New Beginings: Mornings

Are you a morning person or a night one? I’m a morning person, so naturally the theme of New Beginnings makes me think of morning—the beginning of each new day. I love mornings, they always have a freshness to me as if they hold a secret promise of great things that might happen as the day unfolds.

Some years ago as I was researching and writing my book on prayer, I came across so many passages in the scripture where one Bible character or another rises early in the morning to do something God had called them to do that day, or to seek God in some way. Here are some examples, just to list a few:

Abraham rose early the day he planned to offer Isaac as a sacrifice according to Genesis 22:3. He rose early again the day after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and he hurried to a place where he could look down on the cities to see if they had been destroyed or not. (Genesis 19:27-28)

Joshua rose early to travel to the Jordon before he crossed over. (Joshua 3:1)

David rose early to obey his father Jesse and take supplies to his brothers in battle. (1 Samuel 17:20)

God instructed Moses to rise early when he was to stand before Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go. (Exodus 8:20)

… and on and on it goes. If you look for this pattern in the scripture, you will find it.

So, what’s the lesson here? Is this bad news for those of us who do not care so much for mornings and need a little time and maybe a cup of coffee before we can even begin to embrace the new day? I don’t think so. I don’t think the Biblical point is to love mornings as much as it is to get on with whatever God has for you to do in life. In the Bible times, before electricity, if they were going to apply themselves in whatever action they felt God had asked of them, they’d better not waste any daylight; they better get on with it.

Today, doing what God has asked of you may require staying up late instead of rising early. But the point remains--embrace the day! Or rather, embrace what God is calling you to do, and get busy doing it, whether that means getting up early or sleeping late because you stayed up late the night before.

Me? I prefer getting up early. I love mornings. The scripture has a special blessing for mornings in Lamentations 3:22-23 which tells us that God’s mercies are new every morning, and his compassions never fail.

 

Through my Kitchen Window

It's the beginning of  a brand new year! I, like many of you, look toward it filled with hope for all things good to happen. I have read posts on Facebook and blogs from many people who were making comments about how 2017 was a challenging or difficult year, and how they were glad to see it go and hoping for a better 2018.

Well, that's not my story.

2017 was a good year for me. My family stayed in good health, safe from harm, and gainfully employed. My youngest completed his freshman year at Union University where he is happy as a clam. His joy was topped off by two events in the fall of 2017--he was initiated into the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and his sweet girlfriend (a year younger) followed him to Union. My grandson was baptized in June, and my second son and his family welcomed my first granddaughter. They traveled to Hawaii to adopt her and brought her home to Memphis. She is so precious! (She was actually born/ adopted in the fall of 2016 and turned a year old this year. She is beautiful, happy, and thriving.)

And my writing stayed blessed. I continued to pen articles and devotions for a variety of magazines, and had two new books, The Whisper of the Palms and Glimpses of Prayer released. Also, a book my husband and I have worked on for several years made it to the committee of a large, Christian publishing company and we go onto 2018 filled with the hope that we will be offered a book contract from them. (More on that later, if it comes to fruition.)

So, no, I'm not hoping 2018 will be better then 2017, just different--full of other wonderful blessings! Here is my prayer for you in the coming year:

May the Lord bless you and keep  you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.

Devotions

This devotion first appeared in The Secret Place by Judson Press in their winter 2011-2012 issue.

New Year…Same God

Read: Hebrews 13: 5-8

 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NASB)

 

As I drove past a neighborhood church sometime last January, I couldn’t help but notice the sign in the front of the church. “New Year…same gracious God” were the words written for all passersby to see. What a comforting thought!

 

We live in a fast paced world. Change happens everyday in every area of our lives.  We face new breakthroughs in science, new gadgets to posses, new occurrences around the world, and technologies to learn. Why, just as we think we have mastered the computer, there are iphones, ipads, blackberries, kindles, and all sorts of other things to figure out. 

 

My children have words in their vocabulary that I never heard of when I was their ages. When I was a child, a mouse was a small rodent that one tried to avoid. And a pad – now that is an evolving word if ever there was one! To my parents a pad was either a cushion or a small tablet of paper. To my generation it was also a person’s apartment, as in “Hey baby, do you want to come over to my pad?” But today, a pad is a place on which your mouse rests (your computer mouse; that is.)

 

Amid all of the rapid change, our existence has become, isn’t nice to know the Lord never changes?  Hebrews 13:8 tells us that He is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever! Thank you Lord for this truth!

 

Prayer: Father in Heaven, we are so grateful that you are who you are. You have been the same since the beginning of time and we know you can be trusted with our changing tomorrows. In Your Son’s name, Amen

 

Thought for the Day: We may be facing a new year, but we are facing it with the same God who saw us through the previous one!