Happy New Year

 Another year begins.  How quickly they seem to pass.  2011 was a hard year for this old planet.  History will probably show that it wasn’t a whole lot worse than many years have been, but it’s the one we’re closest too, and it did have its challenges.  Now we look to the future, and despite the dire warnings that surround us I’m looking forward to a very good year.

This will be the year, the purveyors of gloom would have us believe, when the Euro collapses, gas and energy prices skyrocket, and our almost friends in the Middle East finally turn on us.  To top it off the Mayans are warning that the world will end.  That’s a lot to look forward to.  For some odd reason humankind likes to focus on the negative, so predictions of doom always seem to get more attention than they should.

This is all a little much for me and all out of my control, so my New Year’s resolution is to spend less time worrying about things I can’t change and more on things that I can, like raising more money, building more houses, making peace with North Korea.  OK, the peace thing may be a stretch, but we’re not done trying.

I am looking forward to a very good year for the Fuller Center for Housing.   We will celebrate our seventh anniversary this year, and that’s Biblically momentous.  Seven is an important number to religions of all stripes, and we’re going to celebrate just the way an organization like ours should, by getting families into decent houses—700 families in 700 days.  We’ll actually do more than that, but 700 in 700 has a nice ring for a 7^th anniversary.  It also takes us through the Mayan end-of-world date, so it’s rich with faith and optimism.

As the old year ends I’d like to thank all of our partners around the world whose dedicated service and gifts of resources and time make this ministry possible.  I feel blessed to be able to work with people of such kindness and goodwill as those who come together with us to make decent shelter a reality for families around the world.  We may not be able to solve all of the world’s ills but we are making a profound difference in the lives of families, one house at a time.  May the good Lord continue to bless our efforts.