They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say,
      "They are My people,"
and they will say,
      "The LORD is my God."

              Zechariah 13.9

(Know how beloved you are)

And so, this ends the first year of this blog.
If you are interested in it continuing,
or if it has helped you in any way this year,
I would love to hear from you.

He determines the number of the stars,
and He gives to all of them their names.

                          Psalm 147.4

(the Maker of heaven and earth,
           and you)

I will make them strong in the LORD,
and they shall glory in His name.

                              Zechariah 10.12

(There is strength in
      bearing His name)

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger 

and abounding in steadfast love.

                         Psalm 145.8

(This is what God is like,

this is what I should reflect)

...and you shall be a blessing.

                     Zechariah 8.13

(What God will do through you)

And the streets of the city

    shall be full of boys and girls

    playing in the streets.

                    Zechariah 8.5

(the way God intended the world to be)

And the angel said to them,

"Be not afraid,

for behold,

I bring you good news of great joy

which will come to all the people;

for to you is born this day 

in the city of David

    a Savior,

         who is Christ the Lord.

                           Luke 2. 10-11

(Immanuel has come,

               God is with us.

And that changes everything.)

Merry Christmas, my friend!

And this shall come to pass,

if you will diligently obey

        the voice of the LORD your God.

                               Zechariah 6.15

(How much we miss 

because of our unfaithfulness

in the "little" things

that we think don't matter)

Despise not the day of small things.

                       Zechariah 4.10

(Everyday decisions

    impact the rest of your life)

For I will be to her
      a wall of fire round about,
                       says the LORD,
and I will be the glory within her.

                             Zechariah 2.5

(That is what the love of the Almighty does,
              transformation from within)

...a place prepared by God,

          in which to be nourished.

                         Revelation 12.6

(What am I doing here?

God will protect, provide,

   and fulfill His purposes

          deeper than what we can know)

...and in this place

        I will give prosperity,

   says the LORD of hosts.

                             Haggai 2.9

(Here?  Even in the most unlikely places,

God provides enlarged vision 

       and increased depth.

He is using you.

He has strategically placed you 

         where you are right now.)

The King of Israel, the LORD,

            is in your midst;

   you shall fear evil no more.

...The LORD, your God,

               is in your midst,

a warrior who gives victory,

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will renew you in His love.

                            Zephaniah 3. 15, 17

(His Presence changes everything,

victory over those things you fear,

shouts of God's rejoicing all around,

evidence of His Presence

               in your midst)

As we come to the end of the first year of Du Jour,

I would love to hear how God's Word 

has impacted you.

For I am doing a work in your days

   that you wouldn't believe if told.

                          Habakkuk 1.5

(God always works in dimensions

     too deep for us to comprehend.

   Follow Him into His day for you).

...to Him who led His people

         through the wilderness,

for His steadfast love

                endures for ever.

                            Psalm 136.16

(and He will lead me through mine,

    with, in, through and because

          of His incredible love)

...when I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be a light to me.

                  Micah 7.8

(no matter how deep the darkness,
He is stronger still)

Do not My words do good
to him who walks uprightly?

                             Micah 2.7

(Soak up His promise,
live abundantly within it)

I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
I will not give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling place for
      the Mighty One of Jacob.

                         Psalm 132. 3-5

(First things first.
God will change the course of your day.
He will transform the course of your life).

"I am the Alpha and Omega,"

                     says the Lord God,

Who is

      and Who was

             and Who is to come,

    the Almighty.

                           Revelation 1.8

(the beginning, the end,

      and everything in-between)

...hold fast what you have,

so that no one may seize your crown.

                         Revelation 3.11

(With the hands of a determined toddler)

If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities,

         LORD, who should stand?

But there is forgiveness with You,

that You may be feared.

                                  Psalm 130. 3-4

(Stand in awe of His grace

        and live redeemed

             in all you do today)

The LORD has spoken;

who can but prophesy?

                    Amos 3.8

(Speak the truth in love,

live His truth before others

       wherever He has placed you.)

Let us know,

let us press on to know the LORD;

His going forth is sure as the dawn;

He will come to us as the showers,

as the spring rains that water the earth.

                            Hosea 6.3

(The difference He makes

             in all dimensions)

It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress,
          from Me comes your fruit.

                              Hosea 14.8

(not success that matters at all,
       but fruitfulness)

No greater joy can I have than this,

to hear that my children

           follow the truth.

                         3 John 4

(the delight of a parent's heart,

        nothing more)

Those who trust in the LORD

              are like Mount Zion,

     which cannot be moved,

     but abides for ever.

As mountains are round about Jerusalem,

so the LORD is round about His people,

from this time forth

                   and forever more.

                            Psalm 125. 1-2

(A visible picture of trusting Him.

God encompasses on all sides

       even in the midst of trouble)

Our help is in the name of the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

                           Psalm 124.8

(NOTHING in your life

is too big for Him to handle.

Repeat as necessary.)

...if we love one another,

God abides in us

and His love is perfected in us.

                          1 John 4.12

(The faithful are distinguished

by love and integrity).

Little children,

let us not love in word or speech

but in deed and in truth.

                  1 John 3.18

(Surrounded by opportunities

     in the most unexpected ways.

One never knows what appears

    to be a simple action

that has the power to change a life).

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From whence does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
      Who made heaven and earth.

                     Psalm 121.1-2

(in all things,
    no matter what we face this week.
           live expectantly in Him)

But whoever keeps His Word,
in him truly love for God is perfected.

                     1 John 2.5

(it is not that God would love us more,
but that our love for Him is nurtured)

Great peace have those who love Your law;

    nothing

          can make them stumble.

                                Psalm 119.165

(God's Word makes all the difference.

       He changes you through it.)

There is in your kingdom
a man in whom
     is the Spirit of the holy God.

                           Daniel 5.11

(by what are we known?)

There is in your kingdom
a man in whom
     is the Spirit of the holy God.

                           Daniel 5.11

(by what are we known?)

Make every effort
to supplement your faith with virtue,
and virtue with knowledge,
and knowledge with self control,
and self control with steadfastness,
and steadfastness with godliness,
and godliness with brotherly affection,
and brotherly affection with love.
For if these things are your and abound,
     they keep you
     from being ineffective or unfruitful
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

                          2 Peter 1. 5-8

(step by step, day by day,
    intentional actions)

...but you are able,

     for the Spirit of the holy God

                   is in you.

                          Daniel 4.18

(The difference God makes

  should be THAT obvious)

...in order that

             in everything

God may be glorified

  through Jesus Christ.

                      1 Peter 4.11

(Yes, even in THAT,

 sensitive to His purposes,

 aware of my actions)

Iron sharpens iron,
     as one man sharpens another.

                          Proverbs 27.17

(Seek out nurturing relationships,
including those who model faithfulness)

I will meditate on Your precepts
   and fix my eyes on Your ways.

                            Psalm 119.15

(He will change your life) .

The prayer of the righteous
         has great power in its effects.

                             James 5.16

(We have no idea how much)

O give thanks to the LORD,
        for He is good;
His steadfast love endures for ever.

                      Psalm 118.1

(In all ways, in all things)

Son of man, look with your eyes,

and hear with your ears,

and set your mind

      upon all that I shall show you,

for you were brought here

      in order that I might show it to you...

                             Ezekiel 40.4

(God's strategic placement and purposes,

        even that which we cannot see)

This is the day

    which the LORD has made,

let us rejoice

    and be glad in it.

                Psalm 118.24

(Every day in God's eyes

is chosen and precious.)

Out of my distress

      I called on the LORD,

and the LORD answered me

                  and set me free.

                           Psalm 118.5

(Even still in the midst of a situation,

    God changes everything

    by changing our hearts)

Do not neglect to show hospitality
for thereby some have entertained
          angels unawares.

                              Hebrews 13.2

(You never know how God will use
          even the simplest acts of kindness)

From the rising of the sun to its setting

the name of the LORD

        is to be praised.

                    Psalm 113.3

(Praising Him will change your day

   and impact everyone around you)

Then they will know 

    that I am the LORD.

                   Ezekiel 30.26

(What does it take

    for me to acknowledge Him?)

Rule in the midst of your foes.

                      Psalm 110.2

(Rise above the turmoil,

    marked and known by grace)

So you will be a sign to them,

and they will know

that I am the LORD.

                      Ezekiel 24.27

(People are always watching

     how you live, how you love,

   to know if God is real.)

For He shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

                            Psalm 107.16

(There is immense freedom
        in trusting Him,
shattering those things that
      keep us captive).

With God we shall do valiantly;

it is He who will tread down our foes.

                             Psalm 108.13

(Don't go it alone.

Trust God all the way through.)

O give thanks to the LORD,

       for He is good,

for His steadfast love 

           endures for ever.

                 Psalm 107.1

(Thanking God is an outward expression

      of an inward reality of trusting Him,

   even when we cannot comprehend it)