Happy Spring!

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:11, 12

Walking in Trust

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Celebrating the Heart Holiday

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)


It’s the heart holiday again this weekend. The retail world is replete with red decorations and the relationship world is ripe with expectations.

Why do we celebrate this day of love? Legend has it that we commemorate Valentine’s Day (or technically, St. Valentine’s Day) because of a long ago Christian martyr named Valentine, and somewhere around the Middle Ages a man name Chaucer began the association with romantic love. Today about a billion valentines are sent each year across the world, according to the U.S. Greeting Card Association. Who knew?

If you have a special someone, you may be in a quandary as to what to give or what you will get this year. Flowers? Candy? Jewelry? A trip to the Bahamas?

Yeah.

Those of us in the single world, at least the ones without a significant other on February 14, have a choice to make. You could shrug it off as a “Hallmark holiday” and coolly declare that it doesn’t matter and you don’t care. Or, you could bemoan your single status and cry over your favorite comfort food and watch chick flicks.

However, you could choose to celebrate Love in a different way.

How about soaking up love from the One who loves you the most? Seriously. God’s love is the most amazing and lasting love you will ever have. Over and over he demonstrates his care. God attributes are myriad; here are a few of them:

He is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9)

He is good (Psalm 100:5)

He is gracious and merciful (Psalm 145:8-9)

He is reliable (1 John 4:16)

He is wise (Proverbs 3:19)

He guides us (Proverbs 3:5-6)

He protects (Psalm 91:14)

His presence brings joy! (Psalm 16:11)

God is love (John 3:16 and 1 John 4:8)

Wow. Think about that for a while. Unconditional love. Total Acceptance.

In addition to God’s love, how about celebrating the other kinds of love you have in your life? Like the love of friendship, the love of family, or the love of your pet? Some women I know hold an annual Valentine’s Day lunch for their single women friends. They celebrate friendship love and have a good time eating, laughing and enjoying each other.

Here’s a radical idea: how about choosing to love your self on the heart holiday? Think about making some “Valentine’s Day Resolutions.” They’re like New Year’s resolutions, but they may have a more I-can-do-this stickiness factor to carry them out because they are based on loving yourself.

For example, you could decide to love yourself enough to: realize your true worth and value comes from God, not what others say about you…finally lose weight…make that phone call you’ve been putting off…send a hello email or letter to your parents and get reconnected…take a much needed vacation or even a day off…go to bed earlier and get the rest you need…fill in the blank here for what you need the most.

No valentine this year? No worries. You’ve already got the Love you need. Let’s celebrate!

Give to Live

“Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them, only to find out too late that it’s what they bring to the world that really counts." -- Anne of Green Gables

Sunday Stuff and the Rest of It

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. Psalm 62:5

Bears have the right idea: put on a fur coat and sleep for three months in winter. While, I won’t be snoozing for 12 weeks any time soon, I am a big proponent of rest these days. Maybe it’s because most of us work hard during the week and need to get refreshed on the weekends, but we don’t.

Life, I’ve discovered, is not an endless loop of work, chores and errands. Rest, fun and play are essential. Many times weekends or evenings are taken up with things we HAVE TO do. The hafta’s get us much of the time. We have to go to the grocery store—eveyone’s gotta eat! We have to get gas for the car, take in the dry cleaning, get the car washed, get an oil change, and, oh, get a birthday card for your best friend. Or you need to take the dog for a walk, call your parents, do your laundry, pay your bills, clean the house, and…the list goes on.

Hey, I’m all for getting stuff done. I’m a big make-a-list-person and love making check marks when I’ve completed a task. But everyone needs time away from the have to, ought to, musts and should’s. If we don’t, we will be tired all the time and we will be foolish.

Jesus himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). He is the One in whom we find real rest. Talk to Him, and listen. Soak up the truth like the moon soaks up the light of the sun, and then shine! Radiate light, hope and love in your corner of the world.

This week, think about one thing you can do differently to refresh your spirit and nurture your body and strengthen your life. Here are a few ideas:

take a nap
sit by a fireplace fire
read the Sunday paper
relax in a warm tub
have a prayer time
have some friends over for games
sleep in
watch the sun set
read a new book
hang out at your favorite coffee place
call an old friend
read a magazine
find a new recipe and make it
put on a worship CD
watch a movie that you want to watch
count your blessings
and be thankful.

Renew, restore, refresh. Your body—and your life—will thank you.

A Time to Awaken

Arise

Snowfall on tall pines,
Sunrise and stirring
Of quiet and big dreams
As a new year awakens.

Dark-covered winter with
Dormant believing
Leads joyfully into
Spring’s hope-filled returning

When flowers and faith
Resurrect from earth’s slumber
Alive and reminded
Of God’s faithful goodness.

-- Jackie Johnson

Changing Your Life – One Thing at a Time

From now on I will tell you of new things,
of hidden things unknown to you. (Isaiah 48:6)


My friend Anne in Chicago told me recently that she’d had an epiphany. A few years ago, this kind friend quit her job to take care of her ailing parents. Her mom “got promoted” to heaven and her dad is now in a nursing home. Her job for the last couple of years has been to clean the house her parents lived in and get repairs done. Just before Christmas she was just standing in the kitchen when, in a moment of clarity, she knew exactly what she needed to do—sell the house. It was over 40 years old, the repairs were coming faster than hurricane winds on the Texas coast, and it was time for a change. Instantly, freedom and peace came over her.

An epiphany.

Have you had one? Today’s a good day to talk about that because January 6th is the celebration of the Epiphany—the revelation of Christ to the world as fully God and fully man. Hard to comprehend, but totally true. Another definition for “epiphany” according to Dictionary.com is “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight…”

It’s a sudden, “aha” moment of knowing. Clarity. Perception. Discernment. A light bulb goes on and there is hope, joy, and vision for your future.

What area of your life needs insight and change? It’s a brand new year, so let’s ask God to reveal His good purposes to us in clear ways. Let’s make changes that will change our lives and the lives of those around us. What do you want to change in 2009?

Think of one thing. Just one thing…

Ask God to reveal to you an area of your life that can be different, better, healed, more whole than you ever imagined. Here are a few ideas to get started:

• I want to (finally) get in shape so I have the strength and energy for a better life.

• I want to start saving money (or increase what I save already).

• I want to put God first and be a person of wisdom, worth and wonderfulness.

• I want to remember those who don’t have—people who are hungry, people who need a warm blanket, people who need love and help.

• I want to go someplace tropical for a vacation.

• I want to be nicer to that woman at work who drives me crazy.

• I want to connect more with my family since we don’t see each other very often.

• I want to make time for close friendships.

• I want to pray more and change the world—and my own life.

Here’s to a new year of "suddenlies" and epiphanies-—and an amazing life.