The Constant

Change.  It is such a normal part of life.  Why then, do I fight against each stage of it?  I so enjoyed a beautiful Christmas with my family this year. But my heart could not help but remember with nostalgia, when I was younger and all of my grandparents were alive, and so much a part of the family.  Then I recalled when the kids were little. Safely nestled at home.  Now one is married, and the other is 18.  Things have definitely changed.  Sad changes.  Good changes.  Endings.  New beginnings.  It is all a part of His plan.

Through all of the up's and down's of the years, one thing is constant.   God's loving care.  His provision.  His presence.  He is my Constant. 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8).

Because He is my faithful companion.  My rock.  There is always just enough stability in my life to keep my feet under me.  Because of His constancy,  I am not shaken.  I am  not moved! 

Looking ahead to 2015, I am comforted to know that He is already there.  He has gone before me.  He has plans too big and wonderful for me to perceive.   Instead, I must trust.  I must lean.  I must rely.  I do not have to figure out tomorrow.  I do not have to fret my end-of-the-year work.  I do not have to dread the job audit that is to come.  I do not have to figure out ministry steps.  Instead, I walk joyfully forward.  Smiling. Trusting.  Believing.  He is there.  He does not change.  He is  my grace and peace when all else moves.

Dear Lord, as Christmas ends, and my focus shifts to the end of one more holiday season, one more year, help me to look forward and not backward.  Help me look up to you- and never down.  Help me to rest in the season you have appointed for me.  Help me trust with ever increasing glory this year. May I rest safely in your care as a sleeping infant does upon  his mother or father's shoulder. In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Another Chance at Life

 

Ps 30:2-3

 

2 God , my God, I yelled for help

and you put me together.

3 God , you pulled me out of the grave,

gave me another chance at life

when I was down-and-out.

(THE MESSAGE:)

 

The New Year is a time  that we celebrate second-chances.  New beginnings.  There is renewed hope that we can really get what we want out of life and that things can be different.  Though most New Year's resolutions are never carried out through the first week, let alone the first month, nothing is wrong with wanting a fresh start.  In fact, God invented the new beginning.

Before man was ever created, our all-knowing God understood that we would fail.  And He lovingly made provision for our restoration, bought with the priceless blood of Jesus, the only sinless One.  He knows our every weakness and evil tendency, but He offers us the chance of new beginnings.  Not just once, but as often as we need it.

No matter how often we fall or fail, He is  always there routing us on and offering strength and provision to make it through.  He not only wants us to succeed, but often, it is Him who gives us the desire to succeed.

What are you aiming for this year?  Do you want to lose weight?  Quit smoking?  Get out of debt?  Be more punctual?  Or are your goals more spiritual in nature?  Are you striving to spend more time in prayer, fasting or Bible study?  Do you hope to know Him more in 2014?  If so, He is certainly offering you the help you need to succeed in those areas.

Dear Lord, thank you for 2013.  Thank you for bringing  me through all of the trials, hurts and disappointments.  Thank you for the successes, the revelations, the answered prayers and the grace.  Forgive me for the areas that I have failed you, over and over again.  I ask you today, O Lord, to grant me the strength, wisdom and grace to walk out of my habits and habitual shortcomings.  Dear God, help me to please you this year. Help me to set my focus on heavenly things and not be moved by earthly things.  Let 2014 be the year of greatest impact in my life.  Help me to live a consistent Christian witness and lead others to you.  Help me to release all grudges and offenses.  Be near me, this  year O God, in a way that I can sense.  I desire Your presence in all that I do.  Glorify Yourself in me and in America once again.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

The Felling of the Mighty (Christmas) Tree

"See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”  Isaiah 42:9

 

Ah, the Christmas tree.  Its twinkling beauty holds the power to mesmerize and condemn. Condemn?  Perhaps you are now questioning my reasoning.  But for me, and other neurotic souls, that tree has a condemning thing about it.  After Thanksgiving, as I ride along and realize that other folks on our street have their tree up, I begin to have the nagging feeling.  I need to get the tree up. The kids won’t even know it is Christmas unless I get the tree up.  Once it is up, I can thoroughly enjoy looking at it. But then a new nagging starts… you need to get presents wrapped and under the tree… a feeling fully satisfied on Christmas Eve when it is full of the best we have to offer that year to our children.  And then, you guessed it, the day after Christmas… it begins to taunt me once again.  I then start with a quandary… How long must I keep this thing up to make it worth all the hassle it was?  Am I a scrooge if I take it down immediately?  In our early years of marriage, when we were childless and had money to spare, I would always leave it up until after New Year’s Day, because my husband is a New Year’s baby.  I would wrap up several presents (again, this was B.C.- before children) and enjoy it until he opened presents on his birthday.  But these days, his birthday is a quieter and lower budget affair.  Thus, my conundrum.  Do I take down the tree or leave it up until after his birthday?

OK, so maybe you now realize you are reading the rantings of a woman off-kilter.  But let me ask you this- what is the Christmas tree in your life?  What is it that hangs over your head, makes demands on you and causes torment?  Is it debt?  Is it health that you could improve by making lifestyle changes?  Parenting guilt and expectations?  An unfulfilling job?  Whatever stares you down on a daily basis, we face the same questions:  What do I need to do?  What do I need to let go and put away?  Is it time to conquer this thing or recognize that this is a fight that I do not need to win?

These questions are one reason why I cherish the new year.  As today’s passages states, “the former things have taken place and new things I declare…”  There is a lot of water under the bridge.  Some of it has been awesome- milestones of our life.  Other things have been frightening, disappointing and down-right depressing.  No matter; it is in the past.  Now you look ahead with a year full of potential.  Will there still be disappointment and pain for me in 2013?  Most likely- unless the Lord soon returns for us.  But this year can be a great year if we apply ourselves and seize the opportunities that the Lord puts in our path.

Tomorrow we will talk about looking to the new.  But today- survey your life.  Pray and read the Bible a bit.  Ask he Lord the hard questions.  What do I need to let go of?  What do you desire to change in me? Let today be a day of putting the past behind you, and stirring up yourself to embrace the new with zeal and enthusiasm.

Thank you Lord, for Christmas and all it means to me as a Christian. But as I put the past behind me, I ask that you help me to know what to let go of and what to cling to.  Help me find renewed hope and strength in you.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Happy New Year!

Sherri