It is January 1.  I wish you and yours a Happy New Year!  I pray that this will be a year that you set and keep spiritual resolutions.  After telling a local newspaper reporter that I did not have any resolutions, that changed this morning as I was reading another lesson in With Christ in the School of Prayer.  There I was reminded that while Jesus taught us how to pray, he gave very few instructions about what to pray, except to pray for laborers in the harvest.  So that is my resolution for the year, to pray consistently, daily for laborers in the harvest.  I will be praying for more missionaries, and for helpers for our missionaries.  I will be praying for teachers for children and for volunteers for ministries which meet needs and share Christ.  I will be praying for more people to be courageous and share Christ with neighbors and coworkers.  I will be praying for the gospel to be taken to those who have never heard.

Today I started a new prayer journal and began reading the January issue of Missions Mosaic.  As is my custom, I peruse the entire magazine on the first day of the month, then settle in with the prayer calendar.  I’m always pleased when Kentucky missionaries are featured.  In this issue we have a two page spread! On page 10 there is the story of The Lord’s Cafe at the Crossroads Community Baptist Church in McCreary County.  Grant Hasty, missionary, shared the story of how God is using this food ministry to reach the community.

On page 11 there is a story about George and Cathy Chinn, who were appointed in 2011 as the regional coordinators for the Mississippi River Ministry (MRM).  The story tells about some of the people the Chinn’s have met in their travels to promote MRM.  They are working to learn about needs throughout the region and match volunteers with those needs.  They are also very excited about FamilyFEST, July 7-13, 2012 in Memphis, Tennessee.  George and Cathy will be on the program at the Kentucky WMU Annual Meeting, March 23-24 at Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset.  Our Friday evening session includes an “East Meets West” feature, highlighting the work of MRM and ARM (Appalachian Regional Ministry).

The Kentucky WMU staff will be reading and studying With Christ in the School of Prayer during the month of January.  There are 31 lessons and 31 days in the month.  We invite you to join us.  If you have a Kindle, there are several editions of the book available.  Several have a small charge.  One is free and is listed as “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” (ASIN: B004TIJJOW).   Several other editions sell for just 99 cents.  I like both the illustrated, annotated edition (ASIN: B004S7ASYO) and an edition from Heritage Bible Fellowship (ASIN: B00550OYSY).   I am sure there are digital editions of this classic by Andrew Murry with the other e-book vendors as well.   Print copies are a bit harder to come by but are available. 

Happy New Year!  May your reading, praying, and service to the Lord be blessed.