#newyear | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘#newyear’

A Lament to Start 2021

Posted in Faith, GOD, life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #2021, #alamenttostart2021, #deargod, #lament, #lamentduringapandemic, #lamentitshealthy, #newyear, #whygod on January 1, 2021| 1 Comment »

Lord, thank you for a new day, but especially for a new year.

We come to you today, the start of new year, because you are our God, our Creator and Redeemer. There is no other like you. You were and are and will ever be … and we bow humbly to you.

We are tired, we are all tired … but you know that.

What a year our world has walked through. The new normal has affected every area of our lives from our jobs, to shopping, to school, to recreation, to socialization, to hygiene to even church. Change is always wearying, but these changes … God, it’s kind of gotten to us at times. Yet, when we look at the suffering of others, who have experienced mourning, who have experienced natural disasters, who have experienced warfare during this pandemic, we feel selfish … our new normal is nothing compared to those challenges. Yet … you know. You designed that our minds and bodies and souls work together, that we humans be together … and we thank-you for offering yourself for our rest.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

We are discouraged, we have all been discouraged … but you know that.

Lord, it has seemed that bad news has been the theme of the year. Whether it was racial injustices or riots, politics, fires, natural disasters, homeless refuges around the world and famines … we are discouraged. Our social connections have decreased and when we looked to social media for connection, anger and fear have made social media less about connection and more about division. We simply need a little good news.

” … the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1)

We are longing for loved ones, we have all missed loved ones … but you know that.

Loneliness is pandemic in our world, God. Out of fear of and protection from Covid, we have been keeping our distance from others. Our children have not been having play dates, our teens have missed going to events with peers, our young adults are missing socializing, our elders … Lord, so many are so very isolated, so very alone. We ask that this new year might be one of reunions with loved ones … we implore you to make a way out of this lonely desert.

” … do not fear (loneliness), for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

We need you … we often don’t realize or do anything about it … but you know that too.

God, we need you. If anything has taught us this in our life, this pandemic year of new normal has been our motivator. When we are tired, you give us rest. When we are discouraged, you have given us good news. When we are lonely, we only need to seek and you are there. As the doors to our church services have closed for in person worship, we have encountered the challenge of choosing to connect online, in podcasts. As all that we know of worship services has been stripped away is your plan that we come back to YOU, rather than to the practises that have been our habit, perhaps these practices have even become the focus of our worship, rather than the specs with which to see you?

“God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

We leave these heart cries with you, trusting you to gather our tears. We trust you with our sorrows and what you will allow in and through them.

You are our God and we will serve only you.

* With our first breath we cry out … crying out is a most human response. Lament is a crying out to God. It is a declaration to Him of our sorrow, discomfort, sadness. It is being real before the God Almighty, announcing to him what he already knows … it is a step of faith, an indicator of intimacy and trust. Trust to share our pain and to leave it in his holy hands. To lament is to acknowledge God for who he is, it is to cry out our distress, then it is to leave our tears, our heartaches, our sorrows with Him … an act of full trust and confidence. It is to cast our cares, our worries, concerns and anxieties on Him … for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

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2020 Reflection

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #2020, #2020reflection, #lookingback, #movingforward, #newyear on December 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

It is the eve of the New Year …

2020 … just like perfect vision.

It is interesting that it is as we look back we see the year that has been lived with clarity, perfectly.

When we look back a year ago, we had no idea what was in store in our lives, in the lives of those who we love. We did not know what changes would occur, what friends we would make (or lose), what lives would be lost (or born), what celebrations would be had, what struggles we would stand, shaking in our boots, and face … or hide from.

As I look back at one year ago, I wonder how I might have done things differently … if I knew then what I know now. What would I change? What would I do the same?

But, we cannot live life backwards. The hours and the days move only one way, forward. The learning is done in the moments that we live, and the wisdom that we gain … well it is gathered over time.

“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn”

We cannot look forward to 2020 with clarity. Oh, we can make plans, fill our calendars and have good intentions, but the reality, the clarity of this new year will only provide 2020 vision as we peer back at it, one year from now.

The shadows on the days to come will be illuminated by being able to look back. To know what is ahead of us, can only be seen fully when looking at it, in reverse. What we see is only clear in it’s reflection.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

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Come Hell or High Water

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #comehellorhighwater, #forgettingwhatispast, #foriamabouttodosomethingnew, #momentum, #newbeginnings, #newyear, #pressontowardthegoal, #whatisahead on January 6, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead”
Philippians 3:13

When one considers a new year, the verse (above) is a good place to start.

As we begin a new year, “forgetting what is behind” can be so helpful. We need to forget the frustrations, the failures, the events that caused us hurt, anger or sorrow.

It is a good time to forgive those who “trespassed against us” … leave those offences in the past, so that they do not follow us into the new year. If the trespasses are ours, it might be beneficial to make apologies, restitutions. Do something that can close the door on the indiscretions of the past year. If it is to forgive, then forgive. If it is to apologize, then do that … and move on from the past.

To “strain toward what is ahead” is all about momentum.

Momentum is “the strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes” (Merriam Dictionary) and that is exactly what we need as we move, forward, into a new year, new week, new day.

To grow stronger, to move faster means face forward, feet forward, moving forward … straining toward what is ahead. Straining like a runner in a race, not looking back, not checking to see where we are in the pack, but moving forward, determined to make it to the finish …

As we move forward, there will be times when we are in unfamiliar territory, when the demons of the past whisper discouragements into our souls, when it is simply a struggle to keep pursuing our path. It is then that we need the reminder of the next verse in Philippians 3:

“I press on toward the goal
to win the prize
of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus”
Philippians 3:14

The reminder of this verse is that our pursuit is for a goal which has been seeded by God himself, and if he places the seed within us, well, it will grow … come hell or high water.

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The Hand of God

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #fearoftheunknown, #godknows, #newyear, #putyourhandintogods, #thegateoftheyear, #thehandofgod on January 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Walking into the new year is kind of like standing at the mouth of a cave. You cannot see how deep it is, for the darkness hides it’s path.Though your voice comes back to you in echoes, it is never discernible as to how far or through how many twists and turns into the cave it has travelled.

There is only one way to move through the cave … take a first step.

When we are faced with a long trek, with little knowledge of where we might end up, or what we might encounter on our way, we can be temporarily paralyzed by our fear of the unknown.

I was introduced to a poem, recently, that touched my experience of fear of the unknown, fear of making a mistake.

Written by Minnie Louise Haskins, it was read by King George VI in his Christmas Day message in 1939, as the world feared the beginning of another war. Though Ms. Haskins titled it, “God Knows” it has become more commonly known as “The Gate of the Year.”

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied,
“Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!”

I know that, for me, I can be so cautious that I do not move forward at all. Yet, I live with the certainty that I never take a step alone, that I always have the support, the protection and the companionship of God himself.

As we move into the uncertainties of a new year, may be put our hands into the hand of God.

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Golden Opportunities

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #anewyear, #dountoothers, #goldenopportunities, #happynewyear, #newyear, #newyearday, #newyearsresolutions, #resolutions, #thegoldenrule on January 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

There’s barely yet time to have made any mistakes.

The new year has arrived in the midst of festive partiers, snoring grampas, stormy seas, soft fallen snow …

It has arrived. With it comes the temptation to make plans and promises, vows and verdicts, restorations and resolutions.

We make lists, and choose a word, and make dedications and say prayers … all in the act of making promises for this new year.

What if we just start with today,
followed by tomorrow,
each day vowing to
live the opportunities
that we are given?

What if we get to know the name of our daily barista, cashier, janitor or garbage man, our neighbour? and say it when we speak to them.

What if, rather than rant on social network about how the government treats refugees, veterans, women, homeless … we roll up our sleeves and do what we want the government to do?

What if, rather than complain about our jobs, we look our co-workers, our boss in the eye and say I am so thankful for you, for this place to earn my living?

What if, rather than complain about how little is done around the house by our kids, our spouse, we look them in the eyes and say thanks when we catch them doing something?

What if, rather than complain about men, women, millennial, seniors or children, we just treat all people as we would like to be treated?

What if we just live this year with one goal, a one-item list, and re-live it each day of the year, as each day provides us opportunities to fulfill it?

“In everything,
treat others as you would want them to treat you”
Matthew 7:12

There can be no greater goal, no better rule, than that which is gold.

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Stripped Down

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #goodbyesin, #hebrews12, #isinandfallshort, #newyear, #strippeddown, #throwoffwhathinders, Resolutions on January 7, 2018| 1 Comment »

It has been happening again …

the obvious sense of God’s intentional stalking of my heart and thoughts, reaching into my very being, taking me on a journey that will test my preconceived notions beyond anything I could ever imagine.

God has been leading me to a variety of teachings, on a specific topic, but he keeps bringing me back to Hebrews 12.

And it all starts with ~~nudity~~ choosing freedom.

“let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”

I’ve gotta admit … I am not so comfortable talking about my sin. I can talk about the sin of others, or the sins of my past, but … present sins (yes, sins, as in plural) … kinda gives me the heebie jeebies.

It kinda makes me feel … naked, exposed, stripped down.

when sin is exposed, and we feel exposed

It is as if the sin becomes us, we become the sin. As if the light that illuminates our wrong way of living, shines a spotlight on our very selves, our very souls …

But, to “throw off” our life-hindering sin, it has to come to light, so that we can live.

dark to death
light to life

So, we are to throw off this hindering sin. It is hindering because it becomes like heavy baggage, resulting in bitterness, sorrow and feeling stretched and weighed down. To throw it off means to move on,

And to move on … well, isn’t that what we need to do? Isn’t that what New Year’s resolutions are all about? moving on from the old, and toward the new?

This stalking by God, that I have been sensing … it is all about moving on, it is all about throwing off the sins that are hindering,

but first, I have to call a spade a spade,
and admit that I sin,
so that I can strip it from my life.

Day one, the journey has begun.

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This Year and the One to Come

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #2018, #farewell2017, #happynewyear, #newyear, #nomistakesyet, #thisyearandtheonetocome on December 31, 2017| 2 Comments »

This day begins with it’s end in view … with the start of tomorrow, a new year is also in view.

This change of a year in a day causes our thoughts to drift back, to drift forward in a constant hither and thither movement.

We look back, over the past twelve months, and smile at the times that have left an eternity of warm and pleasant memories for us to live the rest of our lives. We also look back and sights we remember what we wish we could forget, what we wish had not been part of the narrative of this past year.

But we also look forward, with the hope of Anne of Green Gables, who stated:

“Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet.”

So, as we prepare to bid adieu to 2017, let us hope and dream, let us love and squeeze every bit of opportunity to do well to our fellow Earth travellers, to inhale the wonder of each new day, and to not waste a breath we have been so graciously given.