"18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."

  The Scripture passage above is from Isaiah 43:18-19, I saw it quoted in a newsletter from my son's school the other day. When I read it the Lord kind of nudged me saying, "this is what I want to do in the C.S.B.A." Our ministry has been through a lot in the time it has been in existence, both good and bad. Sometimes we can get nostalgic and think of how things "used to be". This can happen in other areas of our lives as well. We face difficulties or obstacles, things aren't going the way we like it. Perhaps we don't agree with the decisions of family members or maybe our work/business isn't going the way it once was. It is easy to become discouraged, frustrated, and resign our efforts. We can bail out and withdraw, we fight and argue, or something else. It is living in this life that we can forget that our God is transcendent above it. "Our God is not held by time, nor is He constrained by it's hard bindings" I once heard a song say. And that is so true, God is not "stuck" in the mess that we are in. Actually, He is using it to build us, improve us, and strengthen us to get us where He wants us to be. So, let us "forget the former things and not dwell on the past" as the Scripture above says, instead let us pray to God, "open my eyes that I may see". May we see that God is always doing a new thing, He is the Creator after all. In ways that our eyes may not see, but may our spirits be open to sense and perceive that God is indeed making a way, not in easy places, but in dry, arid, hostile places. A way that He wants us and this ministry to go. Will this make our ministry "successful"? I don't know and it really doesn't concern me greatly. God says to the faithful, "well done thy good and faithful servant", success has nothing to do with it. Following God's commands and direction is what He prizes in our lives, not whether our ministry is "successful". During the upcoming holidays, take time to seek out God, to pray and listen. Immerse yourself in the Word and attend your church/fellowship. Bless others and allow yourself to be blessed. Pray, listen, and try to discern where and how God wants to use you this coming year. Take what the Lord reveals to you and run with it! May God bless you in this coming Advent and may every heart prepare Him room.