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.

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Breathing Hope and New Life

The most amazing thing has happened. Perhaps it's really a simple, normal thing, but nothing is really normal with me!

I've been down with a bug the last couple of days. Nothing serious, just ugh! Laying in bed for a whole day really is not my thing, even though I profess to hibernate. (That's usually just after the sun goes down).

But today - TODAY! I feel so much better and I am astounded how this affects my perception of my life and my purpose.

It's true. EVERY day is a new day, and we can begin again.

Begin again to tackle that pile of clutter that we've been pretending we don't see.

Begin again to realize that life is more than our to-do lists.

Begin again in our search for happiness.

Because that's really what this life is all about, isn't it?

We wake, we work, we eat, we sleep. All necessary parts of our human life.

But there is so much more to be found!

There is an inner joy bubbling up from a wellspring deep within me, and I know it can only be God finally getting my attention. How I've waited to feel this hope again!

For me, it was a change in my health and my lifestyle, taking the time to do what I know is good for me. Taking care of myself -- not just my health, but my inner self, which needs nurturing just as much as our bodies need sustenance.

However you find your center, through meditation, yoga, or prayer, we have to make time to be still. That time is hard to find amidst our busy lives. But it is crucial to our well-being.

I've been so well-intentioned in my goals to make time for my heart, my spirit, my center. And however well-intentioned, I was caught up in my busyness and the days would fly by with no connection to my inner self.

Now I see how taking time to nourish my inner being benefits my whole outlook on life. And the added bonus of feeling well again is like frosting on the cake!

We all have trials in our lives that pull us off-center from our place of contentment and peace. It is a battle to try to keep ourselves positive amidst the chaos that is in the world. Even more reason to make the time to find our quiet center and just breathe.

I pray you will take the time to reconnect with your inner self. It's as simple as slowing down and shifting our focus to our breath, growing an awareness of what it means to be still. With practice, in breath work, through yoga asanas, or a regular contemplative practice, we can strengthen our connection to ourselves and to each other, and ultimately with God. 

When we take the time for ourselves, we reap the benefits by gaining a more positive outlook with renewed energy. We are then able to reflect this in our relationships and our work. It is well worth the time we perhaps feel we must sacrifice from our busy agendas to achieve a more positive outlook.

Life is waiting to be lived. With peace and joy. Care for yourself. Grow in your love of self by nurturing the core of who you are. Then you will be ready to share yourself with the world without feeling depleted.

Take care, my friends.

Burgeoning New Life, In More Ways than One

A verdant green graces the hillsides, and yellow-headed dandelions spread their color over the gentle slopes.

Budding trees share the most welcome green as their tiny leaves unfurl into the sunshine.

Blessed spring rains bring this beauty to life, and we bask in the glory of springtime in Wisconsin.

It is a celebration to feel life again in our natural world. Our never-ending winter has finally yielded to a new season.

Spring has taken her sweet time to get here. Below normal temperatures delayed blossoms from showing their faces.

Stormy winds shed magnolia petals all too soon. And dark, dreary days perpetuated the despair many of us felt through this season of cold and dark days.

But have you noticed the length of our days recently? As we near the summer solstice, the daylight stretches into the nighttime hours. Before I know it, it's 9 p.m. and the daylight has only recently faded from the sky.

Today dawns warm and humid after yesterday's rain. Soon we no longer will feel surprised as we step outside into the morning air and realize that it's actually warm outside.

Spring is exploding around us! We need to enjoy every second of this brilliant green, expansion of life. Soon we will fall face first into the vibrant energy of summertime, and then there's no slowing down until the dog days arrive and force us to move more slowly.

For now, I treasure the springtime. The celebration of new life, the discovery of new plant growth and baby bunnies, and all the joys of the season.

If nature gets a chance at renewal, shouldn't we take one, too?

 "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." 

Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)

I feel it, deep within a hidden place, a quiet space, reserved for contemplation.

A pause. A deep reflection. On ongoing attempt at finding my way. 

I pray God will guide me. I know that it is His hand that has stilled me, has slowed me; and that His love will show me the way, guiding me on this path of self discovery.

"Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.  Lead me by your truth and teach me,  for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you."   Psalm 25:4-5

 
This, my life verse, guides me through all the changes in my life. I need to remember to pray this Psalm and remember its truth, and trust in the One who will lead me.

We need to be open to the changes that are happening all around us, and feel the hope that new life brings.

The promise is there for all of us, just as it is in all living things.

As the natural world sings into new life, let your heart find it's own song.

It's there, waiting to be born with the new life inside you. Nurture it, and let it grow.