Aaahhhh. New day, new year, new decade. Nothing like a fresh beginning to get me all excited about possibilities and potential. Kinda like opening a brand new box of crayons and having the freedom to choose which one I want to use first.

2010 came far more quickly than I thought possible. I'm getting older, and not always wiser, have a kiddo heading to college and three more teenagers sitting at my dining room table every night. There is less certainty and more wondering at this point in my life, I'm not as accomplished as I thought I might be in some areas, but far more at peace than I ever dreamed I could be.

The beginning of a new year always moves me. I'm moved by all that has gone before--people, opportunities, laughter, memories....but I'm motivated by all of the potential that stretches in front of us, like a big blank sheet of newsprint taped on the kitchen table, with a new box of crayons waiting to be opened.

2009 seems to have been a difficult year for many people, including a lot of my friends. So many have faced trials and losses, personal, financial, familial...there seems to be a general thankfulness to put the past year behind us and start something new. My prayer for all of us as we step foot through the door of 2010 is that we do it with open hands and open hearts, ready to be a part of what
God has in store for us.

16-21This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can't get up;
they're snuffed out like so many candles:
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.Wild animals will say 'Thank you!'
—the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
the people I made especially for myself,
a people custom-made to praise me

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure what to color first!