PAGES: MAIN TOPICS I WRITE ON

Monday, February 24, 2020

New Every Morning




Our months and our years,
our every days, and our lives,
are marked by 24-hour days.

And there is not a day,
in the past or in the future
when we will ever be alone,
left to ourselves, on our own.


The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.

(Lamentations 3:22-23)


Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Everyday Opportunities for Beauty



Life is often filled with the mundane,
the ordinary, and often routine.

There are the spectacular and extra-ordinary,
but mostly, our days are quite repetitive. 

But what if we embrace the small and insignificant,
and give them our best, our finest?
What if we live our everyday moments not half-heartedly, 
but from the heart, with our whole heart?

"Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping
eating, going to work, and walking-around life - 
and place it before God as an offering."
(From Romans 12:1 MSG)

"Whatever you do, do it from the heart,
as something done for the Lord, and not for people;
knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance
from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ."
(Colossians 3:22-24 CSB)

Loving God above all, "is meant to be expressed not just in the religious dimension of our lives, but in every aspect of our existence."
(Paul David Tripp, in New Morning Mercies)

What if we use our ordinary moments to reflect His love, His creativity, His image, all that He is, to those around us?

On an ordinary day filled with the mundane,
on an extra-ordinary day filled with the beautiful,
it's who we gaze on; it's who holds our heart 
that makes all the difference in how we live.

"A new heart is our only hope for seeing
our everyday, ordinary circumstances 
as they truly areplaces of worship where 
God will transform us into His likeness."
(Ruth Chou Simons, in Beholding and Becoming)

(Reminders for myself - and for you? - to do all out of love for Him. From the heart, with our whole heart - big or small, ordinary or extra-ordinary, the routine and the spectacular, the simple and  the beautiful. Taking all opportunities to give our best, to reflect our loving and creative God, to do it all for Him. All by His grace and power alone.)