#THE ULTIMATE GIFT FULL#

I had it narrowed down to three and finally settled on the verse above, John 15:5, just over a week ago. The verse for 2021 was not quite as obvious, as many could serve as a reminder that God is my SOURCE. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit apart from me you can do nothing.вЂќ That was confirmation enough for me! I literally laughed out loud and said, вЂњOk, God, I get the message!вЂќ If you arenвЂ™t an Aldi shopper, that is the brand name of their soap. When I stepped in, there was a freshly unwrapped cake of soap waiting for me with the word SOURCE written on it. After my quiet time with God, I went upstairs to get a shower.

By this time, I was feeling pretty confident that my word for the year was to be SOURCE. The very next day, the word SOURCE came up again in the daily story in YouVersion. One of those questions is to ask yourself if you are hearing the same thing from different sources. Several years ago, I read a book written by Lysa TerKeurst titled, вЂњWhat Happens When Women Say Yes to God.вЂќ In this book, Lysa devoted a chapter to how we can determine if God is speaking to us by asking ourselves five questions. At that time, I put the word SOURCE in my message notes as a definite possibility for 2021. When my pastor announced his word and verse for the new year during the service, he encouraged us to choose ours too. I remember making a mental note of that word before I headed off to church. The devotional I used that morning talked about God as my SOURCE. In fact, it all started before I even went to church on the first Sunday of 2021. ItвЂ™s that time of year again-time to choose a word and verse for the new year! Unlike last year, this word came to me rather quicklyвЂ¦and directly. Trust and rest in His faithful, loving care today. вЂњThe Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. Neither Elmo, nor the British lady, can help us out with that! Who will you ask for directions? THAT is who He is! God, through Jesus, made a way for us to get to heaven. вЂњWay maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darknessвЂќ For, according to the songwriter Sinach, He is theвЂ¦ If we just turn to Him and seek His direction, God will show us the way. He doesnвЂ™t deal with us according to our sin or repay us according to our wrongdoing, because as high as heaven is above the earth, thatвЂ™s how large GodвЂ™s faithful love is for those who honor him.вЂќ

#THE ULTIMATE GIFT FULL#

вЂњThe LORD is compassionate and merciful, very patient, and full of faithful love. Have you missed a turn for one reason or another? Do you think youвЂ™re too far off the route to ever find your way back? I have good news for youвЂ¦ Instead, God lovingly recalculates and directs me to the best route from my current position. He doesnвЂ™t scream He doesnвЂ™t even say, вЂњI told you so!вЂќ when He has every right. He patiently and gently directs me from where I am when I call out to Him. When I wander off the intended route, the British ladyвЂ™s got nothing on God. IвЂ™ve taken my own route on occasion, thinking вЂњIвЂ™ve got this!вЂќ without ever even consulting my GPS. As with Waze, I sometimes miss my turn and find myself off course, either intentionally, or by accident. He is very familiar with the best route to my intended destination because He paved it. GPS could stand for вЂњGodвЂ™s Protection ServiceвЂќ rather than вЂњGlobal Positioning System.вЂќ As a child of God, I have access to His guidance and direction through the Holy Spirit 24/7. When I think about it, my GPS and God have some things in common. She just redirects me based on my current location. After a missed turn, my GPS just recalculates and the voice directs me from right where I am at that moment. My husband and I get a kick out of imitating her accent! No matter the chosen voice, its temperament remains the same, even when I donвЂ™t follow the directions. I used Sesame StreetвЂ™s Elmo voice to direct us on Waze for a time, but when that got too annoying, I switched to a British womanвЂ™s voice. When I miss my turn, whether intentional or not, I hear a familiar sound that IвЂ™ve come to know as the вЂњrecalculatingвЂќ notification. Other times, IвЂ™ve intentionally disobeyed the directions being given because I was sure I had a better way. There have been times when IвЂ™ve not reacted quickly enough to the directions and missed my turn. When IвЂ™m unsure of where IвЂ™m going when traveling, I often rely on the community-driven GPS navigation app, Waze, to lead me to my destination.

The ultimate gift