Happy New Year 2005!
It’s the first day of a new year and I’m excited about what the Lord is laying on my heart. Every year I get before Him to seek His will for my life for the New Year. Mike and I went camping this week to get away from the normal routine and the demands that seem to creep up when we are both at home. This retreat helps to prepare my heart to hear and receive what the Lord has for me. I began to hear in my spirit about a voice calling in the desert last weekend…before my Pastor read a letter Paul Harvey wrote and before he said something along the same lines. We as Christians rose up this year to make our voices heard during the Presidential election. Why does it take “issues” that challenge our rights as Christians before we rise up and speak up? Why do we sit back and let the minority, who choose to live in open sin, be the ones who establish the laws of our land? Little by little our rights are being infringed upon all in the name of tolerance for everyone else but the Christian majority. Anyway, the Lord is revealing to me that He has given me a voice to speak with boldness and confidence (only in Him and through Him) so that I can be a mouth-piece for Him in this New Year. As a voice of one calling:
In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 40.3-5)
I’m also reminded of the allegorical stories written by Hannah Hurnard, Hinds Feet in High Places and the sequel Mountains of Spices. Both of these books have made such an impact on my life, especially the idea that it is God who calls and equips us to follow after Him. I love the fact that He goes before us and makes our path level, even those routes that don’t seem to have a pathway on them! I have always felt that I was like one of the pioneer woman of old, with a sickle in hand, cutting down a trail through the wilderness so that it would be easier for those who followed. There were a couple of years when I stopped, filled with resentment, as I asked “why me, why do I have to be first”? I’m the first in a lot of areas; in the family, I’m the first born, first grandchild, first to marry, first to have children first one to have children graduate and get married and consequently the first to become a grandparent. It seems that most all of my friends near my age (most are a few years older) still have children in elementary school. While they are older, I have experienced many of the “first” events. It is easy to share my experiences with others, especially when it helps. However, there are times I wish I could just sit back and not be the one who goes first and cuts down the path just to make it easier for others. But, then I’m reminded of, to whom much is given, much is required. God knows me best and has given me much; my desire is to give back to Him in service all that is within me. Besides, I’m not the first to go forward and make a way, not in the big picture sense. So, I’ll put on my spiritual “hiking boots,” pick up whatever “tool” is necessary and continue my journey. If I can help make it easier for others to walk down this path as the “glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it,” then I will be doing my little part for the glory of the Lord.
I pray that you too are seeking His face and His will for your life as He prepares you for this New Year.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Could this be the next Gerber baby? Or, maybe the next Christmas calendar baby. Kayleigh posed so perfectly for all of us as if she sits for pictures all of the time. I'm sure her mommy is posting this one on her blog as we all decided it was the perfect pose once Mike (Abba) uploaded it onto the computer. Sharing Christmas day with the family made for an extra special day.
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