Relationships Day 31 of countdown!!!!

 

How to Pray Through the Entire Year – One Month at a Time

Whitney Hopler

Updated Dec 29, 2025

February: Pray for loving relationships.

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February is an ideal time to pray about the quality of your relationships – starting with God, and the with the people around you. Take time this month to pray for a deeper understanding of God’s unconditional love for you, and for the people in your life. Ask God to help you understand that his love has no limits. You can personalize the prayer in Ephesians 3:17-19: “...I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

When you understand more about God’s love, you’ll be inspired to open your heart and let God’s love flow through your life into other people’s lives. One important way you can love other people is by praying for their needs. Pray specifically for your spouse, children, family, friends, coworkers, and your church community. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you develop all the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23) – so you can have healthy relationships that point people to God. Pray for any broken or difficult relationships in your life, seeking God’s healing. Praying for loving relationships helps you live out what Jesus says are the most important commandments: “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). 

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There are some people in our lives that are just hard to love.

Sometimes we get angry and don't even want to pray for them.

But in the month of Feburary, I challenge you

to pray for those relationships to heal so that you can truly love as God wants us too.

Remember he died for the unlovable.

That was you and I at one time.

Is it you and I today?

If so, learn to put aside your anger 

and pray that He will show you how

to love those in your life that you deem

unlovable.

Because you never know how far that can take you

in God's wonderful grace and mercy.

Thanks for coming by today, Friends.

Have a blessed day in Jesus!

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Prayer...Day 30 countdown...

 

Wow, the holidays for this year are over and in a couple of days they begin anew with 2026.  Have you decided on what you New Years resolution will be, or if you will even make one.

I have decided that I want to give my prayer life a boost for this year. I found an excellent article on Crosswalk to help me with that. I will repost a little of it each day for the next few days in case you are interested. Or you may want to go there yourself to get the whole article at one time. 

God has been so good to my family this year. There has been some sickness within my extended family, and an car accident that could have been fatal but thank God wasn't. 

And now I am facing a major problem with my home that needs to be upgraded. The work will begin in just a couple of days and will be expensive.

But you know what? I am thankful for good health this year. For keeping my family safe in what could have been a tragedy, and for my savings account which will pay for the upgrade and not put me in debt while this economy is not at its best. 

God is good!

And so with that, I will go on with the article on prayer:

How to Pray Through the Entire Year – One Month at a Time

Whitney Hopler

Updated Dec 29, 2025

Does your prayer life feel repetitive, like you're just recycling the same requests? What if you took a fresh approach to prayer, where you find inspiration in the different ways you can seek God during the changing months of the year? Here’s how you can pray through the entire year – one month at a time! 

January: Pray for new beginnings and God’s guidance.

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As a new year begins in January, you can reset your focus and seek God’s direction for the months ahead. Instead of just making your own New Year’s resolutions, you can ask God to show you his plans for you this year. Pray for God’s wisdom for you about your schedule, relationships, and goals. Even if the year in front of you isn’t very clear, God knows your future and wants the best for you, so choose to trust him. Lean on Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Reflect on the past year, confessing the mistakes that led you farther away from God and asking God to help you make changes in every part of your life so you can develop a closer relationship with him. Ask God to give you an open heart and mind, and the courage to say “yes” when he brings new opportunities for service into your life. Let your prayers in January be hopeful and trusting. Show God that you expect the best from him as he leads you through the year to come. 

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Thanks for coming by today, Friends. I pray that these suggestions for the New Year will be helpful. Have a wonderful, blessed day in Jesus!

After Christmas...day 26 and counting...

 

Wow, Friends. I haven't had a Christmas like this in a long time. I am so tired after all that went into my getting ready for Christmas 2025

I am not complaining. Ours was wonderful! We had good food, nice gifts, and fun. Fun that would have been different if it were not for Jesus. All glory goes to Him.

So, no. I am not complaining. 

But I am going to take some time away from my desk this week to share any posts that I would have shared, if I didn't take the time to just rest up, relax and refresh my tired brain.

I plan to be back again on December 28 or 29. Not sure which now. 

My family are not planning any parties or get togethers for the new year, so I should be ok to post all of next week.

Hopefully...

I also hope you had a wonderful, and blessed Christmas yesterday with all those that you love. 

Praise be to Jesus for His gift to us, and then the gifts of our friends and loved ones, that are a part of this life that He has given to us to enjoy.

Happy Coming New Year all...

Merry Christmas!!!

 Amen and Amen!

May You Have a Peaceful Christmas Eve!

 

Nativity

Poet: Marie Helbert King

Shepherds in their sheephide coats

Watch the star intently

Speak to flocks with voices hushed

Move them forward gently.

                                                         Time will hold its breath awhile
                                                                Wind be still, be still,
                                                            Soft the flight of angel wings
                                                                  Around this little hill.

                                                                  Unto us a child is given,
                                                          Something strange and stranger . . .
                                                            The King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
                                                                     An infant in a manger.

                                                                                 

                                                         His name shall be called, Wonderful,
                                                              The Child is meek and lowly,
                                                         
                                                        The Comforter, the Prince of Peace,

Holy, Holy, Holy.

      May you have a peaceful Christmas Eve today and night.

          God bless you!

 

The Reason & The Root day 23 countdown

 No matter how we cut it, if we celebrate the Christmas Season as Christians that follow Jesus and the Bible, we understand that Jesus is the real reason we celebrate. 

It's not for the tree, the decorations, the food or for gifts. It's not even for getting together with our family and friends. 

These things which may be important to us, are secondary to Christ's birth. 

In my opinion they should be secondary. With out Christ's birth, we may have some kind of celebration, but it would be quite different. if we don't celebrate Christ's birth, we may celebrate it just as the world does that are not Christians. If at all.

Today I am going to share the last 2 parts of Peyton Garlands advice from her site. Thank you for coming and have a blessed day perhaps finishing your December 25th celebrations. 

God bless!

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6. Recognize the Season’s Significance

I’m currently reading through Psalms, and what I’ve quickly noticed is how often David declares that God is his source of rest. Christ came to save us from sin, Satan, and hell, but He also came to provide us with an unnatural rest that we don’t find apart from Him.

This world is noisy, filled with distractions laced with ignorance, emptiness, and greed, so why not refuse the chaos by recognizing the significance of the Christmas season? Why not celebrate the freedom of rest we can find from the Baby in the manger?

This might look like prioritizing cozy family nights filled with baking cookies, wrapping gifts, or watching classic Christmas films. Or it might look like ensuring that your family sits down together for a quiet meal at home at least two nights each week. Consider an electronics fast or timer that everyone must commit to in December. Browse Amazon or your local bookstore for a family Advent devotional that brings everyone together each evening.

There are plenty of ways to implement rest and peace this season, but we must sit with the Savior to not only see but accept these opportunities.

The Root of the People-Pleasing Problem 

It’s easy to become a slave to people-pleasing because each of us wants to be liked. We want to know we are seen and valued. We were wired for intimate, close relationships. However, we can’t expect perfect intimacy with anyone but Christ, and we certainly can’t expect to maintain perfect relationships with everyone. Both parties will always be flawed, so why would we expect anything more?

Our value was sealed before we were born. It’s written into our destiny by the Author of all good things. Rather than pushing back against this beautiful promise, rest in the Promise Keeper who makes this Christmas season miraculous.

Source: 

How to Let Go of People-Pleasing This Holiday Season by Peyton Garland

You Can Say "No", And Healthy Relationships 22 day countdown...

 

4. Let Your “No” Be “No” 

I find Matthew 5:37 to be life-changing, both spiritually and socially: “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (NIV). Here, Scripture is referring to telling the truth, and as this Gospel shares, anything else is falsehood, a byproduct of Satan and his schemes.

It’s important to be upfront with others about what your family can and can’t balance, and that requires you to be honest, even (and especially) when it’s uncomfortable. If the truth were always easy, Scripture wouldn’t have to mandate that we refrain from lies. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we ignore manners and tact. In fact, a simple, “Oh, we would love to attend, but unfortunately…” or “Thank you so much for thinking of our family, but…” goes a long way.

Don’t give others false expectations because you’re afraid to say no and offend them. The Bible is clear that we owe each other the respect of telling the truth, even if it stings.

5. Lean into Healthy Relationships

You know your people. You know who is truly for your family, January through November, who shows up on the ordinary days, the hard days, and for all the moments in between. It’s important to lean into these people in the holidays.

My husband and I have two to three families who keep us spiritually grounded and are true confidants. In fact, we are closer to them than most of our biological family members. They play a significant role in our year-round peace, hope, and joy, so why would we overlook their friendships in a season when joy is meant to abound?

Naturally, you can’t bring all of your best friends to the soup kitchen you signed up for. And not each of your most trusted pals will be part of your church’s Christmas pageant, your child’s Christmas choir, etc., but when the schedules get wild, slow down and savor moments with those who truly love you and your family.

Peyton Garland is an author, editor, and boy mama who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee. Subscribe to her blog Uncured+Okay for more encouragement.

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Hello, Friends. I am decided to let Peyton Garland's next two pieces of advice speak for themselves without me adding to them. It is a busy day today at my house as I am wrapping up some loose ends for our Christmas celebrations, and my son and his wife will be over soon.

Thanks for coming again during your own busy days before Christmas. I hope you are having a blessed day with Jesus!