Anchored in Hope - January 2025 Edition
A New Year, Held by the Same Faithful God
I was given such a beautiful gift in a care package in December of last year and it came at the perfect time. It was a journal with a cover that read “If you’re hanging on by a thread, make sure it’s the hem of His garment.” and it has the verse Matthew 9:20-22 with a line art drawing of the woman from the story in the Bible touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. It’s truly beautiful. I encourage you to go and read Matthew 9:20-22 yourself to better understand where i’m coming from. But just hours before I received this care package, I prayed and said that I was at the end of my rope and that I was only holding on by a thread. How beautiful it was that only a few hours later I received a care package with this journal reminding me of this verse. God is so good and He hears our prayers.
Life has been hard lately. I just got over being sick with COVID for the third time, and my other chronic illnesses love to rear their ugly heads. I know it’s all Satan’s way of keeping me distracted because this year God has instructed me to start sending care packages of my own! But since I had been sick, I hadn’t felt up to working on them. Thankfully, I felt up to working on them exactly a week ago from when I’m writing this and the first round of packages will be going out in less than a week. But my illnesses definitely slowed me down.
I hope you are well and I hope the new year is treating you well also. This new year feels off to me. It doesn’t feel as exciting or refreshing or renewing as other new years have. Have you noticed the same? Or maybe it’s just me. Either way, I hope it’s treating you well.
Here are some verses on new beginnings to encourage you in this new year:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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.” - Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” - Jeremiah 33:3 NIV
“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.” - Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” - Psalm 40:3 NIV
A Prayer for New Beginnings:
Faithful God,
As we enter this new year, we come as we are—carrying what the last year held and trusting You to meet us here.
You are the beginning and the end, and Your mercies are new this morning. Even now, You are doing a new thing, though we may not yet see it.
Order our steps. Teach us to walk by faith and not by sight. When hope feels fragile, be our strength; when the future feels uncertain, be our peace.
We place this year into Your hands, trusting that You who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.
Amen.
Faith Favorites
Here are some of my favorites this month! These may change month to month or they may stay the same depending on how my preferences change each month but i’ll try to change it up for you from time to time!
Here’s what i’m currently listening to!
I Never Said That (Read Words) by JoshM
Here’s what i’m reading for fun
Victory in Christ by Charles Trumbull
Authentic Happiness by Sarah Rowan
What Happens When You Say Yes To God And Walk In Faith by Lysa Terkeurst
here’s what i’m studying in the Bible!
The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble
Lastly, Here’s how you can support me & some helpful resources!
Buy me a coffee!
Consider a one time donation of any amount via Buy me a coffee instead of (or in addition to) committing to a monthly subscription here on Substack. As always, any donation is greatly appreciated.
Tap/Click me to buy me a coffee!
Subscribe Monthly for $8
Your monthly (or yearly!) subscription helps support me directly and helps with things like bills and medical expenses.
Do you need a Bible?
I’d love to send you a Bible for FREE if you live in the US! Just click the link and fill out the form with some brief information and i’ll send one your way!
But before you go… Have you heard the good news?
At the end of every newsletter from now on I want to share just a paragraph or two on what the Gospel is in easy terms so that if you haven’t heard the Good News, you can and if you haven’t been given the opportunity to give your life to Jesus, you’re able to.
Essentially, in the beginning, God created a perfect world and made humans to live in it according to His good design. But when Satan deceived the first humans, sin entered the world and has affected every person ever since. Because of this, we all fall short of God’s perfect will for our lives. That’s why God sent Jesus—fully God and fully man—who lived a perfect, sinless life. Out of His great love for us, God gave His Son to take the punishment we could never pay ourselves. Now, anyone who turns from sin and trusts in Jesus is forgiven, made right with God, and promised eternal life with Him. This isn’t something we can earn by being “good enough”—it’s a gift of grace that God freely offers to everyone.
If you’d like to receive the good news today and receive Jesus into your heart, repent of your sins (this means to turn away from your sins), believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sins and rose again, and then invite Him into your life as your Lord and Savior, often through a personal prayer, to become a new creation in Christ. This act of faith and surrender is a personal decision and commitment between you and God.
An example of a prayer you could pray to invite Jesus into your life is as follows but I invite you to make it personal:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen