Happy welcome-to-2026 Saturday, friends!
It’s January 3 and I made it all the way until today before I wrote 2025 on something.
At least now the pressure is off.
I’m never in a hurry to put away the Christmas decorations because the house looks sad and sparse after they’re gone.
I did at least put away the lights from the yard yesterday. I bought new “smart” lights for this Christmas, so I could change the colors and patterns from the app on my phone. We had several different configurations during the Christmas season.
For the final night—January 1–I decided to symbolize the new year with green for Go!
Ready or not, here we come!
Since I finished a hymnal in December I’ve selected a new one to start the new year’s daily hymn texts. With over 800 hymns, I imagine it will take me at least 3 years (since I typically don’t post on Sundays or when traveling).
Today’s text is an appropriate kickoff based on Psalm 103, in which the psalmist reminds himself (his soul) to praise with all that he is because of who the Lord is.
Yeah, that’s a really good way to start the year.
I also have a new Bible for my daily time with the Lord.
Yes, the cover is pink roses.
I started a project 4 years ago of getting a new Bible every two years to use in the mornings. For those two years, I mark it up and make notes in the margins—whatever seems important that day as God speaks through my reading.
At the end of two years, that Bible is designated as a future gift to one of my grandchildren—from oldest to youngest.
My prayer is that they will be able to see something about Grandpa’s devotional life and see that his inner life informed and guided what they saw every day.
This year’s Bible will be for my third grandchild, my pink-loving girly girl.
Psalm 3:3 contains one of my favorite examples of Biblical imagery: God as the “lifter” of my head.
I couldn’t find an existing image for that today, so it was AI to the rescue. (Microsoft Copilot, just FYI).
I imagined the psalmist (David) troubled, disappointed, and overwhelmed. With good reason, according to the introduction to the psalm.
In his trouble, he acknowledges God as the one who lifts his head.
In my mind, God—as loving Father—tenderly lifts the chin of His downcast child so that the child can look into the Father’s eyes.
Those words have so often ministered to me through my favorite choral anthem, “Thou, O Lord” (this is the best presentation of this song).
My prayer for all of us this year is that we will …
Go!
Praising with all that is within us.
With our eyes on Jesus.
Be amazing in 2026, my friend.
Speaking of AI, I’ve included a little fun bonus video that I created a couple of days ago. It’s an AI animation of a still photo from our November concert with the Singing Men of Texas – North Central.
I uploaded the photo and then instructed the AI to animate it with me waving enthusiastically.
That’s it and this was the result (click to play).
It is both cool and creepy when you think about how “reality” can be manipulated.
But that’s another topic for another day.
