Thursday, January 01, 2015

Brand New!

 What I love about a new year is that we get to start over -- a brand new calendar with fresh new dates and nothing filling in the days.  This is the calendar I picked this year.  I love big, open spaces to write in.  How quickly that open space changes.  I don't know about you, but when I get my new calendar I immediately write in all of the family birthdays, anniversaries,  due dates, and lastly, add in the dangling January appointments scribbled on the bottom of the December page.  For one small moment though, the new year is fresh, clean, open!  It's fun to think about it for that small moment in time.  (Let's pause and think about it.)  How swiftly the new year marches in with its schedules, appointments, special dates and events.  

Do you ever take a little extra time to look at your old calendar as you add the birthdays and anniversaries onto your new one and notice what a full year it was?  It is quite fascinating to me.  My mother-in-law had a large wall calendar that she received yearly from a livestock newspaper.  It had big boxes for writing in, and she always kept a mini-diary on it.  I loved seeing her teacher-like penmanship written in each square with all the activities of the ranch and family life inked in.

I'm not a New Year Resolution Person.  Are you?  I like to think of a few things that I want to do and hope to do in the new year and pencil them into my journal, but I know that sometimes my best laid plans do not always materialize for one reason or another.  I like to remain open to things that God might put in my path, things that I may not have had on my radar screen for the coming year at all.  That's not to say I don't plan, but I know that My Plans are not always God's Plans.

Another thing that I have been thinking about in this new year is the fact that God is in control.  I have had to remind myself of this fact a lot lately.  There are so many, many things that trouble my heart, especially when I watch the news or read the headlines.   Sometimes I just want to cry for humanity.  The other day I was typing an email to a friend, and I believe God inspired the ending with the lines from the carol, O Holy Night

 "Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever!  

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!"   

Christ is the Lord, I will trust Him.  I will put my hand in His.  I won't worry, but believe.  I will wait to see His power and glory happening, and then I will proclaim it.  

 Dear Friends, I wish you all the best in this new year, 2015.  May God speak to your heart and may you have ears to hear His whisper.  May He show you big, beautiful things, and give you keen interest in the humble little things too.  In the troubling things, I hope you'll be able to trust.  Above all, may you know His love, forgiveness, peace, and hope.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  ~Romans 15:13

12 comments:

  1. Amen! God is in control! He is faithful and we can trust Him even in the midst of the whirlwind which is this world. Enjoy this fresh new year, my friend. :)

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  2. No, I'm not a New Year's resolution person because I do not like failure. LOL. I am considering a word for the new year or a theme that I'd like to work into my life. I read on someone's blog who chose Quiet. That sounds good to me to find the quiet in the midst of chaos. I really like calendars with big spaces to write in, too. The older I get the more I depend on those things written in those spaces to remember all that God has done...Happy New Year Jody!

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  3. Yes, big spaces full of potential real life happy! He is SO there for us! I'm so glad! Bless you, dear Jody!

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  4. I was just thinking this might be my last time to plan my year on an academic calendar. I'll have to wait and see. It might not.....
    Happy New Year, Jody!

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  5. Happy New Year Jodi! I love to look at that empty calendar too -- it's a sign of a good life to have a full calendar, but I like it to be empty for a little while at least. I'm not a resolution girl either, but definitely a list maker. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2015 has in store for you here in this space! XO

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  6. So you think God is in control??? No. It is more likely that God is asking you to do something. Act in accordance with your religious and philosophical beliefs. For evil to prosper all it takes is for people to do nothing to stop it.
    If God is in control are you able to tell this convincingly to the victims of pedophiles? To those dying of ebola? To victims of torture? To the people, especially children, caught in the modern web of slavery? To victims of identity fraud? To those suffering with horrendous pain and illness?
    You have the power and ability to make life better for someone. Surely this is what your religion teaches, not indifference.

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  7. Wise words, Jody. A good scripture to focus on at all times, but especially as we journey into a new year. A Happy New Year to you and your dear family and may 2015 be filled with the love, peace and joy that comes from knowing God and His Son, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.

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  8. I always love your wisdom. I think it would be nice to see your Mother in laws calendars. To see her daily life.
    I hope you have wonderful 2015 I agree with you about our plans not being God's plans. I am happy I think to watch and wait and see how He will work out those things that are so heavy on my heart. His ways end up being so much better than my ways.
    Bless you Jody for your sweet spirit and your heart. Happy New Year.

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  9. Good post.
    Happy New Year, Jody!!!

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  10. Jody, I love your posts and they always inspire me! Yes...trusting God is what I am working on, too. And accepting His timing! Happiest of New Years to you!

    ~Julia

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  11. Thank you, Jody! I do keep a calendar, but usually only write in anticipated trips, important dates, and Julia's dental appointments. Like you, I do not do New Year's resolutions. Just not my thing. I do like to look forward to landmark events we have coming up -- daughter's college graduation, son's wedding, putting the sailboat back in the water, our 3rd year mark of living here. Anticipating good things from the Lord this year :)

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