Reflecting on The Year 2010

Each New Year’s Day and for many days after, I reflect on the year that has just passed. My reflections center on giving thanks to God for all He brought me to and through and for how good He has been to me.

These verses come to mind as I think back:

I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:6 NIV

Give thanks to the LORD for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 16:34

I will remember the deeds of the LORD…Psalm 77:11

I write or type these reflections on a thank you list that I keep in my journal or on my computer.

Here is the start of my thank yous for  2010:

I thank You, Lord:

–for Steve, Tami, Mindy, and Destiny and for how we have stayed close in 2010.

–that Steve and I made it to 35 years of marriage, and we still love one another deeply.

–for continued healing in our marriage.

–for the family conflicts You have brought us through.

–that we are enjoying an empty nest for the first time in 30 years.

–for good health for me and my family.

–for the progress I’ve made in songwriting.

–for my trip to the Inner Circle songwriting conference at Babbie Mason’s home outside Atlanta.

–for my writing retreat trip to Carolyn’s place in North Carolina.

–for my trip to the Chicago area to visit family and connect with relatives I had not seen in awhile at the family picnic.

–for Your financial provisions and blessings in 2011….

I will continue to work on my list and will include: people I’ve met who have blessed me, God’s provision on my job, opportunities God has given me to be used by Him, and specific ways friends and family members have blessed me.  Thanking God for spiritual progress in my soul is another part of my thank-you list as well as whatever else comes to mind.

If I find myself thinking about bad things that happened, I thank God for them and for the good that came out of those circumstances.

And when I have those days when I feel I’m not as blessed as I think I should be, I will read my list over again and remind myself how good God has been to me.

What about you? Have you reflected on 2010 and thanked God for all the goodness He has shown you? I guarantee you that doing so will lift your spirits more than a new year’s toast with a glass of champagne. Here’s to God–for all He is, for all He has done in 2010 and all He will do in 2011.