![]() Many times when we enter into the new year, we begin with great intentionality. We have goals we’d like to accomplish, places we’d like to visit, and people we want to spend more time with. Now that we are a month in, how is your intentionality? I know personally that I do well with a new habit for 3 or 4 weeks and then it begins to peter out. While it may feel like you have failed when your intentions didn’t come to fruition, it is instead an opportunity to begin again. In Lamentations 3:22-24 it reads, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him (ESV).’” The Lord has promised you unended mercies each and every morning whether your intentions for the previous day were met or not. He gives you a new day to begin again and go back to your intentions you previously set. He has provided another chance to work on your goals. Before I started at Peace in 2020, the congregation was intentional about creating a vision statement of where the direction should go. Five years later, this vision has remained and it reads: A Family Encouraged, A Community Embraced, Everyone Saved. This vision is still our intention for Peace and what we want to strive towards with the help of the Holy Spirit. While the vision is something that is talked about within the church leadership, it is also a vision for every member at Peace! Each person at Peace has the opportunity to take intentional steps–with the help of the Holy Spirit–to encourage those around them, to embrace their neighbors and community, and to share the love of Jesus so that all may know that Christ died to forgive their sins and give salvation. Our yearly intentions along with our vision set at church may not be a habit because we lose track of our “why” and our goals. This is when we need to be reminded of Lamentations once more–God’s mercy hasn’t ended because I wasn’t as disciplined in these areas as I should be. In fact, God gives the promise that there is another day to begin again and to work towards our intentions. As we are a part of the Peace family, how can we work towards our vision again in 2025? When we look at “A Family Encouraged”, is there a Connect Group you could be a part of? Is there a ministry team that you can volunteer with? When looking at “A Community Embraced”, which of your neighbors could use an encouraging conversation? Is there a neighbor you don’t yet know? Lastly, when looking at “Everyone Saved”, am I sharing Christ with those around me with my words and actions? Is there someone who needs the love of Jesus through clothing or food? Our intentions are an incredible gift that the Lord can use to help us accomplish many good things. While they don’t save us or change how much God loves us, they are good ways to help our neighbor! If you are feeling down with unmet intentions of January, remember that God’s mercies are new every morning and a new month is beginning. Great is the Lord’s faithfulness to you! -Cami Hamer, Director of Discipleship
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January 2025
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