MORNING - A Sacrament of Hope #write31days 10-13-16

"Morning is a Sacrament of Hope. She is a gift of beginning.

Morning looks at me with eyes of expectancy.

She slips through the darkness on tiptoe."

~ Macrina Wiederkehr, Seasons of Your Heart

What great words! And, what a perfect comparisons and reminders:

• Morning - a sacrament of hope.

Sacrament is defined as a religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church that is regarded as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual divine grace (the free and unmerited favor of God). And, hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Morning is an outward and visible sign of God's unmerited favor!!

• Morning - a gift of beginning

Each morning is a gift to us which brings us a chance at a new beginning. Our circumstances might not have changed in the night. But, we have a new chance at how to approach them with each new sunrise.

• Morning - with eyes of expectancy through the darkness on tiptoe

Not only does each morning give us a new chance and a new beginning but, it comes quietly through the darkness and shines light on our circumstances and our world with expectancy... for good to come.

I shared the following "stuckinindiana pairing" on the stuckinindiana Facebook page recently:

Some days really make a person long for the morning. Yet, with each new morning we can have hope.

5 Minute Free-For-All – MORNING - A Sacrament of Hope - write31days 10-12-16

A Moment I Will Never Forget...

If YOU were asked to describe a moment that you would NEVER forget, WHAT WOULD IT BE? You know, never is a LONG time. I've had quite a few awesome "moments" in my life. But, of all the things that ever happened to me, I'd have to say that one Sunday... a few minutes after noon... as the sun broke through the clouds & warmed my back through the family room window... would be the moment.

It all began with a dream I had when I was 4 or 5.

PAIRINGS - Go Where You're Celebrated

When it comes to relationships, I do not believe that God wants anyone to settle for less than the best!! He who began a GOOD work in you will be faithful to complete it!

“Go where you are celebrated – not tolerated. If they can’t see the real value of you, it’s time for a new start.” ~ Unknown

Some times it's time to start anew :) Take the chance... if you dare!!  

The Sweetest Sunrise

Can you imagine the joy they felt when the tomb was empty

and they heard the words...

He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen...

Matthew 28:6 NLT

The sunrise is never sweeter for me than on Easter morning!!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!!

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

HOPE, Oh, Those Imperfections 10-22-13

I'm anything but perfect - as many of my friends know. I want to be a reflection of Christ at all times.  But, face the facts, we all have times when we think, "Hmmm, maybe I should have handled that differently." When we fall, we need to get back up & immediately look to God.

There have been times when I let things that happened in the past have way too much control on what I do in the now. I've not cut those burdens loose. I've allowed them to pull me down - away from what I can be in Christ. I've accepted those weaknesses as "being just a part of me" and, frankly, settled for less than what God had for me. I've fallen down & refused to get back up.

Are there things in your life which you allow to "hang around your neck" zapping strength to accomplish tasks & goals. There's a great promise in God's Word for the times when we let imperfections affect our success. Each morning, when you wake up, claim the promise found in 2 Corinthians 5:17: 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."  

Christ is in the business of making us NEW. We ask for forgiveness & He lets OLD THINGS pass away. He gives us renewed strength daily. He lets us start over. He keeps us from stumbling. God's total acceptance of me & belief in me inspires me to be a better reflection of Him.

I encourage you to let the old pass away & start all over, believing that 

"He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."  Philippians 1:6     

Be encouraged! We all have imperfections. God is in the business of using us regardless of them. God is in the business of making us new daily when we are in communion with Him.

Linking October 2013 with The Nesting Place

 for the 31-day Challenge

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today...

Each Day...

There's something freeing to wake up each day knowing that in Christ I am a new creation. I'm not anywhere near perfect. But, I've chosen to follow the One who is. So each day....

• Each day is an empty page on which to paint a beautiful painting.

• Each day I'm given the choice to make music of the sounds in my world. I don't have to accept them as chaos but, have the choice to make them into a melody.

• Each day I can seek to see beyond the bottom of the tapestry of my life, all frayed & unattractive, and look through the eyes of God from Heaven's view.

So each day, when your mind tries to look back to form its view for the coming day, don't look back. The future is ahead. The past has nothing new to say.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

What can YOU do each day? 

I Always Break New Year's Resolutions

How about you?  Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Why or why not? And, if you do, do you keep them?

Me... I always seem to break New Year's resolutions. And, every year, I make them again. But, I don't break EVERY resolution. And some resolutions I manage to keep for months & months. One or two make it through a complete year -- now & then.  

Why do I make them if my completion ratio is so low? I believe in the value of seasons. And, that's why I make resolutions at the beginning of each year. 

In many ways, I have hated change. I've gotten comfortable with things as they are... you know, settling into the familiar good while ignoring the familiar bad (with the hopes that it will somehow change on its own). I've come to learn... accept... and actually embrace change in my "old age."  Change sometimes means a new, not necessarily awesome thing.  But, more often, change brings something better... something that brings me hope for a better day!

Ringing in the
New Year!

So every year, I decide to put the past behind me & make some changes. The last few weeks of the year (and sometimes the first few weeks of the New Year), I spend some quality time reviewing what was, what is & what I want to BE.  I make a list of resolutions & dive into them -- knowing that some will go by the wayside & other's will be revised BUT, also knowing that good will come from what unfolds.

The New Year is an opportunity to start over... to look at your dreams, hopes, desires, etc... and to make plans to attain those goals... to have a better tomorrow. 

In the words of Dave Ramsey, 

"A goal without a plan is just a dream." 

So begin making a few plans... and bring your dreams to life!

His words:

• "And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new... these words are true and faithful." Revelation 21:5
• "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
• Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 
• "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

   

Every Morning... A New Start!

They are NEW every morning! What? God's mercies! Just like it says in Lamentations 22, His faithfulness is NEW every morning. Each morning we wake up & God already KNOWS what's coming. He's never surprised! He's already at work for us... we just need to trust! Lamentations 3:22-23 are quoted so often. But, take a look at verses 20-24...

"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!'"

You know... it just doesn't get any better than that! We who have called upon His name. We who have accepted the free gift of salvation & eternal life from God. We who have claimed the name of Christ-follower, Christian. WE have his mercies & faithfulness new every morning! He's ALWAYS at work in whatever is happening in our lives. 

As we're told in Psalm 30:5b "... weeping may endure for a night, BUT joy comes in the morning." 

Linking with Ann Voskamp community today...

Life is for Sharing

A friend posted the picture below on Facebook. When I asked for her permission to share the picture & her words, she replied, "Feel free to share. Life is for sharing."

...where I learned a lot of life lessons

What she had shared with the picture stirred something within my heart:

These last couple of months, my husband and I have spent time looking ahead, after we married off our youngest daughter. However last week, I was taken back 30 years after the sudden death of my cousin's son. Oddly the only picture I took was on the starting line at Mountain Park Dragway. I stopped here on my drive out of Clay City, Kentucky. This is where I learned a lot of life lessons, so did my cousin's son, Joey. They closed the track this weekend in memory of him. 

What's happening around us in life often changes our focus.  As we enter into a new chapter, our focus is forward.  As we face a loss or radical change, often we look back.  There's no control over what will happen in our lives.  The only control we have is how we handle it.

Do we learn from what happens?  Do we grow from what happens? Do we look for good to come from the hard times?  Do we recognize & are we thankful for the "little" good things in life?

Where do we learn our life lessons?  Are we always open to learn more & become a better version of ourselves??

We need to share our lives with each other... 

• to be honest with where we are & where we are headed - Confess faults (failures, discouragements, etc.) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. James 5:16a
• to encourage others that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel that life can be at time - He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4
• to reassure others that their efforts are not in vain - For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the LORD gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart! 1 Chronicles 22:13
• to ease the burden of others - Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Life is for sharing!

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today...