New Beginnings

I'm not a big fan of ringing in the new year.

As a child, I always did join in the family activities. Mom would make a bunch of finger foods – I remember the pigs in a blanket the most. Then we'd sometimes play games and would always welcome in the new year with a puzzle – at least 1000 pieces, if I recall correctly.

I enjoyed the time with my family, but I also like to sleep. It usually took a great deal of determination to stay up until 12:00 to welcome January 1, and by 12:02 I would be gratefully headed to bed.

My wonderful husband and I have generally welcomed in the new year from behind closed eyelids. To us, January 1 is just a day picked to turn over the calendar.

But, turning over the calendar does make me think of something that is very important – the idea of new beginnings.

We often have a great need to start over. To try again. To have a clean slate.

I'm not a huge advocate of New Year's resolutions. They are often to broad, too long-term to really ever be kept. That being said, however, I believe whole-heartedly in fresh starts, and I think we might need to consider the need for “resolutions” that we are willing to keep.

Turning over the calendar makes a great starting point for change. But, it doesn't have to wait for January 1. It can be turning the calendar to a new month, week, or even day.

As I look back over 2009, I realize that I never really set a New Year's resolution, but I definitely saw a great deal of change in my home, family, and personal life. Things I have long desired to do I finally saw come to fruition. Maybe I finally gained the maturity I needed. Maybe circumstances were just right for the first time. Maybe it was a combination of many factors.

But, there is one factor that was the same for all of the accomplishments of 2009. I made up my mind that a change was needed, and I didn't wait to implement that change.

No longer did I wait for a Monday start date to kick off an exercise routine, to establish new eating habits, to start something new with my kids, or to implement a new family schedule. Discipline could be begun immediately, with no sense of “when ____________ passes, we'll start.”

As I began to implement my big ideas immediately, I began to see progress I'd never seen before. I was riding on the wave of enthusiasm that gave me energy to get going before I could talk myself out of it.

Whatever your goals for the new year, I encourage you to consider this – start them immediately. January 1 falls on a Friday with football games and the beginning of a long weekend. It would be so easy to wait until Monday to start something new. But why wait? Start now! Start today! There's no better time.

I pray that this year will be a year of successful fresh starts for all of us -that we will see God do things in us that He's never been able to do before because we are abandoned to Him. Not planning to be abandoned starting on Monday, but abandoned to Him now!

Are You Sure?

I just had to laugh yesterday.

You see, I love to read other blogs, and I have a Google Reader account that helps me keep all of the blogs I read organized.  But lately I have had a pretty hard time keeping up with all of the blogs I love to read.  I clicked open my reader yesterday to discover 135 posts unread.  Ouch!  Then I discovered that 75 of them were from one source...LOLcats. 

Now, if you've never been to www.icanhascheeseburger.com to see the LOLcats, you are missing a treat.  But beware - the pictures are VERY addictive!  I knew I could spend 30 minutes just scrolling through all those cat posts, and I knew better than to waste my time that way. 

So, I clicked on the lovely "mark as read" icon to clear them out of my unread items.

Immediately my computer flashed up the question, "Are you sure you want to delete all 75 of these items from your reader?" 

YES!  I'm sure!  It's just cat pictures, for goodness sake!

But, isn't that how it goes?  We are confronted daily with all sorts of decisions.  But, it seems that the ones that really press us for consideration are the meaningless ones.  When we go to say "I do" at the altar, we are not asked, "Are you really sure this is what you are supposed to do?"  When we go to buy a car, I guarantee you that salesman is not going to stop long enough to ask if we are sure.  That's the last thing he wants!! 

Yet on something as little as marking cat pictures as read (pictures that are still in my reader, by the way, and readily accessible any time I'd like to look at them), my computer wants me to make completely sure this is what I want to do.

I clicked that yes, I was sure, and moved on with my day, filtering through some of the remaining 60 posts, some of which I read, some of which I marked as read, and others of which are still in my reader waiting for me to read. 

But, as I chuckled at my computer's question, I also came to a firm conclusion.  There is one thing in life I am 100% sure of - one thing that never needs to be asked of me. I am sure that I long with all my heart to follow Christ recklessly and with full abandon.  The certainty of all else falls under that primary certainty.  Am I sure?  Yes, if it's in line with His will, then I am sure. 

New Shoes

I have noticed something lately.  A different pair of shoes can make all the difference in the world!

It's winter, and I like black in the winter.  Even if my clothes aren't black, it seems that black shoes are the best match to whatever it is I'm wearing.  I have several pairs of black shoes.  I have an old pair of clogs.  I love those clogs.  They're so comfortable, and they are so easy to just slip on an off throughout the day.  They're functional.  But, they aren't pretty.  The toes are scuffed, and the leather is cracked and faded. 

I mostly wear them at home.  I don't mind wearing them out and about on some occasions - heading to Wal-Mart or to grab some quick lunch.  But, there are times when those shoes just don't cut it. 

For those times I have a couple of other options.  I have a pair of flat, faux suede boots and a pair of leather heeled boots.  It amazes me over and over how just changing to one of those pairs of shoes can change the look of an entire outfit. 

Now, don't get me wrong.  Sometimes shoes don't cut it.  Sometimes more drastic changes need to be made and the whole outfit needs to be changed.  But, oftentimes just something as simple as a pair of shoes can make an outfit so much more presentable.

Sometimes I feel like that spiritually.  Sometimes major adjustments are needed in my life - a big lesson; a great step of obedience; a leap of faith; a dramatic change. 

But, more often than not, there are just little adjustments that need to be made here and there.  They come along on a daily basis.  Sometimes there might even be several in a day.  They are as seemingly insignificant as changing shoes, but the impact can be just as great. 

So often those little changes can mean fewer huge ones - or at the very least, a smoother transition in the big changes.

Do you feel God's nudges on a regular basis?  Weekly?  Daily?  His nudges are there, spurring you to change a pair of shoes, comb your hair, or even put on a dab of makeup.  Just little things that make big differences.  If you are not sensing the nudges, maybe it's time to slow down and listen just a little more. 

The whispers are there.  Little pricks now and then to do something or to go somewhere.  To ask for forgiveness.  To whisper a prayer.  To call a friend.  To write a note.  To memorize a passage of Scripture.  To hug a child.  To adjust an attitude. 

Just little things that, when evaluated, may seem to have little significance.  But, the results can be as great as the impact of a new pair of shoes on an outfit - a whole new look is ready to be created!

Look-Alikes

Family resemblances just fascinate me. I love to look at children and see who they resemble. I especially love to see those who resemble both sides of the family so clearly. It's amazing to me how God can take a child and instill into him or her characteristics that so greatly resemble two totally unrelated people!

My middle child is like that. She looks so much like both my husband and my sister. It's just amazing to me!

But, another tendency is just as fascinating – the tendency of children to be nearly carbon copies of one parent or the other. Apparently in my husband's family, the genes passed down from father to son are very strong. Doug looks, acts, and sounds very much like his father. And, the likeness has been passed down yet again to our son. Occasionally Steven will do or say something that reminds us that he is related to me after all, but for the most part he is his father, grandfather, and (from what I've been told) great-grandfather made over!

And just in case there are any doubts...

Wouldn't you agree that there are a few similarities?

As I looked through old pictures of Doug recently, it was a delight to me to see how alike my husband and son are. It's almost like I am getting a glimpse into my beloved's childhood – understanding him just that much more.

The consensus around my extended family is that I personally greatly resemble my mother. Although we aren't quite the carbon copies that Doug and Steven are, there are many ways I am like my mother. And, I'm not ashamed of that. I think I have a fantastic mother, and I don't mind a bit looking, talking, or even acting like her.

But, there is Someone I'd like to resemble even more strongly. You see, even more than being the child of my mother and father, I am a child of my heavenly Father, the God of the universe. Through the blood of Christ, I have been adopted into His family. My name – Christian – means little Christ. It is a reference to the very concept that I should look like Jesus – that I should be even more of a carbon copy of Him than Steven is of Doug or Doug is of his father.

As much as I feel honored when people tell me how much I remind them of my mother, I would love even more for people to look at me and tell me how much they see Jesus in me. I have so far to go. So much growing and changing to do. But, that is what I desire. That is my goal.

To look like Jesus.

Five Years

This week I had one of those moments that made me stop and ponder for a moment.

It came at the post office. 

Doug had gone in to check the mail and came out holding a white envelope with pink lettering addressed to me.  To be honest, there was nothing unusual about a white envelope with pink lettering.  I get at least two a year - one in March for my birthday and one in early December for my anniversary.  Every December the thought occurs to me, "It's a couple of weeks early for my anniversary."  Then I remember that it is not my wedding anniversary.  And, yes, I have that moment every year. 

The envelopes come from Mary Kay corporate headquarters.  I am a Mary Kay consultant.  Not the greatest one, mind you.  I really don't do much in sales.  I have one recruit, and she sells even less than I do!  Both of us pretty much want to sell enough to make sure we can afford to wear Mary Kay because we both like the products. 

But I digress...back to the envelope.

There was one difference about this particular envelope that made it unusual.  Typically I just get a card, but this time it was a larger padded envelope.  I couldn't imagine why I would be getting a padded envelope from Mary Kay this year.  I opened the envelope and pulled out a small box.  Inside the box was a pin with the number five in the center. 

It was at that moment that I realized...I've been a consultant for five years!

"You're kidding!" was Doug's response (and my thought!).  "It's been five years?" 

The realization made me stop and think about the last five years.  What has happened in those five years?  How have our circumstances changed?  How have I changed?  Am I a better person now than I was then?  Am I closer to the Lord?  Am I more effective for His kingdom?

Since I signed on as a consultant, we have moved three times.  We have been a part of four different churches, two as temporary transition points and two as pastor's family.  We have added a third child.  We have bought a house, attempted to sell a house (still working on that one), sold a vehicle, and simplified life in many ways.  We have said goodbye to several very, very dear friends and met new ones. 

We have seen ourselves grow a lot in our relationships with the Lord - and have seen how far we need to go.  We have officially welcomed our first-born child into the family of God through the joy of baptism and have heard our second child claim emphatically that the Jesus she so greatly loves lives in her heart.  We are waiting for her to hear His instruction to follow in baptism, and are praying for our third child to hear the call of Jesus on his heart as well. 

There are too many things to even begin to summarize here.  But, I don't share this to reminisce over the past five years.  I share this to encourage you to do that in your own life, in your own heart.  For me, it took a simple five-year pin.  I hope to not have to wait another five years to stop and process such things again.  I pray that God will grant me little reminders before then, to help me truly look back and see if I am growing and making progress in Him.  I pray you will be reminded to do the same. 

And, I pray you will find you've grown.

Treasured by Leigh McLeroy

My most recent book review project is actually a trio of books, Treasured by Leigh McLeroy and two books in the "God Gave Us" series by Lisa Tawn Bergren.

In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy takes the concept of collecting and applies it to various stories throughout Scripture. Although most of the stories drawn upon are the same familiar stories that seem to fill most books, McLeroy's approach is different. She takes one prominent object from each story and presents it as if it were a collectible in God's treasure chest. Sharing experiences from her own life interwoven with skillful retelling of narratives in Scripture, McLeroy shows how each item binds us to our amazing God who cherishes the thought of each and every one of us.

Treasured is a book that touches the heart of people who cherish items because of the memories they produce - a favorite childhood stuffed animal, a baby's blanket, a child's craft, a trip souvenir. It's precious to be reminded that we are much more treasured by our God than these items are treasured by us.

The "God Gave Us" books by Lisa Tawn Bergren were God Gave Us Christmas, a sweet Christmas book I'd had my eyes on for quite some time, and the recently released God Gave Us Love.

In God Gave Us Christmas, Little Cub is curious about Santa and Christmas. Wanting to go find Santa, Mama tells Little Cub that Santa is hard to find, but God is much easier. So, the next morning Mama and Little Cub set out to find God. The beauty of the book is the discovery that God is very near, but sometimes it takes moving away from the normalcy of life to have our eyes truly opened to His presence. This is exactly what Mama wanted to show Little Cub. In the process, she was able to explain to her the true reason for Christmas, and Little Cub falls asleep on Christmas Eve dreaming not of Santa, but of the birth of the King.

One additional note - as mentioned, this book does discuss Santa. We as a family do not ignore Santa, but we don't make a big deal of him, either. This book handles Santa in a wonderful way, acknowledging that he is a part of our society's Christmas tradition, but emphatically redirecting children to God and His gift of Jesus.

In God Gave Us Love, Little Cub is trying to fish with Grandpa when a group of otters comes splashing around, scaring their fish. This allows Grandpa to have a conversation with Little Cub about love and what it really means. Grandpa teaches Little Cub about the many different faces of love - love for those we don't really want to love versus love that comes easily. The special love between mamas and papas, and the warmth of a family's love. Loving when we feel like it and loving when we don't. And, finally, they discuss God's love for us, a love so strong that it led to Him sending His Son to save us.


After reading these two "God Gave Us" books, the remaining books in this series are now definitely on my wish list!

To find out how you can purchase any of these books, click on the images or on the book titles.  All three of these books were provided in exchange for my review by Waterbrook Mulnomah Publishing Group.  Click here if you are interested in receiving books for review.