New Year Challenges (Not Resolutions)

Can you believe we are almost to the end of 2017? There's always the chance that the Lord could return for His Bride, the Church, before the stroke of midnight on December 31st. How glorious would that be--to usher in the New Year in His presence and in Heaven!

But should Jesus tarry, here are some New Year's Challenges--not resolutions, but challenges--that you may want to make your own.


1. Draw nigh to God
2. Practice gratitude
3. Give it to God
4. Get rid of "clutter"
5. Redeem the time
6. Take authority
7. Love thy neighbor


For my full message, check out the Lamp Unto My Feet video that is embedded blow. This is its companion post, for easy access to the list of challenges.

May your New Year be blessed and filled with the love of our Heavenly Father for you and your family!

Devotional for the Day

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Galatians 6:9, KJV

Right around this time of year, in between all the shopping, baking, wrapping, cooking and decorating, there are so many opportunities for us to serve others--including those we don't know personally. A friend at our women's Bible study recently reminded us, aptly, that many of those opportunities are available all year-round, though we don't always take advantage of them.

Maybe that's because of "well-doing fatigue"? Maybe, but maybe also because of other factors. Sometimes it's more than just other things, like life itself, getting in the way. What is known as a "works mentality" can tire us out quickly, when we lose sight of why we serve the Lord and others. The enemy, too, has a way of moving in, telling us that we're not effective,  that we're failures, that we're not spiritual enough, we're not good enough, that it's all just a facade. Even other believers, who can bring their own struggles to the table, or other factors, can unwittingly become stumbling blocks to us, and the same can be said at times for us.

Sometimes the problem can be as simple as we are so wrapped up in well doing that we are not well being. That saying is true: You can't pour from an empty vessel.

Our beloved Lord tells us in John 15:4, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." (NAS)

Making time during your day to abide in God--in praise, in His Word, in the power and light of His Holy Spirit--allows us to love Him and to be filled with His love. Fellowship with the Lord renews us, re-energizes us, and it reminds us of the why: That what we do for Him or others stems not from ourselves or our own strength but from our love for Him, that overflows for others, both of our Christian family and those who have not yet come into the fold.

Faint not! There will someday be a due season, but before that, you never know who may be touched by God's eternal love through you.

Welcome to Lamp Unto My Feet!

But first,  a little introduction...

My name is Connie Keenan and you may (or may not) know me as the author of More Than Sparrows, One Sweet Day, Glimmers of Heaven  or any of my other Christian novels. I also write sweet romance, novellas and women's fiction. 

Lamp Unto My Feet, however, is the name of my YouTube ministry,  videos that are usually short Christian devotionals. With this blog, I am hoping to expand the ministry, continuing to meditate on God's Word, the Bible.

Full disclosure for you, in case you are wondering: I'm a born-again Christian who accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my loving Savior in 1980 at the age of 20. I believe in the Trinity--The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Jesus came as a baby, born of a virgin, and began His ministry at the age of 30. I believe He died on the cross of Calvary in our place for our sins. I believe in the unforgettable and sacred words of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (KJV)

And like all who love Him, I believe and look forward to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and eternity with the Great I AM!

So that is some background.  It is my hope that this ministry will edify and encourage you as a fellow believer, all to the glory of the Lord. Please feel free to leave a comment or send me email at lampuntomyfeet316@gmail.com. I will also be embedding my videos and sharing from the Bible right here, so keep this page bookmarked and return often.

MARANATHA!