2010: A Great Year!

I always pray for God to show me a verse that I need to focus on for the year. On January 1 I wrote down John 15:11 as I know God wants me to recognize that joy is a large part of following Him and one of the fruits of the Spirit (one I have been missing for the past couple of years). But as January has progressed, the first 10 versus have come up in about 4 different teachings/studies I have done. I even had a friend post John 15:7 on my facebook page in response to getting our license. This morning, I feel God impressing on me that the entire passage from vs 1-11 will by 2010 for our family!

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

We will have to abide in God, press into Him like never before. But when we do, we will see fruit, joy and answer to prayers like never before! It has been a long time since we have had a year like that!!! In fact for the past three years we have said, "I can't wait for 200_ to be done and 200_ to be here!" I refused to say that this year because it felt like I had said that every year only for the year coming to be even worse! But this year is different! I know it! I will stand on it! And the cool thing is that I have heard many others in the Body saying they have gotten the same message from God! Twenty-ten is the year for God's people to receive answers to prayers in order for His glory to rise up in the world! Not just me, not just my community, my state or even the United States, but the WORLD!!!!

I believe it strongly enough that I am going to put a prayer request/answer counter on my sidebar! I want to be conscious of the prayers God answers for me this year. So many times I keep track of the sorrows and not the blessings, so this year, I am turning the tables!

My spirit is doing a happy dance like never before! This is what being a Christ Follower is truly all about!

Acts Chapter 2:
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'