything that comes my way because the promise is I’ll be one day closer to being like the One I love the most!
Jesus said, “Give no thought for tomorrow!” and Paul wrote, “Forget what is behind!”
So…
Lately, I’ve been trying as much as I can to walk this journey, one day at a time!
If it’s about yesterday and beyond…
or tomorrow and beyond…
I’m don’t give it a thought!
And I’ll tell ya…
I’m happier for it!
Am I pumped about 2024?
Haven’t really thought about it much.
But am I excited about December 29, 2023?
You bet!