Over the last few days, I have been thinking about my word for the year.  It’s so hard to limit myself to just one, with so many great word possibilities out there, but I find comfort in the fact that if I get a good handle on one word, I can take on a new one.  I was also thinking last night about something I did for a while many, many years ago.  I was in a very boring temp job just after graduating from college, and I felt like I was making any progress in life.  I started naming the days.  For example, I would rename Monday “Joy” and then my eyes were opened to all the sources of joy that came to me that day.  Another day, I named “Surprises” and since that’s where my focus was, I noticed some happy surprises throughout the day.  Remembering that I have named days before made naming a year a little less intimidating.  So, without further stalling, my word for 2010 is..

Gifts!

This word has so many lovely connotations for me:

• The gifts I see in others and how to encourage them
• The gifts God has given me and how to discover and us8e them more
• The gift each new day offers
• The many gifts God has given us in Christ, in his Word, and in a million other things large and small

There are lots of verses in the Bible that deal with gifts.  Check out Ephesians 2: 8-9:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works so that no one can boast.

This verse has been such an encouragement to me!  I believe it refers not only to the grace of salvation, but also that God’s grace is available to us to save us from whatever we need saving from–whether it’s a bad habit or a wrong way of thinking.  God’s free gift of grace enables us to overcome!

Here is another verse that I love that deals with the gifts God gives us.  See Ecclesiastes 5:19:

Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work–this is the gift of God.

The ability to enjoy what we have is a precious gift from God.  I am very excited about gifts today–maybe it’s carry over from Christmas, but I don’t think so.  I am beginning to envision myself, the people in my life, the coming days, the coming moments as bright and shiny wonders just waiting to be opened.

I seem to have an annual freak-out during the week after Thanksgiving.  I become stressed and overwhelmed in planning and scamming for the “perfect” Christmas.  I want to bake everything and have my cookies turn out magazine-cover beautiful.  I want to find everyone on my list a gift that will change his/her life.  I want to make gifts.  I want to decorate creatively.  I want to find unique ways to tell, show, and demonstrate the meaning of the season, and let the important people in my life know how much they mean to me.

This only lasts a few days to a week.  Then, I come to my senses.  I realize that Christmas is a special day, but it is just one day, and I am not going to single-handedly make or break anyone’s Christmas.  The pressure fades.  I have also been thinking this year about some of my favorite memories of Christmas past–and you know what they all have in common?  The moments that are most memorable to me were all unexpected, unplanned, and spontaneous.  That really takes the pressure off!

I would like to share a few of those memories with you.

• A few years back, my grandmother lost her brother just a few days before Christmas. This was especially difficult for her because he was her last close living relative.  On Christmas Eve, I was on my way to see my boyfriend (now husband) and decided on a whim to stop and see my Grandma first.  All of the family would be with her on Christmas Day, but she was alone on Christmas Eve.  She was so happy to see me!  We had a nice visit at her kitchen table, eating her Christmas cookies and candy.  We sang some Christmas songs together from her hymn book, and I watched her open her the gifts my mom and aunt had put in her Christmas stocking earlier.  It was good for both of us, and a good time–one of those special moments when I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.  This visit was also nice because on the actual Christmas Day, she is busy preparing food and serving 30-40 family members dinner, so a moment to visit is rare.  This special Christmas Eve we had together is one of my favorite memories.
• Another favorite memory goes back quite a bit further.  I was seventeen and my older brother and I were having Christmas with my dad.  My parents hadn’t been divorced for very long, so holidays were still a little difficult and awkward as we tried to find our way between old traditions, new traditions, and a new way of being a family.  I remember the three of us were gathered by the fireplace in my dad’s newly finished house.  My dad had a bottle of sparkling grape juice (it might have been champagne–not sure) that he opened, and the three of us had a Christmas toast.  That year, my dad had carefully shopped and selected special Christmas gifts for my brother and me.  This was a great surprise because my dad is normally one to give money, and I was touched that he had taken the time to think about what we might want and to go shop for us himself.
• One more to share–this was especially a fun one.  When I was single and renting a house by myself, my mom bought me an artificial tree one year before Christmas.  It was so exciting to me to have my own tree and own decorations!  I didn’t have very many Christmas ornaments, so I went on a shopping trip to some special stores and bought the ornaments that I thought were especially beautiful to adorn my tree.  I still have those ornaments, and when I see them they bring back the joy of that first Christmas tree I decorated on my own.

God has such neat plans for us, even when we are unaware.  Let’s not get so caught up in our own plans and holiday doings that we miss the wonder and joy of unexpected moments of joy.  I was reminded when watching the news the other day, that for many, many people, the Christmas season is a time of depression and loneliness.  I pray that we will all be sensitive to how God might use us to strengthen and encourage others during this season.

Two short months ago!

We have had Scout the wonder puppy for about two and a half months now, and in that time, he has literally tripled in size!  It is a growth spurt that is hard to miss, and it makes me consider my own growth as a Christian.  There are times, when it’s been obvious, but a lot more times when it felt (and looked) like nothing was happening.  As we press on to know God and reveal his love to others, we are changed.  We mature.  Every time we wait patiently.  Every time we cling to faith and refuse to give way to fear, we grow.  Isn’t that good news?

In my time with the pup, I have read bits and pieces and chunks of many books on puppy training.  One in passage in particular stands out in my mind because it addresses the command, “come.”  I feel like if I have a little puppy treat in my hand and I am standing by the kitchen next to the fridge, and I holler, “Scout, come!” and he comes, I am doing great!  Well, yes, this is a good start for a puppy.  But, ultimately, I want Scout to be so obedient and so attuned to pleasing me that if he is in the middle of exploring a really exciting scent, eating some really good dog food, or wandering around the far reaches of the land that when he hears my voice say “Come,” he immediately drops the scent, leaves the food, turns for home and comes.  That kind of obedience…that level of training takes a lot of practice and repetition.  I have had Scout run to me over a pretty far distance, galloping along as fast as his little puppy legs would carry him, and that was exciting…

So, naturally, I have to make the spiritual connection.  I’m not there yet.  I want to be, but I’m not.  When I hear God calling my name, if I am sitting in church, well, that’s rather convenient.  What about when it’s 3:30 a.m. and sleep is very enticing–can I pull myself out of the warm bed and come?  Can I leave the riveting chapter in the novel unfinished, leave the chocolate cake half-eaten, cut-short the chatty phone call, and come?  I am working on it.  It motivates me a lot to imagine the joy our heavenly Father experiences when we obey him immediately in any and all circumstances.

This the adolescent Scout on his couch.

I want to thank my friend, Amy at My Sweet Life for giving me this award.  I have been so encouraged by Amy’s blog, so it is an honor to have her pass this award onto me.  Now, I get to pass it on!  What fun.

When I moved to the country (*the corner of No and Where*),  I was kind of lonely and missing my girlfriends.  Now, I am so blessed to have found some lovely, encouraging Christian women friends through blogging.

The “rule” is to pass this award on to 5 other lovely bloggers, but I can only think of one person that I really, really want to give this award to, and that is my friend, Laurel at From My Heart to Yours. Laurel and I first found each other when we were both going through The Love Dare.  Since then, she has posted several Bible studies and words of encouragement on a variety of subjects.  She prays cool prayers while doing things like mixing brownies, and she has encourages me to exercise and take other positive steps in my life.

(Laurel, all you have to do is post this award image on your blog and pass it on to other Lovely Lady bloggers that inspire you and share why you feel they deserve the award!)

Thank you, Amy! You made my day!

     Any day, any moment, any second, we can begin anew!  It doesn’t matter how we’ve failed or for how long we may have struggled.  With God’s help and grace–each day we can make a fresh start.  That, to me, is the beauty of mornings, and probably why I am a morning person!  It is another chance to get it right–or at least to improve.

     In our culture, with diets and exercise, goals and plans, everyone wants to “wait ’til Monday,” or worse yet, wait until New Year’s Eve.  There is no need to wait that long or put off the fresh start we desire. 

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him” (Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV).

     It’s a new day!  Make it a good one!

Hymns have not been a big part of my life in worship.  During the majority of my church-going life, I have attended a church that has a lively and long praise and worship service featuring contemporary music and original music, and once-in-a-while, a well-known token hymn.  There was a sense that hymns were of the past, and we needed to move on into the new music that God was revealing to today’s psalmists and musicians.

Over the years, however, I have developed a new reverence for hymns.  They are the songs of faith of past generations; they are our history.  I am grateful for all of the hymns that I know, and I have had some wonderful times of worship singing them (usually in the car).

I believe that most of the hymns I know, I learned from my grandma.  I used to spend a lot of time at her house visiting during the summer, and I loved to take the hymn book off of the piano and go outside on the porch and sing from the book.  Many times, Grandma would play the piano and sing the hymns I knew with me.  Then, she would help me learn a new one.

One particular hymn she taught me (and told me was one of her favorites) was “Wonderful Words of Life,” by Philip P. Bliss.  This hymn stands out to me because as a young child, I just didn’t get it.  I didn’t get the song.  There were parts in it about Jesus, but what were the wonderful words of life???  I didn’t see the connection then.

Now, as an adult, I don’t sing hymns as much as I used to, but I love reading the Bible aloud, and I especially love the book of Psalms.  When I get to Psalm 119, I feel a little overwhelmed.  It is the longest chapter in the Bible.  Then, I start reading it, and I fall in love with God’s word all over again, and the beautiful things that the psalmist says about it.

Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. (verse 77)

Your statutes are wonderful; thereforeI obey them. (verse 129)

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” (verse 165)

This psalm is a lovely celebration God’s word, and the hope and promises of the Bible.  I have new appreciation for the hymn “Wonderful Words of Life,” and I sing it in the car pretty often these days.

If you don’t know this one, here is a taste:

Sing them over again to me

Wonderful words of life

Let me more of their beauty see

Wonderful words of life

Chorus:

Words of life and beauty

Teach me faith and duty

Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life

Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life

     Sometimes, I just feel empty.  I have nothing to say–no fresh insights to blog about.  I don’t think this feeling is entirely true–I am sure that I am “processing” events and conversations from the day and week, and they just haven’t materialized into an “insight” as of yet.

     I have another clear memory of this situation that happened several years ago, and is unrelated to the blog.  I went to visit some dear friends who had moved away, and were starting a new church.  The church was small and struggling and my friends were discouraged.  I didn’t realize how much they were looking to me for just the right prayer, revelation, word of wisdom, until I arrived, and we were sitting in a circle in the church praying.  As you might guess, I did not have a “word” to share with them.  Of course, I love these friends and I prayed and agreed with them, but there was no lightening in my back pocket to give them a sign of encouragement.

     I think that’s a lot of pressure to put on anyone.  The willingness to pray, to agree, and to be a friend is so valuable, and perhaps taken for granted.  So, today, my word is that if you are reading this post, I am praying for blessings for you today.  I pray that the Lord will make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.  I pray that you will know the joy of his calling, and how faithful he is in all things.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  Against such things, there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV).

I have been praying for a while for the fruit of the Spirit to be manifest in me and my life.  This is kind of ironic because the one I thought I struggled with most is self-control.  The one that I now think I struggle with the most is patience.  Let me explain–I thought I had patience “down” pretty well.  I had to be patient for a lot of big things over the years–jobs, the right man, etc.  I also do a lot of things that others tell me are evidence of my being a patient person–I teach students who tend to struggle with academics, I have tutored international language learners, I start and finish long projects, and if one of my long projects isn’t turning out well, I will start over–and still finish it.  So, you see, I thought I was a pretty patient person.  Then, 1 Thessalonians 5:14 came alive to me today:

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idol, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone (NIV).

I don’t struggle a lot with being patient with others, but I struggle greatly with being patient with myself.  This has been one of my more difficult weeks.  I have made a lot of silly mistakes at work that I don’t normally make–nothing huge to anyone but me.  If anyone else made the same mistakes, I would extend mercy and tell her not to worry about it.  Yet, with myself, I keep a record of the “wrongs” I’ve done and allow those mistakes to take center stage in my mind.  I end up feeling frustrated and down on myself.  This is not God’s intention for me.  I am to be patient with everyone according to the scripture.  God could have said, “Be patient with everyone, except yourself,” but he didn’t.  I want to learn to extend mercy and tolerance to myself when I mess up.  It should be instinct when I mess up to just apologize, forgive myself, and go on.  And, when I say go on, I mean I can’t allow myself to dwell on the mistake, relive the mistake and obsess about the mistake.

Since it is my natural human tendency to focus on what I am doing wrong more than what I am doing right, I have to really be diligent to gain victory in this area.  Being aware of it as a spiritual issue helps.  My plan the next time I am tested in this area is to be ready with a verse to meditate on so my mind will stay focused on what is good and true.  I may use “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13 NIV), or I may use “Be patient with everyone…” (with a note to self–that includes me!)

Over the holiday weekend, my husband and I went to a hot air balloon derby.  Thousands of people go and gather in a big field to watch these magnificent balloons take off, land, and float through the sky.  Each one is different is size, shape, color, and design, and people of all ages watch in fascination in between nibbling on the traditional festival food–fried tenderloin sandwiches, hot dogs, and funnel cakes.

My husband and I traveled light.  We had a blanket, a couple of sodas, and his camera.  While my sweetie took some great photos, I reclined on the blanket with my jacket rolled up as a pillow, and watched the balloons float overhead through the cottony blue sky.  It was so peaceful, even though people were talking and chattering all around us.  Most of them were telling others–their spouses, friends, sisters, children, grandparents, to look.  Look up.  Naturally, we got lots of balloon pictures, but after the fact, I really wished we’d taken some pictures of the people.  I have never seen so many groups of people; standing, sitting in lawn chairs, sprawled on the ground; pointing and staring in awe and wonder at the sky.  What a spirit of expectation there was!

It’s so simple.  Look up.  Look to the heavens.  Look beyond yourself.  Most of the time, we don’t get it.  We are busy with the earthly plain, all that’s directly in front of us.  The hot air balloons reminded me gently, how much we all need to look up.  Get God’s perspective.  Get His insight.  He is working in our lives, if only we will pause and look to him with wonder and awe and expectation.

Note:  Dear Friends, My blog is experiencing  major technical difficulties.  All of the pictures on my blog have disappeared, and I am unable to post new ones.  I really wanted to post pictures with this to give the full effect, but decided to go ahead without the pictures.  I am working on getting this resolved.  Thanks for visiting!

The other day, I was talking to my mother on the phone, and in the middle of the conversation, she said, “I have to pass on a compliment.”  She repeated a compliment my aunt had given me in a letter to her.  It made my day so much better.

Today, I get to pass on some compliments.  My husband attended one of our back-to-school dinners with me, and today when we were sitting around the lunch table, one of my colleagues said, “I think your husband is a real hero for coming to the dinner with you.”  Then, several others chimed in with compliments.  On my drive home, I was filled with anticipation of telling him all the nice things I heard.

We all know there are plenty of things that we do not want to overhear, and that we certainly do not want to pass on.  However, compliments are wonderful!  Who doesn’t need a little encouragement?  So, I want to encourage you to compliment with sincerity and joy,  and if you overhear one, pass it on.  Sometimes, it is especially nice to put it in writing.  I have received some of these treasures over the years, and they will never end up in the trash!