Endings and Beginnings

Every New Year's Eve when I was a little girl, my brother and I were allowed to stay awake until midnight. I remember running around in my footie pajamas or nightgown waiting for the countdown to the end of the year on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve. And once the ball dropped, my parents always allowed us to have a small sip of champagne (hey....it was the 70's!!) and we toasted the New Year together. If my brother and I were at my grandmother's house we missed out on the sip and we always had to start the new year by praying. Great memories!

There's always been something special about that moment at midnight, the ending of a year and the fresh new beginning of another. Somehow we think that as soon as the clock turns twelve then everything that happened in the previous year goes away and we get a fresh new slate.

We want to rush into that new year so that we can forget about all of the bad things that happened in the last one. We can put away the family that we lost, the arguments that we had, the sins we committed, the recession, the wars, the job losses and the like. The danger in thinking that way is that we often tend to forget the good things that happened as well.

Can we afford to forget that we woke up 365 mornings? Dare we not remember that no matter what happened the day before, that God's mercies were brand new when we opened our eyes. God's grace was upon us, even in the dark times.

Can we forget the praying we did? Even if the prayers weren't answered like we wanted, it was time spent with God.

Can we really put behind us the trials and tribulations we endured? Each one was an opportunity that God gave us to get closer to Him, to deepen our relationship with Him and to learn about who we are in Him.

Can we forget the tears we shed? Can we possibly think they were wasted? God doesn't think so. "You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" Psalm 56:8

We all went through a lot in the last year. Some of it bad and some of it good. The question is whether we let the experiences bring us closer to God or further away. Do we ask "why me?" or do we follow Paul and "count it all joy"?

When I think back on my challenges in 2009, I will remember what God said:

"I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come." Isaiah 46:10. He knew what I would have to endure and already had my way out in the plan.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Revelations 22:13. God is there always, at the end of my sorrows and the beginning of my joy.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5.

And the morning begins at 12:00:01 a.m. just at the stroke of midnight.

Whether is 1979, 1999 or 2009, life is a cycle of endings and beginnings, starts and stops, ups and downs, life and death, so be ready. I pray with all my heart that you always remember that God loves you. That He has a purpose and a plan for your life. That YOU are His favored child. That the thoughts He has towards you are good and not evil, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Remember that He sent His son to die for you and that His saving grace is yours to have and to keep. And that He promised to be with you, even unto the end.

Happy New Year! In 2010 I resolve to love more, forgive faster and speak life every day.

Oh and maybe, just maybe, shop less.

In love,

Mona

Why Oh Why

I know the most adorable 3-year-old in this entire world! Not only is she beautiful, she is also very smart and funny and talks better than a lot of adults I know. Now for the sake of full disclosure she is my God-daughter but that doesn't make her any less brilliant, does it!?

Now, like most 2-3 year olds, she is very inquisitive. What a great word... "inquisitive". That's the adult way of saying she asks way too many doggone questions! She's curious about the world and how it works. Why is this? Why is that? What are you doing? Where are you going? How come this? How come that? Know what? Guess what? Whew!! It can be exhausting. But how else is she going to learn if she doesn't ask, right?

Well that inquisitiveness never leaves us, even after we grow up. The questions become more thoughtful and and thought-provoking. The questions get tougher and harder and the answers are much more elusive. But do we ever stop asking "Why oh why?"

Why was she molested? Why did he go unpunished?

Why do these young children keep dying on the streets?

Why are they fighting for their very lives because of cancer? Kidney disease? Congestive heart failure? Multiple sclerosis? Diabetes?

Why are my children struggling with drug abuse? Mental disorders? Isolation? Depression? Suicide?

Why do I feel so alone?

Why oh why, God? Are you listening? We are your very inquisitive children and we are asking why?

There is no simple answer to these questions. If only it worked that way. Remember what God said, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD." Isaiah 55:8

The bible is full of examples of suffering, trials, tribulations and circumstances. We are not the first and won't be the last. Small comfort when you are going through, right?

The Apostle Paul was the poster child for suffering, having endured much in the spreading of the Gospel and he spoke well of suffering but mostly about enduring.

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us" 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Paul also spoke about the thorn in his side. He said "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Now I must admit I sometimes have a tough time "delighting" in my persecutions and difficulties. But when I stop and look back from where God brought me from I can see that He has been working on me the whole time. Once I let go and told God to have His way, I realized that I wouldn't be praying so much if it hadn't been for "this" situation. I wouldn't be writing this blog if "that" hadn't happened.

Ask yourself, how has God changed you since you've been going through? Who have you encouraged by your actions? Who has seen you struggle and found strength in how you carry yourself? Are you praying more? Praising more? Seeking His face more? Do your kids see you on your knees? Does someone feel like they can go one more day because they have seen you do it? Are you praying for others, even while seeking answers on your own behalf?

We may not know yet what God has in store. We may not have the answers we want today, but we have faith "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Yes this life can be tough, but it's what we do that makes the difference. It's our attitude, our faith, our trust, our submission, our resiliance but most importantly, it's our God.

And remember..."We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

In love,
Mona

Calendar Girl

Today is my birthday! I am officially Forty-one-derful! I LOVE my birthday! I hear people talk about not wanting to celebrate their birthdays, or saying how they don’t think about birthdays. To that I say PSHAW!! Forget that…today is the best day of the year and I am blessed to be alive! Plus I just love all of the attention!

But more than cake (and I loves me some cake!), cards, emails and texts, today is about a new beginning. Another year is gone and the hope of tomorrow is looming just on the horizon. I get to start fresh again. I get to start a whole new calendar today. My calendar isn’t January to December it's September to September.

And today I open a brand new calendar of time. All of the pages are crisp, clean and smells of new ink. There are no markings of things to do and places to go. Every day ahead is a new opportunity. But more importantly, the past is in the trash.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3)
A time to be born (again in Christ), and a time to die (to self)
A time to plant (seeds of love), and a time to pluck what is planted (the harvest of God’s promises)
A time to kill (the flesh), and a time to heal (your wounds)A time to break down (walls), and a time to build up (those who are broken)
A time to weep (for lost souls), and a time to laugh (for the joy of the Lord)
A time to mourn (for those who don’t know Christ), and a time to dance (before the Lord)
A time to cast away stones (clear the fields of your mind), and a time to gather stones (build upon the foundation God has set)
A time to embrace (who God says you are), and a time to refrain from embracing (who the world says you are)A time to gain (trust and confidence in God), and a time to lose (a negative attitude)
A time to keep (your head up), and a time to throw away (trash from the past)
A time to tear (down the enemy's strongholds), and a time to sew (and mend fences)
A time to keep silence (and hear the voice of the Lord), and a time to speak (about the saving grace of Jesus Christ)
A time to love (yourself), and a time to hate (sin)
A time of war (against the enemy), and a time of peace (that surpasses all understanding)

It may not be your birthday today, but it may be time to throw away the past and start a fresh new calendar today.

In love,
Mona

Steady.....steady

35 years (and well over 100 pounds ago) I used to take dance and gymnastics classes. I wore little pink or black leotards with white tights and pink ballet slippers. I was adorable and I was pretty good. As a gymnast I really had a bright future ahead of me but alas it wasn't to be.

I loved gymnastic class though. I could do handstands, headstands, cartwheels, round-offs, roll-overs, flips and back bends. I was even getting pretty good on the uneven bars but the one piece of equipment that just had me scared out of my wits was the balance beam. The balance beam is a piece of wood 16' long and 4" wide and sits about 4' off of the ground. It was a very intimidating slab of wood. I mean honestly, I could fall off and break my neck!
But they didn't just throw me right up there on that 4' monster. They started us off with a low beam that sat just a few inches off the ground. Can I be honest and tell you that it was still very intimidating, even though it was down on the floor! It was soooo narrow. But the coach used to hold our feet and teach us how to walk....one foot in front of the other...slow and steady at first just to get us used to it.

"Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps" Psalm 85:13

But my biggest problem with the beam was that it was only 4" wide. That's about the width of the average foot. That means I couldn't stand planted with my feet side by side. It had to be one foot in front of the other. I was wobbly and unsteady at first. But then I learned that I had to use my whole body to keep my balance. My arms and my head where just as important as my feet. I had to keep my arms outstretched in order to keep my balance. I had to keep my head aligned with my body. Where my head went, my feet would follow. I had to keep my eyes focused ahead of me - I could not look at my feet or I would surely fall.

Did you know that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives? So if there's a plan then He has already thought through what we need and how we need it. He isn't going to just throw us up on the 4' tall beam without some help and some training. He seeks to hold your feet while you practice walking along His path.

"If the LORD delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm" Psalm 37:23

He also gives us an instruction manual, the Holy Bible, full of examples of others who have walked along that path before us. We have a Master Gymnast in Jesus Christ, who went to the Spiritual Olympics and won Gold! He can teach us how to walk, and then jump and maybe even do flips on this beam. He provided a great coach in the Holy Spirit, to teach us to hold our heads high and straight. To remind us to keep looking ahead and not back to the past or down at our feet. To cheer us along when we make progress and to console and encourage us when we fall, which we will. To tell us to get up, dust off and get back on the path.

See even though the beam is only 4" wide, with the right instructions, guide and coach you can learn how to maneuver across it - at times wobbly and nervous, and other times with fluid grace - BUT NEVER ALONE.

Walk in love, walk as children of light, walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In love,
Mona

Shoelaces

I cannot remember when I learned to tie my shoes, but I do remember when my son Andrew was learning. I showed him over and over and over again but he just couldn't figure it out. Once he got so frustrated that he threw his shoe across the room and it landed in the corner. I didn't say anything. I just let it be and went into the kitchen to cook dinner. After a time I noticed how quiet he was and when I looked, Andrew was sitting in the corner with that shoe, twisting the laces around his little fingers. He was bound and determined to get it that day!

But even after he mastered tying his shoes, they would never stay tied for too long. So he could spend all day tying and re-tying those laces. But if I tied them, then they would stay tied all day. I pulled them tight and did a double knot. They weren't coming undone!

Right now, we are trying to help God accomplish something. We are going around trying to help Him tie up the loose ends of our lives. Tie up that wayward child. Tie up that job. Tie up those marriage vows. Tie up the doctor's diagnosis. Tie up ourselves and this Christian walk. And God is saying, "but if you let ME tie them, THEY WON'T COME UNDONE."

"You who laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever" Psalm 104:5

"But the word of the Lord stands forever" 1 Peter 1:25

If we let God handle it, I mean really handle it...in His time and according to His purpose...IT WILL LAST FOREVER and nothing or no one will be able to change it. God is forever and so are His promises, His works, His covenants and His love!

"For I am the LORD, I do not change" Malachi 3:6

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" Psalm 90:2

I know that sometimes it is really difficult to understand or comprehend what God is doing in our lives.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways" Isaiah 55:8-9

He doesn't move when we want him to....but oh when He does.....

"He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” Daniel 4:35

Let God tie your shoelaces today. He promises that they won't come undone.

In love,
Mona