Day 1-Making a Plan

Here's the new plan (because I have to do something, to start somewhere):
90 days to read through the New Testament (laid out by Rick Warren at purposedrivenlife.org. I've tried for a year before...and reading the NT in 30 days...both seemed a little too ambitious!)
15 minutes of quiet time every morning
And prayer.

My Prayer: Psalm 51: 10-12
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

The Reading: Matthew 1-3
Matthew 1:21, 23 Names of Jesus
21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins." (Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.)
23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

My thoughts:
When I couldn't go to God, He came to me. And what a sacrifice that was. What a love that would provoke such a sacrifice. I don't understand that love just like I don't understand why life is the way it is. But I can still be grateful for the gift and the reminder that God is not separated from me. God is with me. Because of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God is with me now and always, even to the end of the age. He is unshaken even when I falter. To find my way, I only have to look.

And apparently I'm always going to have a song, too. When I read this about Joseph taking his family to Eqypt, I hear a song by Rich Mullins called My Deliverer is coming. If you'd rather hear the song and watch a slideshow of images reflecting Jesus' life, you can check out the YouTube clip. I managed to maintain my composure to only a few sniffles.