It's my first post of 2011! To be honest, I've been doing a whole lot more reading then writing. It's been great to hear about everyone's thoughts about the New Year, resolutions and goals, dreams, hopes, and reflections. It's been so inspiring and encouraging that it's kind of left me at a loss for my own words.
When I was hopeless and jaded, the New Year was nothing but a turn of the calendar toward another string of empty days. I didn't count down with excitement. I thought I knew what was coming.
My paradigm has shifted a lot since finding hope again, but the idea of a man-made calendar writing so many choices for people still bumps me a little bit. I suppose there is still this part of me with a foreshortened sense of the future - an urgency for the immediate - that begs a resolution every day, not once a year. Life's unpredictability makes it necessary for us to live each day to the fullest, not coasting on toward the next major milestone where we'll start over again.
On the other hand, I'm touched by God's heart toward mornings and beginnings. My God is a God of the new. God brings about the sunrise after the darkest of nights. The colors are among the most vivid and awe-inspiring in all of creation. It's as though it's His way of displaying the full splendor of His new day. The rainbow after a storm - colorful and vibrant. (It's a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!)
I love to see the things that make my kids' mouths drop open in wonder. Most of them are things that are new and surprising and beautiful. Their faces reflect the Father's heart. My God loves new things.
And while He makes no guarantee of my tomorrow, He does promise that a New Year will dawn as long as the Earth remains.
"For as long as Earth lasts,
planting and harvest, cold and heat,
Summer and winter, day and night
will never stop."
(Genesis 8:22, The Message)
So I thank God for another year and for the opportunity to experience a New Year. I'm in awe that there is still breath in my lungs... I honestly never expected to live to be 30 years old. I'm so aware that each day is on loan to me, and while I don't always act it, I understand what a huge responsibility that is.
While I'm not at all a fan of resolutions, I do resolve to live each day on purpose. Gone are the days of being chased along life's current in a sleepy stupor. Last year I got to test out my new legs. I'm almost ready to run.
I also have some goals for this year - physical, emotional, spiritual:
I want to hear God's voice for my family - whether or not we home-school, whether or not God wants to add to our family, etc - and see His plan come to pass this year.
I'd like to get 300 pages down on a book by year's end. Considering I still have no concrete ideas for this book, this will be a miracle.
I'd like to add fasting to my spiritual practices.
I have a goal to read through the entire Bible this year, cover to cover.
I'd like to meet some physical health goals, including improving my flexibility and participating in a few races/runs.
I want to knit a pair of socks.
I'm writing these and other goals down in the front of my Bible, so that at years' end, I can see where God has taken me and what He's helped me accomplish. I'm interested in what others' goals are, so if you'd like to post a link to your blog entry or jot a few down in the "comments" section, that'd be fun. I'm excited to see where 2011 will take us, and I'm filled with peace knowing that no matter what victories or trials we encounter this year, God is truly in control working His greater good in to every situation.
Love, love, love
Emily
Showing posts with label plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plan. Show all posts
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Don't Hold Your Breath
IHOP-KC was amazing. We had a great time road-tripping (one of my fav. things to do), and once we got down there, we went to the Awakening service at the Forerunner School of Ministry. You can watch them Online from 6pm-12am CST Wednesday-Sunday. It was awesome to get the opportunity to sit in the presence of God and receive. Life can suck the life out of a person, ya know? LOL But there are places of Oasis in the desert, and IHOP-KC was that for me.
2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
It's true. I can't really describe it any other way except that it's like coming up for air. Sometimes, in a really intense movie or conversation, I'll find that I'm holding my breath and I don't even realize it. And all of the sudden I get uncomfortable and unconsciously suck in this huge gulp of air. And it's such a relief!
I guess in life sometimes I hold my breath. But entering into a sanctuary of God's presence - there are people who have prepared the way, so all I have to do is engage - is like taking a deep, refreshing breath.
If you haven't experienced the manifest presence of God, I'd really start praying about it. We can't go too long without air. Getting into reading God's Word every single day is a huge part of that. The Bible is God-breathed. It's His Breath of Life. Like an oxygen tank for our spirits. I know it might seem boring and foreign, but that's why I do this blog. To create a community where we can all read together and talk about what we're getting, questions we have, or just know that you're not the only one chasing hard after God. Our church is doing the Bible in One Year program, and I've decided to post the listing here. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Blog to find it. I was doing another program, but I'm excited about reading the same thing at the same time as my community. I'm inviting anyone who would like to join on in. There is an oasis in Omaha, NE, taking in this air together. (Did I just mix my metaphors?) And there's power in unity.
I'm also going to post the link to my pastor's last few sermons on the importance of God's Word. Trinity Omaha I think he does a really good job of breaking it all down to where it makes sense. I tend to ramble. :) He even played with swords today in church! LOL (Annie, you know you want one...)
It's only the 17th of January. It's SO not too late to start. Start with today's reading, and then go from there. And, if you have a day off in the next YEAR, maybe use some of that time to go back and catch the first 16 days. :) Then come share. We're all in this together (insert High School Musical theme song).
God's doing something huge.
I didn't forget about my curiosity on John the Baptist. I'll come back to that for sure.
For now, thanks for reading! Love you all.
(Oh, and PS: some of you email me or message me on Facebook instead of replying to the blog, and that's totally awesome, too! I love hearing from you.)
2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
It's true. I can't really describe it any other way except that it's like coming up for air. Sometimes, in a really intense movie or conversation, I'll find that I'm holding my breath and I don't even realize it. And all of the sudden I get uncomfortable and unconsciously suck in this huge gulp of air. And it's such a relief!
I guess in life sometimes I hold my breath. But entering into a sanctuary of God's presence - there are people who have prepared the way, so all I have to do is engage - is like taking a deep, refreshing breath.
If you haven't experienced the manifest presence of God, I'd really start praying about it. We can't go too long without air. Getting into reading God's Word every single day is a huge part of that. The Bible is God-breathed. It's His Breath of Life. Like an oxygen tank for our spirits. I know it might seem boring and foreign, but that's why I do this blog. To create a community where we can all read together and talk about what we're getting, questions we have, or just know that you're not the only one chasing hard after God. Our church is doing the Bible in One Year program, and I've decided to post the listing here. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Blog to find it. I was doing another program, but I'm excited about reading the same thing at the same time as my community. I'm inviting anyone who would like to join on in. There is an oasis in Omaha, NE, taking in this air together. (Did I just mix my metaphors?) And there's power in unity.
I'm also going to post the link to my pastor's last few sermons on the importance of God's Word. Trinity Omaha I think he does a really good job of breaking it all down to where it makes sense. I tend to ramble. :) He even played with swords today in church! LOL (Annie, you know you want one...)
It's only the 17th of January. It's SO not too late to start. Start with today's reading, and then go from there. And, if you have a day off in the next YEAR, maybe use some of that time to go back and catch the first 16 days. :) Then come share. We're all in this together (insert High School Musical theme song).
God's doing something huge.
I didn't forget about my curiosity on John the Baptist. I'll come back to that for sure.
For now, thanks for reading! Love you all.
(Oh, and PS: some of you email me or message me on Facebook instead of replying to the blog, and that's totally awesome, too! I love hearing from you.)
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