Laurie Hopkins

A New Year, A New Mindset Welcome to 2021! What if we started the new year with a new way of thinking? What if we threw out our old mindset and made a switch? What if we made a choice to think differently and to behave differently? What if? Today is not only a new day but also the beginning of a brand new year. A year we have not yet encountered or experienced. You woke up in the land of the living this morning - that in itself is a gift and an opportunity. What if, thi...s morning, as you stood to your feet, you lifted up your hands and your voice toward the Lord and thanked Him, sincerely thanked Him for where He has brought you from and what He has brought you too? What if you did that every morning? What if, you made a decision to paint a new picture this year? What if, you decided to operate from a new perspective? What if, you choose to live by truth rather than by feelings? What if, you made a decision to really prioritize your life so that your relationship with your Creator was at the VERY top? What if, you made up in your mind to stop running hard after things that are temporal and began running hard after things that are eternal? Perspective is everything. Mindset supports your perspective! What you believe forms the picture of your life that you will live out in 2021. What does that picture look like this year? Take the time today to sit with the Father. Sit quietly and really listen to His heart for you and for those around you and for that outside of your direct sphere of influence. What does He have to share with you on this, the first day of a brand new year, the first day of a brand new opportunity? And then, start loading that new mindset. And then, go out and start living all that 2021 has! A year, in and of itself, should not and need not dictate how we feel, function or operate. A year should and be under the control of the mindset we possess. What mindset do you possess? How is that working for you? What do you plan to do about it? It starts in your mind! "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12: 1-2

There are only 4 more sleeps left in 2020! This year I've talked a lot about being intentional. So, here is one last assignment before the end of the year. What do you have to do in the remaining 4 days of 2020 to intentionally finish strong? To begin, we need to talk about finishing strong. What does that look like exactly? What you need to understand is that finishing strong is going to look a little bit different for each one of us, depending on where we have been and... where we intend to go. For some, finishing strong may mean finishing up those last few goals, for some it may mean taking some intentional downtime, for others, it may mean look more like working on some relationships, for others, it may mean taking some time to feel the disappointment about things that didn't work out in 2020 while acknowledging the unexpected graces. Step 1- determine what "finishing strong" looks like for you! Step 2- based on what "finishing strong" looks like to you, decide on 3 items you need to take care of in the next 4 days. Now it is time to make a plan. Yes, a plan. I know it is the week in between Christmas and New Years' - the week we generally move through in a bit of a fog - weary from the holiday preparations, beginning to realize just how much food we actually ate and dealing with the let down of Christmas celebrations. But part of finishing strong is being intentional in these last 4 days of the year. Step 3- make a plan. How will you accomplish these 3 items, in what order, and who will help to keep you accountable? Step 4 - make it happen! There is no time like the present. Go ahead and get it done. Intentionality wasn't just a buzz word for 2020. It is a lifestyle choice that I believe we need to continue to grow in, throughout 2021. Get a head start now. You'll thank yourself as you enter 2021 with the loose ends tied up from 2020.

It Is Almost Christmas! It is almost Christmas! Just wanted to stop by and say hi and see how you are all doing? This is traditionally a week that can turn into a real frenzy with so many last-minute things to catch up on. I was reminded as I did my devotions this morning, that this is the very time when we need to slow down and really take the time to consider the season. Christmas has the potential to come and go and be lost in the hustle and bustle of the "things" we f...eel we need to accomplish during this time. But what if this year, we made the decision to make it different? What if, this year, we were intentional about setting some quiet time aside, to sit with our Bible, to sit with the Lord, to sit with our family and friends and consider the wonder and the mystery of Christmas. To allow the Father to speak into our lives. To allow the necessity of real relationships to touch us in a meaningful way. To allow, the mystery and wonder of Christmas to touch our hearts and spirits in a way it hasn't had the opportunity to do so before. I challenge you this week - stop, listen, consider and hear. Don't let the season pass you by in a flurry of activity that just leaves you weary on the other end and anxious to pack it all up and in until next year.

Good morning my friends! Here we are again at the beginning of another week - 12 days before Christmas and 18 days before New Years' Eve 2020. 2020 has been an unexpected year in many ways - so many things we didn't see coming and wouldn't have wanted or agreed to had we seen them coming. And in all fairness, there were some unexpected blessings as well. Many of us are willing to escort 2020 out the door as soon as we can. We are hearing lots about finishing 2002 strong, i...Continue reading

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation." (Luke 2:29). Simeon received a promise from God that he would see the salvation of God before his death. Simeon's faith allowed him to live out his everyday life while waiting for the promise of God. God fulfilled that promise by allowing Simeon to see the Child Jesus. Simeon blessed God and acknowledged the fulfillment of God's promise. Yet Simeon has on...ly seen the Child. He has not seen the fulfillment of Jesus' 33 years on earth, his death on the cross, shed blood, resurrection. Yet Simeon, in faith, and through the revelation of God, believed that this Child, Jesus, who was in the temple, WOULD be the fulfillment of the salvation of the Lord. He waited in faith on the promise of God and he would CONTINUE to wait in faith, that the Lord would bring that promise to fulfillment through the Child He held in his arms. He was willing to accept that this would happen after 'he departed[ed] in peace." (Advent Devotions to Take you Deeper: A Season of Faith, pg 22, 23). Like Abraham, who the scriptures tell us "these all died in faith, not having received the promise, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13), Simeon's faith allowed him to live through his everyday life while waiting for the promise of God. When God showed him just the beginning of that promise, in the Child, Jesus, Simon's faith allowed him to be assured of the fulfillment of that promise, although afar off and beyond his own days and sight. ((Advent Devotions to Take you Deeper: A Season of Faith, pg 24). Are you willing to "see" in faith today?