The year is winding down and as I look at my prayer journal, I realize it has been a year on the mountaintop. God has blessed me beyond anything I deserve. So many prayers have been answered, it overwhelms me. Friends have received miraculous healings, my family is growing, my church is thriving, and God continues to provide me and my family with worthwhile work.

In late December, I began a new prayer journal and started writing the names of family members and friends for which I am thankful. It takes about three pages to write each name and the list changes daily. This is a new way for me to count my blessings. When I pen the names, I see the faces of the ones I love and am thankful. God has provided me with many blessings, but His greatest gift is His Son.

On my first trip to Africa, I sat in a mud-brick building. It smelled of hay and animals. God sent His Son to be born in such a place, among the poorest of the poor. It was a holy moment that I’ll never forget.

I may someday lose all the people on my prayer list and I will be heartbroken, but I can never be separated from Jesus. Whatever challenges come my way, I know that I will always be blessed because I have Jesus. And that’s my prayer for you. No matter what tomorrow brings, I pray you too have received the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ.