Fresh

So here we are.  2015.  No going back.  How have the first few days been?

 

I love how God gives us new beginnings on a regular basis.  I like how every sunrise means that yesterday is over and a brand new day has arrived with no mistakes in it.  Yet.  Every week is a chance to eat better or start my exercise routine ... again.  Every month brings another milestone; another celebration; another season.  And every new year represents hope and opportunity. White snow with no footprints in it yet.  A blank page.  Fresh soil.

I hope to run more. Read more. Write more.  Learn more.  Laugh more.

 

I want to memorize more scripture.  Clean out closets.  Live more simply.  I hope to make another attempt at growing a little garden. Key word: attempt - as Scotty rolls his eyes.  He tries to convince me every year to buy fake plants.  I don't appreciate his lack of confidence that I'm for real going to water it this time!

 

Our family will have big changes.  Good changes.  We will make wonderful memories.  I plan to enjoy my coffee and watch more sunrises.  I want to spend time out doors and explore places I've never seen in our area.  I want this to be the year that we finally go to Disney Land!

I may or may not accomplish one or more things on my list.  They are all good things, but life may get busy or I may get distracted and spend too many weekends watching Friends (yay for Netflix!), instead of going outside. Even if I don't reach my goal weight or go to Disney Land, even if this year is full of challenges - and no doubt it will have some - one thing I am sure of:

God is in control and every little thing is going to be okay.

When in doubt?  I have to but remember the times He has been faithful in the past.  When I am disappointed in myself, I will need to remind myself that His mercies are new every morning.  And equally as important, I need to live thankful.  

"Morning by morning new mercies I see.  All I have needed thy hand hath provided.  Great is your faithfulness, Lord, unto me." - Thomas Obediah Chisholm

So, dream big for 2015.  Make goals and plans.  Take the first step towards that thing you've always wanted to do.  And if things don't work out exactly as planned - God already wrote a fresh start for tomorrow.  

May 2015 be a sweet adventure!

"Cannon Baaaalll!"

 

Remember when we were eight years old and could spend the whole day in the pool?  The mom's would soak their feet at the edge and talk while we practiced jumping in or diving for those bright colored diving sticks.  I learned to do handstands in between underwater tea parties and games of Marco Polo. Our mom's would have to threaten to get us out of the pool to eat lunch and then torture us by making us wait 30 minutes before getting back in, "or else you'll get a cramp and drown".

Remember that one boy?  He'd taunt us with endless splashing, enjoying the squeals and screams as we covered our faces.  Finally he'd get out of the pool and we'd go back to our giggling and games.  Then you'd hear it.  Running feet.  Mom's calling out to "walk before you slip and fall!".  And then the yell, "cannon baaaalll!", as he plunged into the pool, arms wrapped around his knees, bottom first.  We'd gasp and quickly move away from the tsunami.  The moms would scold as they scurried away from the edge, grabbing towels or hovering over food and babies.  The splash disrupted the entire pool, reaching as far as the picnic table.

2014 was a canon ball.  I was enjoying my time in the pool and the warmth of the sun.  There were celebrations and parties; the Grand Canyon and Utah and Colorado; family and friends and good food.  Calm waters.

 

The tsunami of 2014 disrupted my pool party and left me kicking and flailing, trying to regain my footing.  Gasping and struggling for air, I was in over my head.  The waves seemed to keep coming, shoving me to and fro.  I couldn't find which way was up and I did not know what to do.  Spent.  Weary.  I was clinging only to what seemed to be a worn thread of a promise: "God is always good and you are never alone".

 

And then one morning, the sun came up.

Have you ever seen the sunrise after a storm?  After a night of howling wind, pounding thunder, and pulling covers over your head, the morning wakes to stillness.  The earth is mushy; branches and washed up debris litter the ground.  But look up.  Always. Look. Up.  The sky is beautifully painted a mixture of oranges and pinks, promising the arrival of the sun.  Calm. The dark clouds are gone.  You close your eyes.  Birds are singing.  A gentle breeze kisses your face.  Inhale.  The ground smells fresh, ready for new growth.  It smells like hope.  You smile because you are still standing.  There is some rebuilding to do; things may never look the same - they are not supposed to.  It's a new beginning. 

We can't focus on the hurts and mistakes and failures that are behind us. We can only fall forward until suddenly we discover we are running again.  I couldn't be happier to leave 2014 behind.  The waters have washed away the old and the new is coming.  And it is going to be good.

 "...But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

Five-Minute Friday: Ready

I don't know about you, but I'm so ready for cool nights and hot drinks; pumpkin pie and warm sweaters!  Summer has been lovely, but I'm ready for the change of seasons and snuggling up, safe and warm. 

And then there's those other changes.  The one's we're not so ready for.

Saying goodbye.
Letting go.
Sending our babies out into the world.
Growing up and aging.

We all face that one thing at some point in our lives.  You know.  The one we dread.  It rudely interrupts our blissful season without so much as asking if we are ready or not.  It just barges in, too soon.  Your one thing is probably different then mine, but we have this in common: a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).   

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. -Isaiah 41:10

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. - Isaiah 43:18-19

And there are a hundred more promises.  Verses we know well.  They are for you, you know.  It's so much easier to quote them and believe them for someone else. I'm telling you and I'm telling me - let's believe them for ourselves in the changes we may be facing ahead.  We are never alone and we are always loved.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:6

I'm linking up with other lovely ladies over here.

Where is 'there' anyway?

 

“Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise."    - C.S. Lewis

I used to think 40 would be the ideal age.  Hopefully by then I would have gained some wisdom through experience.  I wouldn't be too young and I wouldn't be too old.  I envisioned my 40-year-old self to be confident, not caring much what people think.  I would have 'arrived' when I turned 40.  Funny, that's how I felt about my 20's when I was a 12. 

Sigh.  I'll never get 'there'.

Where is 'there' anyway?  Is it when I am like the person I look up to most?  Is it when I am thin enough?  When I have a perfect marriage?  When I have thousands of people reading my blog?  When we have too much money at the end of the month?  Is it when I have read the Bible through in a year and memorized enough scripture?  Or maybe when I can pray for 30 minutes (more like 10!) without my mind wandering or dare I say, dozing off?

I will be 'there' when I am consistent with my routines. I will lay my head on my pillow every night with a smile, knowing that I have thought of others above myself.  My weekends will be full of community service projects, gardening, bbq's and reading until knowledge spills out of my ears.  I will know the right thing to say and do in every situation.  My life will a picture of perfect health and tranquility.

If this describes you, then congratulations!  You have arrived.  One day I will never get there. At least not in this life time.

I read a quote recently that has stuck with me:

  "The kind of life you want lies on the other side of death." - Jennie Allen, Restless

Ain't that the truth?

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit ... Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. - Jesus, John 12:24-25

 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me.  The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.  - Galatians 2:20

I hate dying.

If I want to be fit, I have to let my cravings for all things yummy die and give in to discipline and daily exercise. I know, I know, there are healthy foods that are yummy, but just go with me on this one. Okay?  If I want a strong marriage then I must let my expectations and my desire to always be right die. ... Even if I am always right!  Are you getting the feeling that I still haven't learned?  Good.  You would be correct.  I have to die to selfishness and laziness if I want to have meaningful relationships and a productive life. Sigh.  Do you understand my dilemma?

Ultimately, the perfect life I am craving is on the other side of eternity.  On the other side of death - Heaven.

Nope.  I'll never get 'there' in this life.

So I am going to stop chasing 'there'.  Because 'there' has already been promised to me.

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" - John 11:25-26

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going ... I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:1-4, 6 (ESV)

What I can do is be here.   I believe 'here' is about this:  

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12

'Here' is about being present and available today.  It's about being slow and meaningful in the ordinary.  When I am 'here', I am alert, awake ... aware.  The surest way to be these things is to be grateful for where I am right now.  In this moment.  Good or bad.  Instead of chasing an elusive extraordinary life of perfection, I can "...stop running and kneel"(Chasing God by Angie Smith). 

“Running hard after an extraordinary life turns out to be chasing a lie. The realest extraordinary is always found in the ordinary. The extra everyone’s looking for - it’s found in ordinary.” - from Ann Voskamp's blog

Photo found on angiesmithonline.com

I can just walk with Him without trying to measure up.

The truth is that 'here' is messy.  It is imperfect.  It can be ugly.  It can be just plain hard.  But hope makes the hard bearable.  And our hope is not in the things here that can be seen.  My hope is not in behaving or in being perfect.  This is good news, else I would be utterly hopeless!  

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. - 1 Corinthians 15:19

 So, who else is ready to give up on perfect?  Let's live the ordinary with the hope of all that is promised to us when we get 'there'.