New Year, New Name

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Here is this week's Yearly Cycle update.

Last year I learned that the 12 Days of Christmas officially start on Christmas Day, which makes New Year's Day the 8th day of Christmas. This means that if Jesus was born on December 25th that New Year's Day would have been the day when he was circumcised and given his name. 

Circumcision is a reminder of our covenant and partnership with God. He has given us purpose and grace in Christ Jesus before time ever began. I believe he has written a book about each of our lives and tomorrow is the day to name the Year of 2022. What did God name the title of the chapter in your book for 2022. This is a good time to press in and seek him for this. 

For me personally and for the Abundant Life Blueprint the name that has come through for 2022 is the Year of the Beautiful Land. For the last couple of weeks, I have been seeing the phrase Beautiful Land over and over in the Bible as the way God described the promised land. God said that he searched out the best and most beautiful land for them. 

God is the source of beauty, as beauty comes by his grace. Beauty inspires awe, mystery, tranquility, creativity, and is attractive but what is beauty?

There are many aspects of beauty but here are a few... Vibrant, balanced, symmetrical, everything in order, harmony with everything working together, simple and elegant, free of things that shouldn't be there, and beautifully timed. 

Beauty is about the heart. Beauty is supposed to start in our hearts and work out from there. Recently I have been studying Song of Solomon, which is a picture of Jesus and his bride. And it describes the garden of the heart. First, God wants to beautify the garden of our hearts and then it flows into our mind, emotions and out into the world to the beautiful land. The key to all of this is experiencing the fullness of his grace that effortlessly beautifies our lives. And a beautiful thing also happens in the process... When his grace flows through us it also helps to beautify the people around us as his grace flows through us to them. 

I am praying for you. 

Happy New Year!

Daniel