New Years and Second Chances

I am competitive. I love to win, hate to lose. When my older brother was teaching me to play baseball and I did poorly I always begged for a second chance.  Just let me try to hit one more pitch, or attempt to throw the ball a little straighter or further.  I needed desperately to try again and not end the session in defeat. I don’t think anybody likes to lose. It doesn’t feel good.  But some are more determined than others and press on until they win, or at least improve.

 Life doesn’t always give us second chances, though.  In school we are not always given the opportunity to take the test over again.  When performing in front of an audience we only have that one moment to do our best and then it’s over.

But God DOES give us 2nd Chances-right up until our last day on this planet! 

As we begin this New Year I contemplate what it means to have New Beginnings and am so grateful that with God every single day can be a new beginning.   His grace never ends and His love never fails.  With every breath we breathe we are given the chance to repent, to thank Him, to praise Him!  To begin again - to lean on His everlasting Arms for strength to walk with Him into a new day!

Lamentations 3:22-24
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

May the year 2016 be a year of knowing and experiencing
God's grace and His mercies brand new every morning!

Just a Simple Girl

Well, let me start off by saying I'm not really a "girl" anymore since I'm beyond the age of "girl-hood", but inside my head I am still a girl.  :)  So, that being said...I am not fancy, I'm not beautiful, I'm not rich, I live in an average home in an average neighborhood. I don't have great ambitions - never have - but I do want to make a difference in this world.  And that is actually a huge ambition, and yet each and every one of us can attain to it!

How?  Just by being you and using the talents and personality you've been given...that's how!  It doesn't take a great ability or beauty or money to start a chain reaction of blessing in this life.  A smile.  A helping hand. A prayer. A thoughtful note.  Some people call this "random acts of kindness."  I call it bearing fruit for God.  It's what we're called to do.  We all have our "sphere of influence" - people in our lives that no one else can reach but us.  This is important to realize because when we do, we understand the importance of showing them Christ's love that they may not get to       experience anywhere else.          

One of the keys to success in bearing fruit for God in this life is not comparing yourself to ANYone else!  One side of comparing is pride and on the other side is depression.  Neither are healthy or productive.  So we accept ourselves as God made us, with whatever gifts he's given, and we go forth in His name to just love on people.  And everyone can do that!  Just be a simple girl-or guy. Be who you are and let God show you how you can make a big difference in someone's life today.

The pics I've added show ways to be simply "you"....make muffins for a neighbor, invite someone over for a visit, give flowers, sew a tablerunner or something else for someone - or just smile!

 Just go out there and be simply, beautifully YOU! And let the love of God flow...

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5