Hallelujah I made it through another year. No looking back on 2012. Just moving ahead into the unknown. Who knows what treasures I?ll uncover in the weeks to come?<\/p>\n

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Every day is a gift. Each new twenty-four hours is bound up tightly in colorful paper and tied with a flamboyant bow. Hour by hour we un-wrap a piece of our day and behold the magic. Don?t we wish every day would be all bright, bubbly and full of fun?<\/p>\n

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I know that 2013 will hold many treasured moments, but all will not be rosy. Why? Because life just isn?t like that. I especially realized the frailty of these old bodies of ours this past Saturday when I attended three funerals. Yes, that?s right, three celebrations of life in one day.<\/p>\n

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As the years, months, and weeks tick by I?m coming to realize how very short our span on earth truly is. We get up every morning, go through our routine, and before we know it the day is over. Then the next morning we start all over again. What will you do this year to make it your best one yet?<\/p>\n

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I?ve thought a lot about this for my own life. As always I plan to exercise more often, eat healthier, drink lots of water and read more books. Some days I?ll accomplish this and others I?ll fall very short. I also plan to read the Bible from cover to cover. I?ve read through most of it, but unless I look at every word from beginning to end I?ll never know if I took it all in. And what will I do when I get to the pearly gates and Saint Peter gives me a pop quiz on one of the chapters I haven?t read? Boy, I?ll be in trouble won?t I?<\/p>\n

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Reading the entire Bible certainly won?t give me a free pass to enter the gates of heaven, but the knowledge that falls between the bindings will no doubt help me as I stumble along life?s pathway. I?ve had several Bible?s in my life, two of which are falling apart. They?ve been used quite a bit. I?ve needed a lot of guidance through the years.<\/p>\n

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At a very early age I came to realize that all the answers to a young girls troubles were hidden in scripture. Then as a teenager I found advice on those thin pages to help me make important decisions, and in all the years since I find myself going to the Word to get me through the day.<\/p>\n

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I can?t tell you I understand all that?s inside the greatest Book that will ever be written because I don?t, but when I go to it with an open mind and a humble heart the passages become alive and the beauty of God?s message brings me a peace that nothing else can ever compare to.<\/p>\n

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The excitement of another New Year is intoxicating. I can?t wait to see what God has in store for me. I know some of the roads I travel will be long and curvy. The hills will be steep and valleys low, but I also know that many of the paths I wander down will take me off into the sunset, beside the still waters where green pastures grow. In 2013 may we all long to draw closer to the scared side of the Savior?<\/p>\n

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May God Bless you all. Happy New Year!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John 1:1<\/p>\n

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hallelujah I made it through another year. No looking back on 2012. Just moving ahead into the unknown. Who knows what treasures I?ll uncover in the weeks to come?   Every day is a gift. Each new twenty-four hours is bound up tightly in colorful paper and tied with a flamboyant bow. Hour by hour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[586,587,585],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahmartinbyrd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}