A Fresh Start

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Lynn

A Fresh StartIt is the last day of the year.  Here in Alberta the temperature gauge is set at -29 C and factoring in the wind chill, it’s -40 C.  That is blistering cold!  To make matters worse, I have been experiencing a head cold that has kept me house bound for the past week.  For a germaphobe like me, this just adds insult to injury.

I should be used to our winters but naively, I still hope that one year Canada will be spared the Polar Plunge and we will experience an “unseasonably warm” winter.  Going against political correctness, Global Warming doesn’t seem to apply to us here.

Still, as the New Year is only hours away now, it’s not the cold or my head cold that has me frozen.  It’s wondering what 2018 will be like?  What awaits me this year?  What can I look forward to, and what will stymie me in the pursuit of meeting personal goals and aspirations this year?

I don’t make resolutions, because I fail so miserably in keeping them.  Still, I believe it is important to plan ahead, think “one-day-at-a-time” and pray God’s Will be done in every decision.  He’s in charge.  Not me.  It is a good thing to remember that and repeat it daily.

God is in control.

Not me.

Repeat…

A New Year should be a time of reflection and renewal.  I like to start the New Year thanking the Lord for His mercies that are new EVERY morning.  In an often perplexing and out-of-control world, HE never changes.  He is CONSTANT.  That gives me great confidence about this upcoming year.  Whatever circumstance I find myself this year, He will never leave me or forsake me.

And again, when I find myself in a circumstance, pleasant or unpleasant, that God has orchestrated to bring Glory to HIM, I must always remember:

God is in control.

Not me.

Repeat…

Amen.

 

 

Posted in Proverbs 16:9 - Journey Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Joy-Filled Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Lynn

Experience JoyThe tree(s) have been up for a couple of weeks now.  The house is decorated and we are experiencing “hygge“, the recently popular Danish expression that goes far beyond the definition of the word.  I can’t help but giggle that in the last couple of years, books have been written here in North America about how to experience “hygge” in your home.  My parents were Danish, so I understand the true spirit of “hygge”.  It truly is a lifestyle, but it’s way more than that, and it’s not just experienced in and around Christmas but throughout the year.

Truly non-Danes do not get it.

Danes, who are known as the “happiest people on earth”, don’t need to write books on “hygge” because it just comes naturally to them.  You’ve either got it, or you don’t.  Reading books on how to attain it, means you probably won’t ever have it.  Sorry.

It is like JOY but goes far, far deeper than the word itself.  You either have it, or you don’t.  You can read books on how to attain it, but if you equate happiness with JOY then you probably won’t ever have it.  Sorry.

You see, JOY is something you have within you, that is not associated in any way with your personal circumstances.  You can have great JOY without experiencing happiness.  Read my series on Finding JOY NOT HAPPINESS.  It goes into great depth about being JOYFUL in spite of hard circumstances.

Christians know that JOY is not associated with personal wealth, health, things, work, or career.  JOY is found in only ONE Person…Jesus.  If you have JESUS, you have JOY.

Some people spend their whole lives trying to discover how to fill that void that only Jesus can fill.  They think work will make them happy, or friends, or family, or possessions, or hobbies, or a host of other things that may give them personal satisfaction or happiness for a little while, but it is all transitory.  None of those things has any kind of staying power.  A job loss, a broken relationship, a health crisis will quickly cause happiness to crumble but great JOY will remain if that person has put their faith and trust in Christ Jesus.

This Christmas Season as you dash around the malls in search of that perfect gift for that special someone, why not think first about accepting and then sharing a Gift that will last for all time?  It won’t cost you a penny to give or receive, but it is invaluable.  It is JOY wrapped up in a Person.  Accept HIM into your heart and experience the kind of JOY the angels heralded on that night as Mary laid her boy-child into a manger bed.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  (Luke 2:1-14)

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Inspiration & Devotion, Proverbs 16:9 - Journey Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

Posted on November 28, 2017 by Lynn

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

I was listening this morning to the song, “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord” and suddenly I was singing, weeping and raising my hands in Worship to God all by myself as the powerful message of the words impacted me as never before.

 

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out, I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say…Blessed by the name of the Lord…
You give and take away, You give and take away,
My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed by Your name…
(words by Matt Redman)

 

Those lyrics just got to me this morning!  The entire song acknowledges that our journey on earth is not an easy one.  There are challenges, tribulations and pain along the way, yet we are to praise God in the midst of our trials.

I don’t know about my readers, but there are times when a Worship song seems to line up with my life circumstances so profoundly that I believe God purposed I hear that particular song at just the right time to encourage me or to encourage others. I especially was impacted with this verse:

“Blessed be Your Name,

On the road marked with suffering

Though there’s pain in the offering

Blessed be Your Name.”

Each of those lyrics aligns with Scripture:

Blessed be Your name                                     (Job 1:21)

On the road marked with suffering            (Job 13:15, Acts 5:41, Romans 5:3, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 1:5, Philippians 1:29, Philippians 3:8,10, 2 Timothy 1:8, 2 Timothy 2:3, 2 Timothy 4:5, 1 Peter 2:19, 1 Peter 3:14, 1 Peter 4:12-13, 1 Peter 5:9)

Though there’s pain in the offering            (Job 1:20, Psalm 51:17)

Blessed be Your name                                     (Job 2:10, Lamentations 3:38)

I have several friends now who are going through seasons of “suffering”.  One has recently lost eight family members to the horrific church shootings in Sutherland Springs.  At the memorial service that my husband attended, though grief was fresh, there was an outpouring of praise for God’s goodness and mercy. Pastor Pomeroy, who lost his precious fourteen year old daughter in the shooting, despite his own personal suffering, gave the eulogy for his friends and congregants, delivering a Gospel message that my husband said was both powerful and convicting. There was no doubt that there was “pain in the offering”, but this is a Pastor and congregation that models their strong faith despite great suffering.

I have a young friend, a mother of three young children, who is fighting Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Although that road is marked with suffering, she perseveres through her treatments by giving the Glory to God in all things and being joyful in her circumstances. She is a hero to her friends and family as she models stamina, courage and unwavering faith. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

A precious woman from our church posted a picture of her husband on Facebook the other day. He was curled up fast asleep on their couch and she had written, “Don’t leave me, my love.” His battle with cancer is nearly over. Short of God’s miraculous intervention, she will soon face life without him. How does one say, “Good-bye?”

As Christians, we are not immune to suffering and hardship. Yet we face the ills of the world from a different perspective than those who are not Christ followers. We are heaven-minded. Our road marked with suffering here on earth is short-lived, even miniscule, that has no comparison to the pain-free, glorious eternity we are promised in Heaven when we are saved in Christ.

Does it negate our sorrows now, or the grief and pain we experience while walking these difficult pathways here on Earth?

No.

“Though there’s pain in the offering”… we are called to persevere, endure, and continue to give Glory to God! We CHOOSE to say:

“Blessed Be the Name of the Lord!”

Amen!

 

Posted in Proverbs 16:9 - Journey Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments