January 2019 SGNScoops Magazine: Editor’s Last Word
By Lorraine Walker
Happy New Year! As we head into the month of January, I hope that you had a lovely Christmas season and were able to reunite with family, friends and loved ones. For those that had an empty chair this year, our hearts grieve with you. For those that added an extra space, we rejoice. You never know what is ahead for the next 12 months, but one thing is for sure: God does.
God knew what he was doing when he gave the Wisecarvers their talent and the desire to use their gifts for him. What a great example of the many family groups that have begun to really shine in the last few years. If you haven’t had a chance to hear them, you need to seek them out and listen to their music. We were thrilled that Dixie Phillips had time to chat with this family and to share their story in SGNScoops. Congratulations to the Wisecarvers for being our first cover story for 2019!
You will find the thread of family throughout this magazine, as I’m sure you have noted by now. Westward Road, Endless Highway, the Rochesters, and even Charlie Griffin’s feature – an abbreviated version of the history of Southern gospel music – emphasizes the role that family harmony plays in all genres, but especially in gospel music. For many of us are not blood relatives as such, but we are family because we believe in the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ. One of our lessons, while we are here, is to learn to love each other. I pray that this year, I will find ways to show love, caring, and appreciation for fellow believers. Will you join me?
As we turn the page to a new month, new year, new calendar, many people make goals and lists of how they will grow or improve in the upcoming weeks. I’d rather pray that the Lord will help me draw closer to him. But I also have to admit that I have a sinking feeling when people mention resolutions. When I look at some of the years gone by, I know that those resolutions have also gone by the wayside. Some have been shelved and others have just stalled. Do you ever feel that way?
May I encourage you, as I am trying to encourage myself now, to find your hope, peace, and joy in the Lord? He tells us that if we believe that he is our source of strength, then he will be what we need to hit that resume button on goals or plans to use everything he has given to us to be able to mature into the person that can serve him with excellence. Whether that means you become healthier in body, mind or spirit, or whether you expand your knowledge of the Lord and his word, or whatever he has given you to do this year – you can do it. The Lord will enable you to do what he has asked you to do. Find out what that is. Let’s grow together in 2019.
For more Gospel Music news Read the latest issue of the SGNScoops Magazine HERE.
