Don't Wait Until Tomorrow

Sunday Scripture

and a

Song

It's finally MARCH!! For those of us living in this northern climate, winter seems endless, and it's been SO VERY COLD this year. 



So today, we celebrate that we have made it through January and February, and knowing Spring is just around the corner (or another month away, if it's a typical Northern Spring. 

Next Sunday we set our clocks ahead - really? Don't get me going on Daylight Savings Time. I love the sun in the morning, and I will miss seeing it early in the day. It is what calls me from my sleep. 

But for those who work into the evening hours, it is nice to be able to see the sun for a little while outside of the workplace. 


Let's Celebrate Today.

Let's Celebrate YOU!


Enjoy the beauty of this brand new day, this brand new month, this brand new YOU.

For YOU are a NEW beginning.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"   2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

In the New Living Translation, it spells it out even more clearly:

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 

I love the New Living Translation. The simplicity of its words brings scripture to life for me. It may not have the poetic prose of some other translations, but the words really hit home.

So DON'T WAIT until tomorrow. Tomorrow will come and another tomorrow and soon all of our tomorrows will follow. 

CELEBRATE God's new creation in you, each and every morning. 

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease. 
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning."  Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT)

We do have a chance to begin anew. Every. Single. Day. Over and over again. What a great gift!

Celebrate life and the gift that is uniquely YOU. Only you can bring to the world the precious gift that is your spirit. 

So don't wait. Let your little light shine and celebrate the gift that is YOU!



I heard this song the other day and it has brought me to my knees, literally. Don't waste a minute. Why am I Waiting for Tomorrow? Here is Mandisa, singing my heart.

Subscribers, click here to enjoy this video on my blog site.
Mobile users can can find the video here on Youtube.

Hope in the Darkness

I step out into the cool, early spring morning. The songs of the morning birds sing through the bare treetops, and the wind is still, for now. 

Great masses of snow have dissipated, and I long for the greening of the natural world to begin again. 

It's been so long since I could feel earth's life energy flowing. With this hint of spring, I find there is hope beginning to grow in my heart that once again the natural world will begin to feel alive 

Hope.

 
In the dead of winter, after months of sub zero temperatures and endless white landscapes, hope for green and growing life was hard to find. 

Truly, there was a recent day when I thought I might never see color in the landscape again.

Of course, logic prevailed on that winter day, as I knew that with the cycle of the earth, spring would return, as surely as the sun would rise the next day.

But what about those of us who are deep in the dark night of the soul? When darkness surrounds you, and there is no glimmer of light, the heaviness in your heart makes it feel as if there is no hope.

The day after Jesus died, all hope was gone. As his body lay in the silence of the dark tomb, the world outside awakened. Birds sang, the warm sun rose. But for the apostles, there was no light, no glimmer of hope. Love had been defeated by death.

They didn't know that in one more day the opposite would prove to be true. Death would be defeated by Love! Joy would surge through their hearts. They would have disbelief, sure, with the miraculous vision of a man returning from death. However, their dark night of the soul would end in glorious reunion with their Lord.

Is your soul in the tomb today, my friend? We’ve all been there, when dark thoughts seem to block out the Light. When there is no hope, only despair. No joy, only sadness.

I imagine many know deep despair, after the death of loved one; after many of the disappointments that strike us deeply in our spirit and make it seem impossible to go on.

But the sun will always rise tomorrow. And while the breath of life runs through us still, we have to believe there is hope. For nothing stays the same. Change is inevitable. Perhaps we must initiate the change. But it will happen, and hope will be restored.

On that glorious Easter morning when faith was restored, when hope was reborn, the world saw a miracle, a fulfilling of prophesy.

Likewise, life does return to the lifeless heart. When despair has us lying in our graves of hopelessness, we have to believe that tomorrow will bring hope. That our faith can be restored. It may take time.

Somewhere deep within, there must glow a faint ember of hope. Lean on God to help you breathe into that flame of life inside you. Reach out to receive His love. Let His comfort cover you like a warm blanket. Rest in the safety of His Love.

You are loved. It may be a Saturday in the tomb, but tomorrow the sun will rise, birds will sing, and life will continue its endless cycle. When you are ready, rise and add your beautiful song. The world needs you and the love only you can share.

"No storm can chase my inmost calm, when to that Rock, I'm clinging.

Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?"

Enjoy this beautiful rendition of "How Can I Keep From Singing"

and have hope, my friends.

Heed these words from 2 Corinthians 5, vs. 15-17

¹⁵ He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluation others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ as merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

You Can Begin Anew

Sunday Scripture

and a

Song

How many times have you wished for a "do-over"? In this life, we mess up. We make mistakes. That is the nature of humanity. 

God foresaw this would happen. He knew our need would be great for Him to pull us out of our despair. He knew our failures would feel like a huge weight around our necks, pulling us down and keeping us from knowing joy.

That's why He died for our sins. So that we can be free. Free to live and love and create new joy in our lives, despite our past and our shame. He takes all that away from us and creates in us a new beginning. Simply by sincerely asking Him to do so, and truly wishing to repent of our ways.

Prayer: Lord, I wish things weren't the way they are. I wish so much that my choices had not brought me to where I am now. I can't change the past, but with your help, I can change who I am going to be. Help me, Lord. Forgive my past mistakes, and lead me into a new beginning. I want to know joy and love, and I want to know You more. Walk with me through this day and always, and lead me.  In Jesus' name. Amen

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

"For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?"

Isaiah 43:19 NIV

We can be made new. Every single day. God breathes new life into us and we start again. No matter how many times we fall. He is there, to pick us up, hold us in our brokenness, and give us another chance in this life. Believe it, my friend.

Here's a link to a post I wrote about Leaving the Past Behind. I share my thoughts about how to let go of the past and move forward. We have to make a conscious choice to leave the past behind us, and learn to control our thoughts going forward. 

Tenth Avenue North has a wonderful song to remind us we are not defined by our mistakes. We are Children of the Most High. God loves us and wants only the best for us. We have to let go of our painful past and allow God to work in us to create something new. Many blessings, friend.

Tenth Avenue North - You Are More

Subscribers, please click on Hope to find to view this video on my blog site. 

Mobile readers, here's the link to view this on Youtube

I pray God finds you where you are today, and that you reach out to Him for healing. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Amen