A New Year Of Hope

We are excited to start this new year. Surely it begins in uncertain and perilous times. Economic hardship spreads around the world as we perhaps sink into depression. There are wars and rumors of wars. People are sacrificing on all fronts. However, at the same time we share a feeling of hope with the nation and the world. We stand firm in our faith, comfort, and the knowledge that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to us. We are certainly hopeful for the future. The memory of the inauguration of our 44th president is still fresh. It was a jubilant and inspiring event in the midst of so much that is not. Truly this is a historic time, being that Barack Obama is our nation's first African American president. But even more than that is the sense that our nation sits at a crossroads of sorts. New developments of the recent past have spurred on national reflection and evaluation. We have to make important decisions about how to protect ourselves, how to power ourselves as well as how to protect our environment just to name a few. Amidst great synasizm for government and its seemingly inherent corruption, we find hope as a nation in someone who seems to truly and genuinely want to do what is best for our nation and the world. His inaugaration speech was inspiring. Images seen from the site brought awe at the sheer quantity of humanity that wanted to be there, to be a part of history. President Obama instilled a hope in his speech that we as individuals and as a nation will do the work necessary, make the decisions necessary, to bring about positive change. Our hope and prayer is that he is the leader to do it and that it will be done wisely and righteously. May God bless, guide and protect him and the other leaders of this nation. We so desire that the future that we are preparing for our children and our children's children will be a prosperous one of joy, hope and respect. May this year be a great year!