Friday, December 31, 2010

New Wonderfully New

New morning. New day. New week. New month. New year. New life. New pain. New challenges. New friends. New jobs. New struggles. New memories. New knowledge. New toys. New homes. New direction. New dreams. New starts. New love. New inside jokes. New songs. New stories. New adventures. New hurts. New scars. New car smell. New books. New food. New fears. New trends. New heartache. New joy. New disasters. New victories. New discoveries. New traditions. New seasons. New strength. New growth. New mercies.

Isa 43:18-21 "Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field will glorify Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise."

Behold He is doing something new. I love that our Lord loves new things; I feel like He probably would have the Engadget App on His ipad. He is not interested in staleness rather He is constantly moving His people on His redeeming path toward the new Heaven and the New Earth. Forgiveness, mercy, hope, grace - He likes a clean slate. New may not always be pleasant but it never stands still. New may not be easy but it never lacks hope. I don't know what 2011 holds, but praise God it is new! "Will you not be aware of it?"

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Anna and Olivia


(Da da da da dum...da da da da dum...) I have the Olivia cartoon theme song stuck in my head, and if you know the show and can understand my fancy music language, you are now singing along with me. Olivia is a cartoon pig and my niece's best friend, apparently. Olivia is very imaginative and sometimes gets a little carried away, much to the displeasure of her parents, but she always learns something and finds life lessons to share what she calls "rules of life". On one particular episode Olivia is trying to help her friend keep a bird away from his sandwich and they have to scream loudly. Olivia pauses to declare, "Rule of life number 23, sometimes you have to use your big voice." Well, I agree, Olivia, and so would Anna.

Anna, a prophetess and widow, spent her days in prayer and devotion to the Lord. She had been married for only seven years before her husband died and rather than remarry she devoted herself to service at the temple. When we are introduced to Anna in the pages of Luke's gospel she had just walked up during the testimony of Simeon to Mary and Joseph concerning Jesus the Christ. (A lesson in and of itself on how when we spend our time with and about the Lord our God we find ourselves "stumbling" on some pretty remarkable things.)

Anna met Jesus. A sweet, little wrinkly baby with sleepy, dark eyes and tiny, round toes. A sweet little baby who embodied and inaugurated the long awaited kingdom. A sweet little baby, Creator, King, Eternal, Victor, Love. The raspy cry of an infant's birth broke hundreds of years of silence announcing God with us. With us. With us. Not a messenger. Not a prophecy. Not a voucher. God Himself with us. With us to save us.

Anna, no doubt breathless, took in the wonderful sight of salvation that day. No doubt the soft coos of Jesus brought a tearful smile to her face as she lay down that night. She took it all in, but not to keep it to herself. Luke tells us that she immediately started giving thanks and continued to tell everyone who wanted to hear (and if I had to guess, a few who didn't). She wouldn't hush about it. I like that. Why would she?

Go ahead, USE YOUR BIG VOICE!