God's blessings and best wishes for a most joyful New Year in Jesus' Name.

In late November, some of the weather experts were predicting a hard winter – very cold and lots of snow.  As we approached Christmas with little snow, I heard these same experts saying that as things “averaged out…as they certainly will,” that we’d end up receiving an amazing amount of snow after Christmas.  Over break, I believe it may have been that calm, sunny day in Kansas City when temperatures hit 66 degrees and I was sitting out in my mother-in-law’s backyard…in shorts and reading a newspaper, that I read they were now predicting a mild winter.

I guess predicting the weather long-range (or sometimes even short-range for that matter) can be pretty uncertain.  The predictions can be as changeable as…well, the weather.  I’m no expert on the weather, but my prediction is probably about as good as anyone else’s at this point.  One thing I know from past observation is that we generally get a thaw sometime in January, perhaps a week of unseasonably warm temperatures, and I’m “predicting” that was last week.  See, nothing to it.  Regarding what is yet to come this winter, however, well….

I’ve heard it said that ‘we don’t know what the future holds, but we do know Who holds the future,' and I pray that this is what we cling to in this New Year of 2012.  All things, our future included, are in God’s almighty hands, and our God is merciful, forgiving and loving, desiring all people to come to the knowledge of His truth and be saved.  God’s blessings in the New Year.