You can start today strong knowing you have a security in your life because you have a personal relationship with God! You have a relationship with our creator. You have a personal relationship with the one who restores and heals our past. You have a God who personally came into our world just to save you from an eternity of torture and shame. You have a God who loves you even though you have a past. You have a God that wired you up with special giftings & talents. You matter to God and you matter to us! If this year has felt like a series of attacks instead of a series of growth, rest in the fact that God works in spite of your circumstances and shortfalls.

God promises to "heal the broken hearted and bind up your wounds." God loves you in spite of what you've done and he promises "not to leave you or forsake you."

In Psalm 3, King David writes about fleeing from his son Absolam who setup a conspiracy against him. He wrote: "Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people." (NIV)