New Every Morning

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”  ~Lamentations 3:21-26

Hope.  Seek. Wait. Faithfulness. Salvation.

As I read this verse these five key words stand out to me.  When my heart is overwhelmed God reminds me of this very hope; that if we seek his face and his will, quietly waiting for him, great is his faithfulness and his salvation time and time again to us, his beloved children.  His promises are new every morning. What a mighty God we serve! 

These promises are extended to all those whose hope is in Him, to those who diligently seek his face, who wait patiently and quietly with full confidence in his mercies, with faith that He will supply all our needs and be our daily portion for he is faithful and mighty to save! 

I praise and thank you, Lord for your mercies which are new every morning.  It is because of your mercies that we are forgiven and pardoned and freed from our iniquities and empowered to go and sin no more, to have a fresh start, to wake up to new and greater promises.  I love you, Lord!

Will you take a moment to thank Him for giving you new hope, a new day, and a fresh new start tomorrow?  Share with us all the blessings the Lord has already supplied this week or even today!  It blesses His heart when his children remember to thank him for his blessings in their life and it blesses me to hear about them.  Please post a comment and share!

Thanking God for the Present

This has been a hard week.  I have been so physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted that I found it very hard to look for blessings.  In fact, I had completely stopped.  But that didn’t mean that the blessings stopped.  I had simply refused to look for them.  I had quit trying to see them because I was so swallowed up in my pain, exhaustion, trials, etc… that I did not want to take the time to look around and see how truly blessed I was.

A friend posted this recently as her facebook status:  “What if you woke up today with only what you thanked God for yesterday.”

And that got me to thinking.  What if I truly had woken up this morning with only what I had thanked God for the day before?  I would have next to nothing.  Come to think of it, the only thing I clearly remember thanking God for yesterday was the piece of toast I had for breakfast and whatever I had eaten for lunch and dinner.  How miserable my life truly would be if that was all I had left.  It really puts things into perspective when you look at it this way, doesn't it?  It makes me stop and realize how many blessings I have and how much I should be thanking God for.  Even in the midst of my trials I can still sing a broken hallelujah, I can still take time to smell the roses, I can still smile and lift my eyes to Jesus Christ who has wiped away every sin and replaced it with a clean, fresh new start.  Even when it seems I have nothing left to give to those who seem ever ready to take and take from me, I can still smile, I can still hug them, and I can still say “I love you”.  There is always something I can do and for that I am truly grateful.

A few days later I read another friends facebook status and was surprised at how the Lord can speak the same message multiple times through people all over the world:  “Focusing on the past = depression, focusing on the future = anxiety, thankfulness for the present = contentment.”

How true that is.  If we focus on all the negatives we will be sure to find them everywhere we look and we can become so depressed that we lose hope.  But if we choose to look at the present blessings that are all around us we will live a much more peaceful, contented, fulfilling, and joyful life.  

Focus on God’s gift, the present, and enjoy it! And don't forget to tell me all about what is in your “present” that is blessing you by chosing to "Join this site" and clicking "Comment" on this post and leaving me a message. I would LOVE to hear from you!  Many blessings on your week ahead.

 

Come Along For The Ride!

I turn and glance down at the beautiful journal I have been keeping for the past several weeks, a journal recording all the blessings and gifts that I have begun to recognize around me every day and in response to the gratitude I feel inside, I thank God for what He has chosen to bless me with. God has given so much the least I can do is recognize it, allow it to bless me, and return that blessing by giving thanks to God.  I smile as I look over the records I have been keeping of all the blessings I have recently seen and experienced.

54. Unexpected, lengthy cards from friends who love me.

55. Mostly all green lights when running late to a birthday party.

56. The smell of freshly cut grass drifting through my car window.

57. My 3yr. old nephew, Landon, trying to speak in a British accent.

58. The smiles, dimples, and bright blue eyes of nephew, Chase.

And the list goes on.  Those things may happen in the middle of a catastrophe but when I recognize them they make the stressful blissful and the common more enjoyable.  And the best part about it all is that they just keep coming.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.  Those who are stressed can become blessed when they stop focusing on the negative and start looking for the positive.  I’m a work in progress but at least I’m headed in the right direction. 

My journey is just beginning.  My life is a road trip and I’m going to roll down the windows, turn up the music, let the sun bake my browning skin, smell the freshly cut grass, smile at the person passing me in the slow lane, and thank God that I’m not the dead armadillo I just passed. I’ve got lots of room in the car.  Care to join me?  I want to hear all about your blessings this week.  Fill me in on how God is blessing your life.