Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath and start again.



A new year is upon us and so begins the resolutions for us to change. However, each and every day is a new beginning.
A moment for us to start anew.
But with the changing of the new year, it does bring up our short-comings to the forefront and gives us the opportunity to  make an immediate changes, to make resolutions. For myself, I have decided not to make any resolutions. Resolutions can easily be broken. Therefore,  I have decided to make commitments to the Lord...to give my word to Him to make the changes necessary to live the life He has called me to live.
I have a created a list of changes that need to be made and wrote them in a letter to God as my commitment to Him. A promise that these changes will be at the forefront of my mind throughout each day of the coming year.
I realize that this is a tall order and may seem drastic but the time is now to step out of the boat and onto the water. No more wishy-washy resolutions, no more half-hearted commitments, no more selfishness and placing God second in my life.
He is my Lord and Saviour. I need to act like it.

Take a deep breath and start again. Grace allows us to do that every day.
And I am going to take each and every day to start anew and begin again.
I am taking a deep breath.

Christmas spirit....
A time when we come to celebrate the birth of Christ or to celebrate the giving of gifts, kindness, and love or to treat each other with compassion and hospitality...
I don't think there is such a thing...not with what I have experienced in the last few days.
People yelling and getting angry over the smallest of things...no generosity or even civility.
No kindness; no loving; no compassion. No Christmas spirit.

Now, have I given up on believing that there is compassion, love, or kindness at this time of the year?
No...because I see it all year long. There is hope for humanity because of a gift that was given to mankind from an all compassionate God.  
I know many have heard this thousands of time but take time to truly think upon this....God who is all-mighty, who is righteous and just, loved His creation so much...He loves mankind so much that He sent His one and only Son as a sacrifice...sent Him to die so we could be saved...so we could have life. This gift can never be repaid...we just have to do one thing...accept the gift.

Can you imagine someone who loves you giving you a pile of Christmas gifts and knowing it is everything you have ever wanted...and yet, you rejected all of those gifts! This is what God has done for us...but it was just one gift and that one gift supplies all our wants and desires....it gives us all the love, compassion, kindness, grace, and life we could ever need. 

I pray that the world...all those people yelling, getting angry, being impatient, frustrated, sad, and being a "grinch"...would come to accept the wonderful gift given to us by God our Father.

Christmas spirit is just not a seasonal thing....it is a year long, a life long spirit of love, compassion, grace, and mercy. Accept God's perfect gift for everyone. 

Merry Christmas....be kind, be compassionate, be loving, be the spirit of Christmas. be like the Spirit all year long.

Tomorrow is the day that I will always remember. A sad day...my father died that cold winter morning. 
I remember waking up about three in the morning. It was snowing... I couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and dressed and went for a walk. 
There is nothing more peaceful than walking in snowfall at night. All I could hear was the crunching of snow beneath my boots. Despite the cold, I wasn't cold at all. 
Somehow I knew my father was gone. I walked for hours, just absorbing the quiet and talking with God. Never before had I felt such peace. I watched the sun rise over the newly fallen snow. We received the phone call that my father had died. I was okay. No tears, just sorrow.
My dad has been gone twenty-one years tomorrow. Like any other daughter who has lost their dad, I miss him. I miss his dry sense of humor and his love of classical music which he passed on to me. My dad was not a Christian...he chose not to accept the gift of salvation...he told me it was his choice. 

I miss that morning of walking in the snow. The peace I had walking in the quiet, in the darkness, in the light of the snow glistening by the moon. I miss my dad and that he chose not accept peace, love, and salvation. 

As we draw closer to the day of celebrating the birth of our Savior...take time to share the greatest gift of all with your loved ones so you won't have to say..."I'll miss them forever". His gift to us is the greatest gift of all...share it. I have....it just hasn't been accepted. Don't give up...there is always hope; there is always love; there is always peace.