New Day!

Recently I've been sensing God speaking to my heart that I'm entering a new day or a new season.  I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what that means.  In a lot of ways it doesn't seem to fit with where I see myself.  It has not been the easiest season for my family and for me and when I look at my present circumstances, nothing seems to really be changing.  When I pray, however I still have this strong sense that a new day has begun.   It was during one of my "discussions" with God about this that He showed me that a new day doesn't start at dawn.  A new day starts at midnight.  Some of the darkest hours of the day take place at the very beginning of a new day.  It takes faith to believe that dawn is coming and that things are being made new.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 11:1

No Escape Plan Necessary

When I was a kid I used to pray once and then confidently go about my business (of playing with dolls, of course). I never felt the need to beg or plead with God to try and move his heart. I knew that God answered prayers and that He loved me. That was all I needed.

Looking back, I have to say that I am amazed at how He always came through for me. From providing sunshine for the water park to providing wonderful, long awaited siblings.

Somewhere along the line, I grew up. I got a job. I started paying bills. I moved out on my own and I started to believe that I could handle it. Yeah, sure, of course I still prayed, but I recognized that I started to provide God with an escape plan. I mean, come on, I didn't want to be a bother. He's got more important things to do. Perhaps He has a bigger plan... and so on and so forth... and before I knew it, I had rationalized myself out of truly believing that God answers my prayers. Yes, He answers prayers, but mine.. hmmm... well... ummm...

Recently, it hit me. God is a BIG God. He created the universe, created me, controls my life... ummm... who am I to map out an escape plan for Him? I can still believe Him with a childlike confidence. I don't need to add a footnote to my prayer that says I won't hold Him liable for not answering my prayer. I can pray for big things, because He's a big God.

There's nothing that God can not do. period.

"I wanna see that thunder roll..."

We've had some incredible thunder storms in the past few days. Yesterday I curled up in our apartment and watched the huge storm clouds roll across the sky. It's a pretty AWESOME sight to behold. I love thunder storms for a number of reasons.

First, as I was walking/swimming home from work yesterday, I realized that no matter how lost in thought you might be, when it thunders it grabs your attention. It reminds me how big God is. It gave me new found perspective. Here I was lost in thought about something and God took time to remind me.. " Hey! You know I'm bigger than that thing you are consumed with worrying about." Pretty cool.

Secondly, some of my happiest memories with my Dad happened during thunderstorms when I was little. Every time we would have a big thunderstorm, I was allowed(it was an unspoken rule... well at least in my mind) to get out of bed and find my Dad. I remember many a Summer evening on the front porch of the house that I grew up in. I would sit for what seemed like hours, safe and secure in my Daddy's arms watching the show. We would talk about how powerful God is and how the lightning was like God's fireworks, but mostly, I would just rest in my Daddy's arms. One time lightning even hit directly in our front yard as we watched, but I never felt fear, because I was snuggled in my Daddy's arms. I've never been afraid of thunder storms because of those happy moments.

Hillsong United has a new song on their latest album called "You Hold Me Now". The song is so powerful and it reminds me of the picture that I described above. You see, it's a given that there will be storms in life. Sickness happens, finances vary and we don't always understand why things happen.* Storms can beat us up... I think at times we can be so beat up by storms, that even in the midst of sunnier days, we live in fear of the next storm. If we choose to stay close in the arms of our Daddy God, we don't have to fear the storms. In fact, we can look at them as bringing positive change in our lives. Have you ever noticed that some of the most beautiful and clear weather is after a storm? And of course, the best puddle jumping comes after a storm.

p.s. For whatever reason, I've got " I wanna see that thunder roll" a la " I wanna see that tootsie roll" stuck in my head... I'm creative like that... if you don't know what I'm referring too... better for you... if you do, I'm not recommending the song... well at least not the original version.


*If you do, I'd like to know the answer.