My verse is Hebrew 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of 
things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I picked this verse for the year, 2021, because this year could be hard or easy but no matter what happens, we should trust God for His best for us. We cannot see the future but we have this faith in Jesus living in our hearts. We are assured that even though we can’t see Him, He is there, and we are going to be okay.
Latu – Conqueror, Aldan Union Church Explorer Girls
“Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in your
book we’re all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
The Lord has seen the parts of me that no one else has witnessed. He is the one that knows me better than I know myself. He sees the truth of my thoughts, words, and actions. And still, with seeing even the darkest parts of my soul, He has taken the time to write out my life’s plan. I take comfort in knowing that He already knows my path. I can go to Him when I feel anxious or worried about the uncertainty of my future.
Paige – Conqueror, Aldan Union Church
Psalm 16:11 – “You make known to me the path of life; 
in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
What beautiful promises are found in this short verse of scripture. God promises to make known to me, (little old me) the pathway of life. The path of the life that He has already preordained and predestined that I would live by His grace. Within the promises, there’s an implication that this pathway of life, is where true completeness and joy is found. This pathway is in the presence of my heavenly Father, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy and pleasures of dwelling with Him forever.
This verse comforts my soul with a wave of peace and liberation from worry. It reminds me, that no matter what my journey brings…fears, challenges, and tears…that if I stay within the boundaries of the path of life God has ordained for me, I need not worry. Why? Because the Lord has already marked out my path. In fact, I can rest in His presence with confidence, knowing I am transformed and refined with the fullness and completion of His Holy joy…forevermore. Amen!
Gabby – Conqueror, Aldan Union Church
I enjoy seeing the ocean and watching the waves roll in and out. It not only causes me to think of the ocean’s vastness and its hidden wonders, but also of the depth of Jesus’ love for us demonstrated on the cross; unfathomable and full of hidden riches.
The hymn by Samuel Trevor Morris expresses it so well:
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free,
rolling as a mighty ocean
in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me,
is the current of thy love;
leading onward, leading homeward,
to thy glorious rest above.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Spread his praise from shore to shore;
how he loveth, ever loveth,
changeth never, nevermore;
how he watches o’er his loved ones,
died to call them all his own;
how for them he intercedeth,
watcheth o’er them from the throne.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Love of ev’ry love the best:
’tis an ocean vast of blessing,
’tis a haven sweet of rest.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
‘Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me;
and it lifts me up to glory,
for it lifts me up to thee.
As we approach the week where we commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross, which fully paid for all our sins, remember He did not stay dead but rose from the grave to give us eternal life forever with Him. Then, take time to meditate on His great love given freely to us!!
So much is going on in our world today: Economic uncertainty, 
political unrest, natural disasters, pandemic, limited vaccinations, job insecurity, and on and on.
We all could get very depressed if these things were our only focus.
Praise God, believers in Jesus Christ, have a future and a hope! God is on the throne and He is in complete control of everything!!
Instead of focusing on the things happening around us, focus on God’s grace, mercy, and faithfulness – which are new every morning!! Great is His faithfulness!!
Lamentations 3:21-26:
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.