52 Blessings Week 4: Fresh Starts

I love the week between Christmas and New Year's day. I normally store up vacation so that I have a great break at a great time. And it's the time of resolutions and thinking about what you want the next year to be like. And new calendar pages. I really like blank calendars. It's a shame that they get so crowded and cluttered so soon! Today I'm really thinking about what a blessing it is that we get to start over.

I stepped on a scale. And immediately regretted it. But the fact is that the number that shows up there is something that is in my power to change. I should know. I've done it over and over and over and over...but this time could be different. I'm not doomed to the same mistakes (although they seem nearly impossible to break out of) because I get to start over. And in any one of a thousand other areas where I've messed up, I get to start over from where I am. Make a change. Try something different. Make a difference. It's discouraging if I look at how many times I've had to start over, but it does not change the fact that I am so lucky to have a new day, a fresh calendar, to try it again.

Isaiah 43
16 This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,

17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

Unexpected gifts

I love to get gifts. I'm sure that at the ripe old age of 35, I should be completely over that, but I'm not. I love gifts. It's not about the price tag. It's about the surprise. The wrapping paper and the surprise.

I've determined that may be part of my difficulty getting into the Christmas spirit, everything is scripted and done according to the list and everyone is appreciative and we move on. There's nothing really wrong with that except...I like to give thoughtful gifts, spontaneous gifts, to people who appreciate those things. Luckily, I work with creative types who would appreciate that. Or, at the very least, appreciate pretty wrapping and bows. Unfortunately, my brain is mostly worn out this time of year so I go with predictable instead.

Last week I got a package at work from a designer who has become a friend. I thought it was work, so when I saw a gift instead...how exciting! A Psalms desk calendar with a lovely note..."I saw this and thought of you."

I love the gift (from someone who is a much better friend than I am, but that's really to be expected!), but even more, I love the note. OK, well, as much anyway. I needed the reminder. I want to be that kind of person...when a friend sees a Psalms calendar, I want them to think of me. I want to be thought of as someone who appreciates God's word. And, even when I don't know it, someone might be thinking of me.

Father, thank you so much for surrounding me with good friends. This time of year is hard and loneliness comes unexpectedly because I feel a little out of step in my family sometimes. It's good to know that my steps are just different, I'm in step with other people. Who like me, not because we has the same parents but because they like me. Help me to remember what's important and that you never leave me alone. And Father, I want people to know that I'm yours, when they see me, they think of you. Help me to be that person.

52 Blessings Week 3: Snow Days

So you won't see a picture of snow, because there wasn't any to speak of, only ice. But I was safe and sound at home with a free day that normally would have been spent working, so I worked...on Christmas. The blessing here is that the extra time couldn't have come at a better time. In the midst of the craziness that is the holiday season, extra time in hard to come by. Work is crazy. And then home is crazier with the shopping and for me, the cooking and cleaning.

It's difficult to find peace and joy at what should be the most joyful and peaceful season. Some are energized by that. Me, I just want to be quiet. And if I can do that at home, even better. So I cooked a little, crafted a lot, and crossed items off of my list, and as a result, I felt better about celebrating with my friends and I've moved on to the next hurdle: cleaning my house. If you could see it, you'd understand how high this hurdle is! And then the turkey is lurking...the source of most of my Christmas stress.

Thank you, Father, for unexpected gifts. They're the best kind! Thank you for the chance to organize myself and spend a little extra time on the people who make my workdays better.

52 Blessings Week 2: Working with Friends

Proverbs 17:17 (New International Version)
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

I was thinking hard on the way in to work this morning about the best thing to post today for week 2 of my assignment. I think the original goal on Photojojo was to practice my photography skills. So far, that hasn't panned out but I think it's even more important to think about my blessings. That's my story and I'm sticking to it (but there might also be something to the fact that my schedule is crammed, my camera is out of it's normal place, I'm too busy/lazy to get it and set something up right now, I only do things at the last minute...).

So today my picture is from our Halloween competition here at work and it's just a small representation of my friends here and why working with them is good for me. From this photo, you can tell that my friends are creative with great senses of humor and fun spirits (and maybe they're just a little...different. Like me). It's a little harder to tell is how generous they are, how good they are, and that each one is a good friend. Each person in that picture has gone above and beyond the call of "co-worker" for me. And there are more here, people who aren't in the picture.

I was thinking about this and I guess that spending 8 hours a day together, for years and years and years and years...and years, under the pressure of never-ending deadlines will probably make you best of friends or mortal enemies. And some of them I've even made road trips and worked trade shows with...and we're still friends. In fact, under pressure, I'm the first one to crack and my bad stuff spills out but they still make room for me and laugh with me and forgive me. Good friends.

I do thank God for placing me in the middle of this group of people. They are a blessing.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 (New International Version)
3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Nicodemus

Gohere to read John 3.

In John 3, we have the powerhouse verse found on signs at every sporting event around the world. I'm going to look at something different in this chapter: Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, a Pharisee who sought out Jesus to find out more. Pharisees have a pretty bad reputation but it seems that Nicodemus was faithful, a teacher, and yet also curious about Jesus. And he just couldn't grasp the idea of being "born again."

As someone who has lived her entire life smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt, it's hard to imagine a time and place where being "born again" isn't understood. But it's kind of a difficult thing to grasp. And as Jesus said to Nicodemus, "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?"

Nicodemus was a learned man and honestly curious to know more...and he just couldn't get it, couldn't understand that Jesus brought new life through a rebirth, not physically here but spiritually. I like this story, especially compared to the next chapter with the Samaritan woman because I think we see these same conversation every day...the super religious who know the right things to say and may even be genuinely seeking Christ like Nicodemus who struggle and sinners like the Samaritan woman who hurt and only have to be offered an option to grab hold of it. Both are sinners, both come to Christ, but with vastly different experiences. How lucky we are that Jesus came to save the lost, no matter their position in society. And even more lucky that Jesus had a message to reach them both...and you...and me.

52 Blessings: Week 1 Christmas Decorations

So in the effort to stick with my new plan to at least post once a week with a blessing as a part of the "52 Blessings" idea from Photojojo, I have my first post ready. Unfortunately my photo isn't really worthy of showing to people who love photography...not very artsy anyway. Still, it works for this.

Week #1-Christmas Decorations...at work
I work for a company where Christmas is present every day of the year, thanks to publishing 2 large Christmas craft books. It takes A. Very. Long. Time. to do this. Even when it's melting hot outside, there's Christmas something hanging around here. But I think it goes deeper than that too. I'm lucky to work for a place that will put up a beautiful nativity set in the lobby. All visitors will see that nativity. And I see it every time I ride on the elevator (and that's a lot because the Diet Coke is on the first floor but I live on the second floor...and I'm lazy so I ride).

I like that it's still "Merry Christmas" around here. Santa and his reindeer and "Happy Holidays" are here too, but Jesus and the manger haven't been hidden away.

John or not John

This is a note for BK, who left comments on the post "John, whom Jesus loved" because there's discussion about who the Beloved Disciple is..John or not John. The writer of the gospel is anonymous and early church tradition attributes it to John. If I'm reading correctly, it appears that an argument exists that the Beloved Disciple is actually Lazarus (from John 11). It's an interesting argument and there's more to it. As it is called the Gospel of John, I'll probably continue to call him John but I'm really trying to find out more about Jesus. Check out more online if you're curious.