All that is Needed is Provided

As we approach the ending of 2015 and the beginning of a New Year my heart is filled with thankfulness and anticipation. There is something wonderful about reflecting on the moments that have shaped our lives and the experiences that have written new chapters in our story. Remembering the people and places that have made us who we are. And then lifting our eyes to the todays and tomorrows that lie before us. The path of the New Year stretches out ahead. We consider our dreams and hopes with excitement as we pray and plan.   

It never fails, that at this time, a song of times gone past will resonate in my soul. The enduring quality of these lyrics are worthy of holding our reflections and our dreams:  

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, 
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. 

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! 
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided - 
Great is Thy faithfulness Lord, unto me! 

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, 
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, 
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. 

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!*

May we live our best lives with eyes to behold His faithfulness and a heart to comprehend all the blessings showered in our lives. Here, we discover all that is needed is provided. 

Happy New Year! 


*Lyrics: Thomas Obediah Chisolm Music: William Marion Runyan

A Living Gift

Last week, my daughter had a throw back to the 80's day at school. It's always a boost to the ego when you realize you are now old enough for people to consider your coming of age years as a throw back in time. As Natalie left the house that day, she was proudly sporting pink leg warmers and a side pony tail.

Leg warmers. The fashion statement ALL the girls wore my 5th grade year. It was the only thing on my Christmas list that year. And there was not a happier girl around, in the moment I unwrapped the Old Fashioned Oatmeal box and pulled out two pairs of leg warmers. Side note for those who are wondering.... my mom was a master user of cereal boxes for wrapping gifts. This is one of my most vivid Christmas and childhood memories.

And as awesome as that was for me, do you think I have any idea where those leg warmers are today? I barely remember wearing them past one winter. As so many things, here today and gone tomorrow.

As we enter the week where we will exchange many gifts with friends and family, let us not lose sight of the greatest gift of all.

Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams, a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift. Isaiah 9:6

A living gift. God's son, for us.

Through this man we all receive gifts of grace beyond our imagination. John 1:16

This Christmas, may you receive your best gift ever. The living gift that never stops giving.

Do You See What I See?

Today I participated in a MidAmerican Energy Audit for my home. Let me tell you, it was a lot more than a 15 minute visit glancing at the attic and crawl space for insulation needs. This auditor looked at every single light bulb in my house, shower heads, and even pointed out a tiny spider web on my basement window that showed evidence of "infiltration". 

As I adjusted to this long process, which included changing out 13 of the light bulbs, putting foam around pipes, changing a shower head, and a new surge protector, I decided to do some online Christmas shopping at the kitchen table. He shows up with a new thermostat "much easier to program and use" and proceeded to take out the old and put in the new. That's when he uttered the most famous line of the whole visit... "Don't forget to paint behind your thermostat."  

Unable to control my surprise and laughter, I couldn't help but ask, "In your job, doing this day in and day out for eight years, how many people have you known that have painted behind their thermostats?" 

"None." He replied. 

"But you?" I asked. 

"Yes." he said.

I could go on about how he personally runs an energy audit on his appliances each year (Really?!), but for the sake of this blog let's just point out the obvious... Cory has been trained to see what most of the rest of us never give a moments thought to. 

It made me wonder what I am trained to see. 

Over 2000 years ago, wise men saw a unique star in the night sky. It struck them in such a way that they were compelled to leave their home land and travel west to worship the king that was born. 

After today's visit from Cory, I can promise that I will never look at a thermostat the same way.

I also hope I never look at a night sky of stars the same way. May my life be such that I lead others to see the amazing light that testifies of a king born here on earth. Immanuel. God with us. 

When Light Arrives

Today, I came to a street corner where someone was wearing a homemade sandwich board and carrying a ventriloquist doll. It was rather humorous. Evidently, he was determined to share something important with this unusual methodology. However, beyond slowing down the traffic as drivers attempted to figure out what the sight was, I am not sure his message got communicated to his drive-by audience.

People can go to quite a bit of effort to get their messages across... God, too.  

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, I'm reminded of His message of light. 

Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in he darkness of night. Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced with a glorious light - the shining light of God's glory. Luke 2:8-9

I love how darkness was "replaced". When light arrives, darkness is no more.  

May it be.