Humility, the Bow of the Brave

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This post from Ann really spoke to me today. May it speak to your heart as well. It is well worth the minutes to read the entire thing...

when you get to the root of some of the fears

Who said courage wears a Red Badge?

It’s just khaki capris, a black tee, I pull out of the closet for a day dawning summer, me leaving the house for the heat, appointment and errands.

I have no red badge of courage, but I’m trying to wear prayer, the murmur of the weak made strong in the breaking.

Fear can snap the brave bones… stiff twigs underfoot. I keep fumbling prayer.

Pray for courage while I comb my hair, while I slip on my sandals, while I grab my bag, the keys.

Pray for courage because driving into town, even just to the grocery for bananas, can break me.

They call it agoraphobia: an anxiety disorder which leads to avoiding spaces or situations associated with anxiety. I call it the vise, chokehold to the neck, crushing esophagus hard, leaving you wild to breathe.

In the beginning, I took medication to ease the panic that surged in the gut, wave of terror to the throat, when I was in crowds. The last fifteen years, I take only prayer.

Then open the front door and take the first step.

I do. Courage isn’t only for for the everyday wars waging in our soul.

On the way to the city, country roads long ribbons unwrapping a morning all gilded, I spill herbal tea all over my pants.

I get lost.

Then I am late. Ridiculously so.

Then I get a ticket. I think I might die.

“This is the reason…” I catch my reflection in the rear view mirror, mutter to me a blotchy mess of hives, all flaming nerves. “This is the reason why you never leave home.”

The woman in the mirror is ashen and I look into her eyes and I know I should comfort, but a sharp rebuke’s burning up the tip of my tongue… The Spirit interrupts.

“It’s really your ugly pride that makes you afraid. “Just bow in humility to rise up in courage.”

His voice comes gentle, immediately, a grace caress for the angst-twisted. I exhale, a long slow release.

Bow in humility …

I whisper that comfort to pale face reflected.

Is it pride and appearances that box our lives up small and afraid?

Who dares explore, risk, attempt, when terrified to play the fool?

It’s only pride’s hunger for perfection that paralyzes a heart, keeps us enslaved to fear.

Pride is fear’s father and pride is the kin to all cowards.

He soothes my anxiety with surprising truth: Slip on humility, make humility the mainstay of a heart’s wardrobe, and the world enlarges. Open humility’s drawer and there lies courage. Courage to go anywhere, try anything, meet anyone.

If I wear humility, I’m not afraid of the falling.

Wear humility because really what’s the worst that can happen? Exactly what has happened on a summer morning: I play the fool. Isn’t that who I really am? Isn’t that okay — because isn’t that who I am?

Are all my fears evidence of all my pride?

Jesus didn’t find courage for the Cross in the pride of who He was or bold illusions of self-sufficiency. He didn’t find Calvary courage by pulling himself up by the bootstraps of self-confidence and self-determination.

Jesus gave the world the greatest courage of all in the lowest place of all:

“he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).

Courage for the impossible can only be found in the possibility of humility because “This is the one God esteems: he who is humble…” (Is. 66:2). Courage lives in the heart of the lowly… those who can embrace humility and the possibility of imperfection … because that needy place is the place we meet God.

Humility births courage and is brother to the brave.

I look at my watch, glance at the map, find that scared face again in the mirror and the laugh, long and good, begins in the pit of my stomach where it can unknot all my fears of failure.

I laugh and breathe deep and bow low to rise up and courage doesn’t wear a red badge but humility.

And maybe a pair of pants stained right through red, everything running all down…

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The Public as Master

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Sharing a bite from the dessert of my day (my reading):

I have always thought that servitude

of the regular, quiet and gentle kind

which I have just described

might be combined more easily than is commonly believed

with some of the outward forms of freedom;

and that it might even establish itself under the wing of the sovereignty of the people.

Our contemporaries are constantly excited by two conflicting passions;

they want to be led,

and they wish to remain free;

as they cannot destroy either one or the other of these contrary propensities,

they strive to satisfy them both at once.

They devise a sole, tutelary [protective, guarding, support-giving], and all-powerful form of government,

but elected by the people.

They combine the principle of centralization

and that of popular sovereignty;

this gives them a respite;

they console themselves for being in tutelage

by the reflection that they have chosen their own guardians.

Every man allows himself to be put in leading-strings*

because he sees that it is not a person or a class of persons,

but the people at large that holds the end of his chain.

By this system the people shake off their state of dependence

just long enough to select their master,

and then relapse into it again.

~ Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

* Leading strings in the 19th century were strings by which children were supported when beginning to walk. To be in leading strings was to be in a state of infancy or dependence, or in pupilage (a ward or minority) under the guidance of others.

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Beginning By Remembering

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Inspiration and logo from holy experience

Sabbath counting.

Holy Day resting.

Week beginning through weeks remembering.

Worship of the One so worthy of praise,

Of the Giver of such joy.

Continuing a list that could stretch through eternity...

351.

Breath of fresh air

My (yard sale) TV returns to my favorite place for it:

the garage.

Our family enjoys another season of life TV-free.

Life is good.

(By the way, I consider dust a protective covering. LOL)

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Tea time

Mother and newly teen daughter once again pour the pungent tea

and enjoy warm fellowship

as we read, talk and taste of God's goodness

through the pages of this book.

(Thanks, Miss D for the cute mugs!)

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Victory

Rejoicing over the blessings of having read through the Bible in a year

and over the joy of perseverance needed to complete a goal.

I already miss doing it.

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Beauty

Opening my days and heart to the beauty of God's higher ways

as I remember Ellie.

Update on Ellie:

The surgery she needs to walk and reduce pain

has been postponed again.

This is now her third date: 26.January.2010.

Then the family will travel far from home for post-op physical therapy.

Please pray.

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Click, click

Enjoying the use of my click pen

that my daughter decorated for me as a Christmas present.

It reflects her goofy sense of humor,

her love to give of herself, her time and creativity,

and... it's actually easier to use with my arthritis.

Thank you, Love.

To learn more about the 1000 Gift List and the Gratitude Community, click on the links on the menu at the top of the blog. Join the joy...

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Beware

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Could this be our future? Paul A. Rahe's website:

Over these [citizens] is elevated an immense, tutelary [protecting, guarding, support-giving] power, which takes sole charge of assuring their enjoyment and of watching over their fate. It is absolute, attentive to detail, regular, provident, and gentle. It would resemble the paternal power if, like that power, it had as its object to prepare men for manhood, but it seeks, to the contrary, to keep them irrevocably fixed in childhood; it loves the fact that the citizens enjoy themselves provided that they dream solely of their own enjoyment. It works willingly for their happiness, but it wishes to be the only agent and the sole arbiter of that happiness. It provides for their security, foresees and supplies their needs, guides them in the principal affairs, directs their industry, regulates their testaments, divides their inheritances. Can it not relieve them entirely of the trouble of thinking and of the effort associated with living?

In this fashion, every day, it renders the employment of free will less useful and more rare; it confines the action of the will within a smaller space, and bit by bit it steals from each citizen the use of that which is his own. Equality has prepared men for all of these things: it has disposed them to put up with them and often even to regard them as a benefit.

After having taken each individual in this fashion by turns into its powerful hands, and after having kneaded him in accord with its desires, the sovereign extends its arms about the society as a whole; it covers its surface with a network of petty regulations—complicated, minute, and uniform—through which even the most original minds and the most vigorous souls know not how to make their way past the crowd and emerge into the light of day. It does not break wills; it softens them, bends them, and directs them; rarely does it force one to act, but it constantly opposes itself to one’s acting on one’s own; it does not destroy; it prevents things from being born; it does not tyrannize, it gets in the way, it curtails, it enervates, it extinguishes, it stupefies, and finally it reduces each nation to nothing more than a herd of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.

~ Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Ye who have ears to hear, hear.

{HT: Doug Wilson's blog}

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A Lake, A Leaf and Me

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There is a lake that I often visit. It's serenity and quiet draw me and I find it easier, more natural to open my heart to my Lord there. There is something about the water, the trees, the birds and even the funny, little croaking toads, that make me feel more "at home." Thoughts, tears, silence...whatever is needed pours out from me as I call upon the name of nature's Creator. And He always answers. In different ways. Often here, at the lake.

As I sit at the water's edge, trees waves their branches as if to greet the wind. The water sparkles as the wind passes over it, now here, then there, across the lake it goes. From time to time, a leaf, freed by the breeze's touch, falls, floating to the pool below.

In times long past, when my spirits were low, burdened by circumstances beyond my power to change, and shackled by my own resentments and pride, I thought of my hopes being the leaf. In my distorted and dramatic perspective, I bewailed how they, and I, had been untimely plucked from my safe and comfortable place in my wonderful tree. Sent headlong into a swirling wind, only to desperately fall rapidly to a watery death below. Quickly to drown and decay on the lake's floor. Gone. But who misses one leaf gone from a tree? Who even notices?

Recently, however, I saw just such a leaf fall. And I watched it instead of quickly retreating into my own internal dramas. It fell gently, slowly. Carefully, as if it were set down by invisible hands. And then, to my surprise, it alighted upon the water's surface, to float carefree, sailing from sunshine, to shadow, to sunshine again...taken far beyond its tree home upon the waters of the lake.

And the words became clear.

"Will you dare to let go, my precious one...and free fall, to be gently caught and carried by My Spirit, even when it appears that you are being driven towards what surely seems like imminent death (and is--death to self, death to the past) and trust that My truth and grace provide the surface tension to keep you afloat? Indeed, to carry you to places and experiences far beyond the seeming "safety" of where you have been? To go on the voyage that you could only imagine you saw possible from where you were stuck before?

"My child, will you let go, let it all go, and fall...upon Me?"

And so, I took a baby step of faith. And in a surprisingly small amount of time, I have seen changes. In me. And not only in me, but in my wonderful husband as well. Such little acts of kindness and love that I chose to bestow. Choosing smiles, looking into his eyes, asking questions about what burdens his mind, cooking his favorite dish, bringing chocolate milk as a treat when I saw the discouragement in his eyes. (I had not noticed it so much before...It's hard to see when you're not looking, really looking.) I did it, for You, Lord, and in a way, for me. But not just to change him. But to affirm that I need You to change me. And now, he has, without me asking, asked me how things are going for me. He came to an important meeting, during the work day, rather than just leave it to me alone. He comes to bed when I retire and stays as I drift into sleep, even though he will need to get back up and work until the day is literally spent. He has a surprise planned for me for my birthday, well in advance. These are...well, miracles! My eyes have been opened and I smile and do more and more from joy within. How different my life looks to me. These are the voyages of a tiny leaf...who let go.

Let me affirm and encourage you, dear friend. Cast yourself upon the Lord of Life, risk your all upon His Word, and He will raise you from death to life. He is in the resurrection business. Raising dead marriages, dead self-worth, dead relationships, dead hope...into most glorious life. Here and now, not just in Heaven. Resurrection all over.

Just ask a grace-full little leaf like me.

Offered as a gift as part of Ann Voskamp's Walk with Him Wednesday community. Join us.

The Slavery of "Freedom"

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There is an interesting cartoon by Stuart McMillen (with whom I am not familiar) based on the foreword of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (with which I am also not familiar, but the title and cover art infers that it's a great read).

I find it interesting that Orwell's warnings tend to apply more to communism dominating the nations while Huxley sounded the alarm for the dangers of capitalism. Fascinating that the end is virtually the same. It's slavery, just dressed in different clothing. At least in the latter, we who have received Christ, have the liberty to choose whether or not to be overtaken by its dangers through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Freedom isn't having the liberty to choose what you want. True freedom is being free to choose what is freeing. The good, the beautiful, the true. And this true freedom is only found in Christ.

Click here to see the cartoon.

{Hat Tip: Fire and Knowledge}

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Amazing Grace Abounds

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Happy birthday, John Newton

Here is a video bio of his life, the blaspheming slave trader whom God's grace redeemed into a pastor and hymnwriter. He was born today in 1725.

Celebrate God's grace in the life of John Newton:

• Amazing Grace, Grace Abounding: The Story of John Newton, an audio drama by Paul McCusker and Dave Arnold
• John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Aitken
• John Newton and the English Evangelical Tradition: Between the Conversions of Wesley and Wilberforce, by D. Bruce Hindmarsh
• The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce, by John Piper

{HT: Between Two Worlds}

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A Heart of Fire

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Jusitfy my soul, O God,

but also from Your fountains fill my will with fire.

Shine in my mind,

although perhaps this means "be darkness to my experience,"

but occupy my heart with Your tremendous Life.

Let my eyes sees nothing

that is not for Your service.

Let my tongue taste no bread

that does not strengthen me to praise Your great mercy.

I will hear Your voice

and I will hear all harmonies You have created, singing Your hymns.

Sheep's wool and cotton from the field shall warm me enough

that I  may live in Your service.

I will give the rest to Your poor.

Let me use all things for one sole reason:

to find my joy in giving You glory.

~Thomas Merton, "New Seeds of Contemplation"

I have been reading Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation and while I do not agree with everything Merton says, I have found many jewels like the one above. This book is one that requires Biblical discernment to blow away the chaff, but to also have gratitude for the wheat-seeds of truth that are sown in its pages.

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Good Friday

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A Man Went Free

A man went free the day You died.

Barabbas.

Hero. Macho Man. The People’s Choice.

They cut his chains

and buried his past in an empty prison cell.

Murder. Insurrection.

It didn’t matter.

But they nailed you down,

strapped you with the weight of a cross.

While he walked away clean.

They restored his dignity to him;

Free man. Pardoned. No more labels.

But they stripped you.

Gave you thorns for your crown,

a weed for your scepter

and a line in the obituary column that read: Jesus, King of the Jews.

They shouted his name through the city,

Blazed it in neon lights

and put a marquee around it.

While they drove you to the place of the Skull,

gave you vinegar to drink,

and threw dice for your clothing.

When darkness came, You bowed Your head

and died

alone.

While he celebrated in the streets

with the Passover crowd.

A man went free the day you died.

I was that man.

~ Ruth Senter

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Sabbath Seeking and Finding

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(graphic from holy experience)

As morning guilds the skies

My heart awakening cries,

"May Jesus Christ be praised"...

As morning opens a new day and sleep slips away, I awake with my sweet daughter's hand holding mine. During the night, she tenderly placed her hand in mine. With my eyes still closed, my day begins with a smile, full of gratitude for this simple reminder of the greatest blessings of life bestowed upon me by my loving Saviour. As I slip quietly from my bed, hoping not to disturb my sleepy child, my first impulse is to respond to His loving gift with a gift of my own: My Sabbath celebration of His every day blessings. A thank you note stretching over time, starting with number one and journeying to number one thousand. (Click here to read about the 1000 Gift List.)

171.

Awakening to my daughter's hand

tenderly holding mine

172.

Our Friday breakfast tradition:

Yummy and nutritious home made banana-strawberry smoothies!

(My recipe is below)

173.

A beautiful time in the Word,

of openness and sharing,

and of lingering, heart-felt prayer

with a dear sister in the Lord

174.

Five, count 'em, five

bags of hand-me-down clothes,

given by two friends,

including specific things we needed

175.

Witnessing my mother continue to be healed

of her severe depression,

little baby steps at a time,

each one bringing great joy

176.

The opportunity to work out at a ladies-only gym.

I won third place for losing the most pounds and inches there in 2008.

Onward to a more healthy me...

Yippee!

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Witnessing the truly changed life

of a friend who had been an alcoholic his whole life

who accepted Jesus Christ recently.

What a blessing! What an amazing God we serve!

178.

(papers are covering children's names)

Being taught how to love others as Jesus says to

by my six year old

when I read his teacher's note

that he had volunteered to take his classmate's punishment

so that this boy would not have to go to the principal's office.

He did this, even though this child had stolen a toy of his

from his backpack weeks earlier

and has not returned it.

The teacher accepted and explained to the class

how this is like what Jesus did for us.

The Gospel seeds were sown,

spread by tiny hands.

For such is the Kingdom of God.

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Steadfast peace and assurance from the Holy Spirit

as our family continues to experience His unexpected provisions,

all the more appreciated since my husband's lay off months ago,

still without a job with an income to meet our needs.

I am not losing my mind and that

is nothing short of a miracle from Him!

180.

The blessing of fellowship via email

with a sister in Christ

who also has the privilege

of being the mother of a special needs child...

Community across cyberspace

Smoothie Recipe:

4 servings

1 c. organic low fat vanilla yogurt

1 c. 2% organic milk (If I'm not making it for kids, I use skim milk)

1 c. ice cubes

1 t. vanilla extract

3 shakes of a box of powdered skim milk (to boost the calcium content)

2.5 T. brown sugar (otherwise the kids won't drink it!)

2 bananas (This is why we do it on Friday... a great use of those very ripe bananas towards the end of the week! Plus, did you know that you can freeze bananas? Just peel & wrap tightly in plastic wrap. They don't turn brown in the freezer. Frozen bananas are GREAT in smoothies!)

a small handful of frozen strawberry slices (or fresh when in season)

Blend the above in a blender. That's it! Serve with a whole grain item, like whole wheat English muffins, whole grain cinnamon toast, etc. so that your body absorbs the sugars more slowly and you can avoid a sugar high/crash.

Since we have a larger than average family, I make it in two blenders, doubling the recipe. And I actually put all the non-frozen ingredients in the two blender carafes the night before and refrigerate. I also set out the blender "bottoms" along with our cups and set the table for breakfast, so all I have to do in the morning is pop the carafes into the blender, add a thing or two, and zap! Done in seconds! What peace and joy is brought to my morning by doing what I can the night before.  :)

I have to mention, too, that I love my blenders! One of them belonged to my husband when we married and the proof is its fading 1970's almond color! It goes great with my 1960's avacado green blender that was passed on to me by my mother. It actually has a glass carafe, which I was blessed to replace at the thrift store for $2 because the original was cracked. We are so vintage cool at my house! LOL  Actually, I love using used items rather than buying new. It is a small, yet meaningful way to reject consumerism, seek contentment, and lessen our use of creation's resources. I'd prefer to leave it as God made it, as much as is possible.

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Happy President's Day?

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Today the calendar says "President's Day."

But it really isn't so.

U.S. Code Section 6103(a) of title 5 does indicate, however, that the third Monday in February is to be celebrated as George Washington's birthday. With no disrespect to President Lincoln et al. intended, this isn't (officially) a day to celebrate all the presidents, or even the concept of the office of president. Now, I'm not a right-wing nut-job Founding-Father-worshipper or anything, but I took some time recently to learn more about the founding era of this place I call home. And, frankly, I feel gypped by my public school education. And really annoyed at what passes today for "knowledge" about our country's history, especially the role of Christianity and traditional morality in the public square and in government. Frankly, I was actually shocked to learn that what I thought I knew often wasn't so. Some things I thought were just untrue. Some were misleading over-generalizations. And there was a lot that I didn't know that I didn't know, ya know? If you think I'm crazy or are curious, check out anything at Wall Builders. But, I don't want to go off on a tangent...

This post will be about President George Washington. He's earned it.

In the 19th century, Washington's birthday grew into an important national holiday, celebrated with festivities and speeches given in his honor. The holiday reflected the pervasive influence Washington had on our society. Gilbert Stuart's famous portrait of him was placed prominently in millions of American homes. Schoolchildren repeated from memory Washington's Farewell Address, which became an integral thread of the very fabric of our culture.

Over the years, Washington's legend grew and grew, as happens with important figures in history. Even though we've come to realize that he probably never uttered those famous cherry tree words, it was believable for so long because people knew of his impeccable character. That is what made it believable.

Then, a couple of centuries after his life, something happened to George Washington. (Or, actually, to us.) He suddenly became a man of dubious character, the supposed father of illegitimate children, and a secularist or a deist who didn't really care much about religion, Christianity in particular. The man simply couldn't have been what we had always thought and it became socially embarrassing to think of him in lofty terms. We even stopped celebrating his birthday. His name was wiped off our calendars. Better to replace him with the empty suit of a un-named, generalized President-concept. Voila! "President's Day."

Well, I never thought I'd say this, especially given my upbringing which was nothing even close to the apple pie, flag-waving conservative type, but phooey on all that! I come from a family that includes members of the Communist Party in America, current-day self-described Marxists. So, don't pigeon hole me, if you please, as some Republican reactionary. Now, hopefully you'll keep reading. (Um, I'm not one of those Marxists, by the way, just so the rest of you will keep reading, too...)

I say, decide for yourself. Don't just inhale the opinions wafting around our culture and take them for fact without a second thought. Don't take my word for it either. Do something that's novel today: READ. Read Washington's own words and those of his contemporaries. It's almost as good as time traveling there yourself. And thanks to the custom of the day, they were prolific writers. Their pens and paper were the cell phone text message devices of their day. And they were just as addicted to them then as we are to ours now.

George Washington was a man of impeccable character with a gift of servant leadership. Yes, Virginia, there really is a George Washington. There may seem like there are fewer people like this today (or do they just not get the spotlight because we're too preoccupied with the Angelina Jolie type of celebrity?), but it is for real. His greatness is not simply a matter of legend. His contemporaries recognized and honored him for his integrity. Thomas Jefferson, who played hard-ball, character-defaming politics when he ran against Adams that would rival anyone today, said this of Washington: "[His] integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known. ...He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man." Abigail Adams remarked, "If we look through the whole tenor of his life, history will not produce to us a parallel."

And consider this fact: Washington's birthday was first officially recognized in 1796, three years before his death. Hardly pro forma. One source says that many Americans marked his birthday many years before that. How many leaders have had their birthdays considered worthy of general celebration, by their contemporaries who know them, as opposed to after their death when it might be just for tradition's sake?

About the whole "Washington was a deist" thing. I admit that I fell for that. Until recently. But, as a Christian, I know that when a person compiles a diary of private prayers calling on Jesus Christ to pardon him of his sins, that's not deism. That's as orthodox a faith in Jesus Christ as you'll find. Did you notice that all the questions on the "President's Day" quiz had the same answer? George Washington. For more on the question of whether George Washington gave evidence of a Christian faith, click here.

So, let's celebrate Washington's birthday today. Because, despite the convenience of combining holidays for Lincoln and Washington, thereby amorphosizing his day into the generalized "President's Day," we lose something of great importance. The office of President commands great respect, but really it does so because of the great presidents who served in that office with great character. And if anyone deserves to get his own national holiday, it's the Father of our Country.

Because of what he did.

Because of who he was.

Because of all he believed in.

Because we enjoy the blessings of his sacrifice and wisdom, and that of the God in whom he placed his trust.

More related links:

• George Washington's First Inaugural Address of 1789
• George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789
• The complete George Washington Papers collection from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress
• The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745-1799
• What about the George Washington quote where he says that the U.S. government is in no sense founded on the Christian religion? Click here.
• Didn't George Washington own slaves? Click here.
• Primary-source material and well-reasoned background regarding the history of the founding era of the USA: WallBuilders

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Fly, Little One, Fly

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(my two little men)

Swoosh, bump-de-bump, up and down it goes as little sandy feet scramble after it, trying and hoping to make the kite fly. I watched from the deck this past summer and captured the moment on digital film. As my thoughts swoosh, bump-de-bumped within.

Are dreams like kites? Dreams for our children? Like my dreams for my child with special needs?

So many ups and downs, glorious triumphs that send the spirit soaring...and tumbles and sudden dives that tempt to despair. Oh, the journey! Yet the winds that beat and buffet are the very whispers upon which we can soar, when we remember that all is directed by holy hands of our Heavenly Father.

He makes no mistakes. His glory is never diminished. It is only magnified...through weakness.

How my heart breaks and exults in the same moment as I watch my eldest son scamper along the beach, determined to see his kite fly. How his needs have shone a light on dark corners of my own weaknesses and brought down walls of resistance within me so that I would see my even greater need of the Savior's healing for myself, not just for him. How I have been brought to the end of myself, again and again, as we peel layer after layer away of this boy's challenges, to find that the place of rest, the place of solace, is in the eye of the storm where it is actually calm.

Oh, precious one, what dreams I have for you! They cause an aching bliss that I would not trade for anything. How much greater our heavenly Father must long and ache for us to be fully transformed into the image of His Son, into all that He originally created us to be before the Fall. For we are all "special needs" people. Will we accept that we have our own neediness, lack, poverty, even greater than we know, that we might receive His provision, fullness, riches untold?

Our journeys continue, this little boy's...and mine. Intertwined by God's wisdom and providence. Only Jesus truly knows what burdens I bear. Burdens for my precious child. And burdens of my own. He knows. For He bears its true weight. And promises hope...that one day, we shall soar, as a kite flying on the wind. For now, it is enough to know that the fragile string of our lives are always held, anchored, in His nail-scarred hand.

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New Resolve for the New Year

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New Year's resolutions?

If the Spirit leads you thus, do so.

But prayerfully consider this different kind of New Year's resolution: Be resolved this day forward to steadily fix your heart, your mind, your very life upon that which the Lord is resolved. Imbibe His "New Year's resolution," so to speak, which renews every moment during all of the few years we are given to live on this spinning globe:

Thus says the LORD,
Who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters...
"Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert...
I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
The people whom I formed
for Myself
Will declare My praise."

~ Isaiah 43:16, 18-19, 20b-21

The word translated new in this passage is the Hebrew word chadash. Chadash means new in the sense of something fresh, renewed, repaired. Is this not what we yearn for in all of our resolution-making? All of our efforts? All of our trying harder? We are seeking fresh life, freedom from the stale and decaying habits of our past and the stench of our sin. We yearn for renewal, having new life replace what is dead or dying in our lives. We know we are broken, and that we cannot ourselves mend that which is torn, worn, and weak within us.

He, He makes the way. He, indeed, is the Way. And part of walking in the Way is forgetting what lies where our footsteps have already been. Instead...behold! Perceive, observe, gaze upon, stretch forward to see! What He will do--something NEW! It WILL happen, and not just "happen," but it will spring forth--sprout, grow abundantly, be full of life.

The question is: Will we be aware of it?

Or will our eyes be too full of our list of resolutions and whether we can feel righteous about checking them off?

Oh, the wilderness we trod, both within and without...in this weary world, in this skin yearning to be delievered from sin's presence. But a roadway is prepared. The way has been made before us. Living water flows abundant like rivers a long the way. For He knows our frame, that we are but dust, and gives us the refreshment of His Spirit, His precious promises in His Word, His presence. For He made us and knows our deepest longings and needs, far better than we ourselves. He made us for Himself, to be lovingly and completely in union with Him. Complete. Whole. Holy. That we might give Him the praise, the glory, the honour of which He is so very worthy. And this is what thrills our soul most of all, beyond all else.

Are we walking...this way?

Are we drinking...this water?

Are we...living?

Or are we list-making and trying harder? ...Resolutions...

The paradox is that we are to make every effort and apply all diligence. To add moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to our faith, for example. But first comes seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness...through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. It begins with Him.

For He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world. It is sustained by Him.

For we shall declare His praise. Its end is for Him.

That is His resolve.

And that is my New Year's resolution.

Now to Him
who is able to do
exceeding abundantly beyond
all that we ask
or think,
according to the power
that works within us,
to Him
be the glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations
forever and ever.
Amen.

~ Ephesians 3:20-21

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