Lord God, sovereign over all, as we seek your face, let us be reminded you are our GOD. You are in the driving seat, you have been for millennia and you will continue to bring us ever closer to our rightful destination – we can trust your navigation and ability to perfect, to complete what you have begun.
Serenity – seen easily in nature at this time of year: still cold water reed beds, waiting buds in hedgerows, steadily growing bulbs in the soil of our gardens, skeins of geese in perfect flight formation, bare exposed trees that do not deny or hide their nakedness. Serene we can withstand cold, wet, muddy exposure as we know you hold the keys to our unfolding future – you are the peace that passes all understanding. ( Phil 4:7) Help us to watch and wait with the winter world around us.
Courage – always to do with the heart, ‘la coeur’. Enlarge our hearts Lord to take risks, to fail even, but to take action none the less. Largeness of heart is what has enabled many to do the things that have been said could not be done. Expand our smallness, our restricted selves into the joy of experiencing your greater greatness – for in you we live and move and have our being – there is plenty of room for us and we can come boldly before you…you have not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and of love! (2 Tim 1:7) We thank you Lord!
Wisdom – if any of you lacks wisdom you should ask for it. (James 1:5) Wisdom is not the same as knowledge, nor is it only for the mighty or the royal or the brave. Wisdom comes quietly. Is to be much desired. Wisdom is an inseparable aspect or attribute of the Godhead and when we exercise wisdom we exercise a gift from the precious Holy Spirit and we are presented with truth in solid form and yet this truth is constantly and creatively available to God and his management, his development, his formational processes…and we must learn through wisdom to grow into all that he is presenting to us…for wisdom comes quietly…
Amen for the year ahead dear friends, Amen and again I say Amen. 
Lorraine