Why I Won't Wish You a Happy New Year

In the romanian language, we have an expression:  "Curaj găină că te tai".   It translates roughly to "Take courage dear hen, I'm about to butcher you".  It is a sarcastic sort of thing someone with a dark sense of humor might say in a seemingly hopeless situation.  Well anyone that has any common sense, should realize by now that things in this world aren't looking peachy for Christians and conservatives in general.  Blatant anti-christian bias is here, persecution of christians is already happening in some places, not only in Iraq, Syria and North Korea, but in so called "modern" and "evolved" countries like Norway and Sweden.  While in the US we can't call it persecution yet,  there have been instances of oppression, and full blown persecution isn't far once things get to this point.   The chances that things will magically turn around for the better are rather slim, temporary, and made worse by lack of unity within the church and conservative movement as a whole, lack of wisdom in the population and lemming mentality.  All of these factors are being taken full advantage of by a calculated, methodical enemy that keeps his troops marching on, gradually grabbing new ground.  Even while our side stops to celebrate and throw a little party for each little win,  the enemy continues to encircle and add new fence panels to the corral, bringing closer the day when they can finally slam the gate shut on the naive masses and proceed with their draconian plans.
In the face of that sort of prospect, wishing you Happy New Year sounds rather hollow, but there are things I do want to wish each one of you.

I pray that the Lord will give you: 

Grace to stand strong,  

Perseverance to endure to the end
and 

Victory over evil
in the end.  

I pray for blessings 

on your finances,

your health,

your relationships

I pray for

protection over your families 

(that they may be kept together and protected from harm), 

especially

your children 

those born, as well as the unborn, 

and the elderly 

and 

those struggling with illness.

I pray that you might be blessed with 

True joy 

in spite of the adversity 

that awaits. 

I also pray for

the gift of wisdom, 

that you might make 

the right decisions 

when faced with tough choices.  

As one of my favorite songs says:  

"Şi câte n-aş mai vrea, o, scump Isuse,

În pribegia mea pe-acest pământ;

Dorinţele ce îmi rămân nespuse

Le împlineşte Sfântul Tău Cuvânt!"

"And all the things I wish for, precious Jesus

During my wonderings on this earth

All the deep desires of my heart which remain unspoken

Are fulfilled by your Holy Word!" 

May the Lord fulfill those deep desires of your heart 
which are according to His will. 

Eventually I will say this:  

"La Mulți Ani"... 

"Here's to many more years"

God bless all of you