Nye begyndelser
Labour of love ❤️
Looking back on these photos from birth, (and a few more too bloody for this public space 😆) I’m reminded of the labour of love it was to birth my baby! It took persistence and a laying down of preferences and pleasure to deliver…and a whole lot of praise, prayer and power from above.
So it is with labouring to birth new life spiritually speaking. It takes sacrifice. To birth a God dream not yet in plan sight, we often have to let go of old fears, preferences and commitments in order to see the ‘baby’ welcomed into the world.
Delivering new life is costly - messy - beautiful and rewarding all at the same time.
Jesus’ example shows us that love’s reality is to sacrifice (1 John 3:16 TPT) and that the joy of new life waits on the other side of suffering and surrender (Philippians 3:10 TPT).
Do you have a God dream on the inside of you?
Sometimes we already know what kind of baby we’re carrying inside of us. A ministry. A business. A book. A song...
What we rarely know is the exact appearance of the baby and other details of when, how, and what it will take to birth it before we go into labour.
As you navigate the (messy) bends and curves of labouring, I believe God will provide the support of a maternity ward (Fødegang) metaphorically speaking. There you’re empowered with a delivery room, a midwife and all the equipment you need to safely birth whatever is on the inside of you ready to come out.
So be strong, courageous and encouraged. Support is coming. Have a heart of faith to believe it and eyes to see it. New life is on the other side of your letting go. Just as the autumn season never fails to be a reminder of 🍁
Lean into Him. Partnering with God, the source of all LIFE, is so rewarding.
Side note/bonus testimony is, last time I published a blog was the day before my due date for our baby girl and also, unbeknownst to me, the day before my water broke and the process of labour begun!
I prophetically declared in faith over you and myself: "Your delivery has arrived" because my husband and I had stood in faith that our daughter would be born just around due date for several family reasons.
God did show up on due date with my water breaking... and I believe that was totally the Father's perfect will. No matter the herb teas drunk and the squats and long walks made by a pregnant woman, the actual effect of it is still not scientifically proven. It's a mystery how a women enters labour. God is big and too wondrous for our imagination for us to fathom how He births life through us!
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Your delivery has arrived
Have you ever been waiting for a package delivery?
When ‘track-and-trace’ updates me it's time to check my mail box for an arrived package, I get excited, and when the delivery is on time, it's just the best!
However, sometimes delays happen that cause anxiety as to when I'll end up receiving the product I ordered and is expecting.
The same anxiety can show up in our spiritual and emotional waiting room of life whether the delivery is something we're about to be given (like a package), something we're about to give birth to physically or spiritually or we're waiting for something or someone to deliver us!
For me personally, I'm waiting for the delivery of our baby who is due tomorrow! However, I don't know when that delivery will happen exactly so this bible-dive into what the scriptures have to stay about delivery and deliverance is timely for myself.
What kind of delivery are you waiting for right now?
It could be that you're waiting for restoration in a relationship, a healing in your body or a promise/ dream in your heart to be delivered to you?
Whatever the type of "'Your delivery has arrived'- email" you're waiting for, I believe we can do three things in the meanwhile to stay in hopeful expectation!
Metaphorically speaking:
- We can check our package order request to see if it's correct
- We can check the email spam filter to make sure the right message is reaching us
- We can check the order confirmation and promise the store has given us.
Let's dig deeper below.
1.Check your order request
The first thing I do when my package delivery is late, is to check my order to see if I got the right memo about the date and if I ordered the product to the right address.
I believe we can do the same when we're waiting in expectation for God to deliver something to our lives. We are encouraged to make our requests known to God, so what have you requested of God? Or what do you need to request of Him you've only wished for this far?
"And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it! And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives, seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires" James 4:2 TPT.
When we "check our order" metaphorically speaking, we can make sure we've actually asked God and not only wished for it. We can also give God access to search our hearts to make sure we requested a delivery to our lives with the right motive. Sometimes, we might also already have received what we asked for but we haven't had eyes to see it because the delivery arrived in a different package than we expected it to look like.
One thing is sure. God is always active in our lives as these scriptures reveal. He is sending out orders and working for our good:
"God sends angels with special orders to protect you wherever you go, defending you from all harm" Psalm 91:11 MSG.
"He sends out his orders throughout the world; his words run as swift messengers, bringing them to pass" Psalm 147:15 MSG.
"He established the cosmos to last forever, and he stands behind his commands so his orders will never be revoked" Psalm 148:6 MSG.
God is in the business of sending special orders out to protect us, and what He orders for our lives will be impossible to change.
2. Check your spam filter
One of the more frustrating messages to receive when trying to deliver an email is this one: "Delivery Status Notification (Failure) I learnt that one of the reasons for this delivery fail is because the email is landing in a spam filter!
I've been reminded of the importance of having an internal spam filter in this season of waiting to deliver my baby into the world. An internal spam filter is helpful in sorting out unhelpful comments from taking root in my heart and mind.
Whether the negative comments have been about bad birth experiences, comments on the belly or others simply projecting their fears on me, my internal spam filter has helped me let the good opinions, comments and remarks stay and the negative ones go.
We can't put our hope in people's words to deliver us: "Give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain [a worthless hope]" Psalm 108:12.
When our spam filter is working, we set ourselves up for a win so only the authentic and real, honourable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind (Phil. 4:8 TPT) words gets to stay and get attention in the inbox of our hearts and minds.
Let your mental spam filter help sort what words to hold on to and which ones to let go of as you await in hopeful expectancy on your delivery.
Even when our own deliveries fail to be sent properly, we can rest knowing that God's deliveries to our lives never get lost in a spam filter. His deliveries are timely and we need open hands and hearts to receive the new He has for us:
"Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son” Genesis 18:14 AMP.
3. Check the promise
To stick with the package delivery-example, I do check the order confirmation whenever my delivery is delayed. I make sure that what I think has been promised from the store is actually what the order confirmation-email says I can expect.
I believe the exact same principle goes for our relationship with God. When we haven't received what we've been waiting for, it can be helpful to go back and check what God actually promised? Did he put a date on it? He rarely does as His ways are not our ways. If your journal entry does not recount what He has specifically promised you in the area you're waiting for a delivery on, go to the bible to see what He has promised in terms of deliverance.
When I did a word-study on "deliverance", I found that God is the ultimate deliverer! He delivers us from death (Psalm 30:1), God delivers nations (Isaiah 27:1), God delivers justice (Hebrews 10:30) and He has delivered us from the consequences of sin (Ephesians 4:30). This general, big perspective on deliverance helps me wait on the specific deliveries!
Costly deliveries
I must admit, I certainly have my favourite delivery service! That would be free, express delivery right to my door! No cost, short waiting time and no hassle to pick up the package is such a joy.
However, this is not always how our packages arrive, and it's not always how our other deliveries in life come. For example, I don't expect my birth delivery to be with no cost and with no waiting time. I'm prepared that there will be a painful cost to pay in birthing my daughter but I trust it will be absolutely worthwhile and beautiful anyways.
Even if your spiritual/soul/physical delivery might come with a cost, know that God's presence will go with you. He will battle for you. You just need to stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you (2 Chronicles 20:17 NIV).
If He has brought you to it, He'll enable you to go through it:
“Shall I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God" Isaiah 66:9 AMP.
Surprise deliveries
Another favourite delivery service of mine would be surprise deliveries. People have been kind in this pregnancy journey to surprise us with deliveries of clothes and baby gear we didn't expect to receive.
Jesus himself came as a surprise delivery through a virgin birth and what He continually does in people's lives around the world are surprise deliveries - the exceedingly, abundantly above our wildest requests-kind of surprises. He has done these surprise deliverances since he entered the scene as the prophet Isaiah prophesied:
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows— light! sunbursts of light! [...]The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants— all their whips and cudgels and curses— Is gone, done away with, a deliverance as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian[...]For a child has been born—for us! the gift of a son—for us!" Isaiah 9:2 MSG.
I pray for the last three months of this year that you’ll receive surprise deliveries that would be the kind only God knows you're longing for; the kind that'll be infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination!
These kind of surprise deliveries energises us as we wait for full deliverance.
Full deliverance
While you wait on your delivery, know that the hope set before us as Christ-followers is not only the specific deliverance you're waiting for - it's the full deliverance of heaven in the not-yet kingdom where there will be no more tears and pain!
"All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance.
That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy" Romans 8:22 MSG.
Be encouraged! Deliverance is here already, deliverance is on it's way, and deliverance will come!
“Pay attention, my people. Listen to me, nations. Revelation flows from me. My decisions light up the world. My deliverance arrives on the run, my salvation right on time" Isaiah 51:4 MSG.
As you await your specific delivery, check out your order request, check your spam filter and check out God’s promise to you. He’ll provide for the costly deliveries, He loves to surprise you with His deliveries and He is a God who has secured your full deliverance through Jesus.
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I am crossing over
Recently, I was thinking about the crossovers of life as I literally was on a boat crossing over from Sjællands Odde to Aarhus. On this particular crossover, there were high waves and it made me nautious. The weather was foggy and it was hard to see the horizon.
In the same way, spiritual, mental and emotional crossovers can be surrounded by lack of clarity about what's waiting on the other side. As we navigate the transitions of endings, in-betweens and new beginnings, it can make us a bit nautious too.
A snapshot of my own recent transitions include ending a two-year-season at an apartment and ending my season of six years of studying. Currently I am transitioning out of a study-job I've had for the last two years, and I am in the process of handing over Citycare while I'm on maternity leave, which is the social justice ministry in our church which my husband and I have started and have served at the last three years since we got married. I'm also waiting for my baby girl to arrive and our family to expand while searching for my first full-time-job. We just finished the in-between time of living with my generous parents for one and a half month, and now we've entered a beginning with a new apartment in a new neighbourhood.
All of these crossovers I'm experiencing are a natural part of progression in life. Some of the endings (that naturally beckon a new beginning) happened due to perseverance and diligence in finishing up an education for instance, and other endings happened because of intentional faith-steps that's part of the Christian pilgrimage journey.
If you are also navigating transitions with all its bends and curves, I pray that the following insight into the Israelites' transition - from captivity in Egypt to crossing over the Red Sea into their promised land - will help you in your transition.
🔑 Keep your mouth shut
In the in-between when we've left something behind and is moving over to something new, our season can seem odd to others, and even to ourselves. We might not know where the steps we're taking are leading. For the Israelites, the in-between caused some doubt, insecurity and distrust in their leader:
"As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them—Egyptians! Coming at them!
They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness’” Exodus 14:10 MSG.
In the in-between, the Israelites spoke from a limited perspective because they couldn't see the full picture yet. Their words were full of complaint, blame and wishing themselves back to the past. The great part of their complaint was that they directed it towards the source, God, who can work with where we're at.
God's answer of reassurance and calm to their panic came through the Israelites' leader, Moses, whom He had put over them. Moses exhorted them:
“Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.
God will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!” Exodus 14:13 MSG.
If you're doubting like the Israelites were, be comforted that this is normal in transition. But don't let that become an excuse for staying in a rut of negativity and distrust. If you don't know what to declare yet over your new beginning and how to explain it to others, simply don't.
*However, with new decisions, definitely talk them through with a counsellor in your life for perspective and accountability, and a couple of trusted friends.
Instead of focusing on how others perceive you and your life in the change, worship your way through the fog. As Moses counselled the Israelites, keep your mouth shut, lean back and see what God will do. Keep gathering the puzzle pieces of glimpses you do have into your future. The dizziness is normal as you cross over. It will all get clearer as you move towards the horizon.
God has got you. You are crossing over.
🔑Get moving
When we've gotten the revelation instilled in our hearts that ultimately God fights for us - that He'll make the way and prepare the land we're crossing over into - we don't have to justify, rationalise or explain what might not even be clear to ourselves yet - we'll have to then get courageous and start moving:
"God said to Moses: “Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving. Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea: Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground" Exodus 14:15 MSG.
Faith requires action. To cross over, we need to put one foot in front of the other. What can hinder us from stepping out and get moving is the awkwardness. The stretch and the unknown can look a little messy as we are walking where we haven't been before.
As you process how you'll get moving, what do you discern need to be crossed off your to-do-list and left at the foot of the cross instead? Not everything of the old can coexist with the new.
I've found that some giants in my life - some struggles that I've only gotten partial deliverance from - often resurfaces as I'm about to enter something new that requires faith. Even though the giant - in this case of old memories of rejection and pain - will try to make me shrink down from rising into the new, the resurface is actually a great opportunity to receive deeper healing so that the new God is birthing can be enjoyed in greater ways - with no yuck from the past trying to haunt me and ruin the new wine.
When the Israelites' went in to scout out Canaan - the new land God had for them - they noticed some giants in the new land too that made them shrink back and feel insecure, unworthy and incapable.
"There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" Numbers 13:33 NIV.
No matter if the giant you're facing as you get moving towards the new is something old resurfacing or a new challenge trying to squeeze the courage out of you, continue moving! Know that this is only confirmation you're moving in the right direction, being courageous with your life. Other people's deliverance is tied to your obedience. Fight through with them in mind.
God has got you. You are crossing over.
🔑 Declare who God is
As you fight the urge to having to explain the change that's upon you - as you get moving with the directions you've got and conquer giants on the way - declare who you know God to be.
I love the context of the psalm below, by the Levite and musician Asaph. In the midst of the temple being destroyed in Jerusalem, Asaph is believed to have penned this Psalm to give praise and declare dependence on God in their hard situation. He is looking back at the Israelites' breakthrough in the past to be encouraged in what's in from of them now -the crisis of the temple being destroyed:
By Asaph's example, I'm encouraged to remember God's past gracious supplies and even search out others who have gotten a breakthrough in the area I'm believing to cross over into.
The cross has ensured that you can cross over - from death to life, from emptiness to a life beaming with purpose in your every step.
Remember, Moses led a whole people to cross over with only a staff in his hand. When God says 'go', go empowered in His strength and trust that what you have is enough!
God has got you. You are crossing over.
All my love,
Sandra.
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Keys to receive a blueprint part 2
You can read part one on blueprints: "A blueprint for the new year" here.
In the last post, I unpacked how a blueprint is more than a vision. It is a plan on how to live it out. There are countless examples of this in the bible.
God revealed to Noah how exactly the ark was to be built to carry out God’s rescue plan from the flood for the righteous: "This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high..." (Gen. 6,15 CSB) David received the exact blueprints from God to pass on to Solomon to build the temple of God: "The plans contained everything he had in mind for the courts of the Lord's house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of God's house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated" 1 Chronicles 28:11 CSB.
And on and on the instructions go.
Like Noah and David, we can position ourselves to receive a blueprint for an assignment we've been given so we can partner with God and not only fulfill our assignment, but fulfill it in His loving, wise ways.
For you, God might want to give you a blueprint for the vision He has given you for 2019 whether it be for a certain project, a blueprint for your team structure, or your family's rhythms for example.
What were Noah, David and Jesus' blueprint for?
Noah's blueprint was for building an ark that could rescue the righteous from the flood God had sent to wipe away the wicked from the earth. The purpose was to partner with God for a reset on earth that would serve the future generations.
David's blueprint was for rebuilding the temple of God. After the Israelites had resettled in Jerusalem after the exile, they needed to reconnect with their identity as the people of God. The temple should direct them back to God's presence in their midst. The temple would later remind many Christians of the importance of the presence of God.
Jesus' blueprint on how to pray in Luke 11 served the purpose of intimacy with the Father and it showed the way for other people to connect to God.
In all three examples (the reset on earth, the rebuilding of the temple and the model of prayer), the blueprints helped serve other people, the future generations and forge relationship with God. 🔑
Let's look on some other keys in scripture that unlocked a blueprint from heaven:
- Ask 🔑
"He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray..." Luke 11:1 CSB.
A new testament example on a blueprint is Jesus teaching us a model for prayer in Luke 11. Before Jesus prayed, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come..", he was asked by one of his disciples to be trained on the 'how to'.
Where do you need to ask God on the 'how' to carry out a certain assignment, face a challenge, or maybe reconcile a broken-down relationship?
2. Walking consistently with God 🔑
"Noah walked with God" Genesis 6:9 CSB.
Noah is described as a man walking with God and David's faithful heart towards God is also evident many places in scripture. When we walk consistently with God, He can align our hearts with His, and He can speak to us about the specifics on how to carry out His heart in a timely manner on the earth.
A blueprint is not about getting a plan and then moving on with the job without God. No, God shares His secrets with friends who consistently abide in Him.
3. Failure does not disqualify 🔑
"Then David prayed, “I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin—I’ve been really stupid.” 1 Chronicles 21:8 MSG.
Before David received His blueprint he had just been seduced by the enemy to make a prideful leadership decision in counting his warriors.
The key is David’s hearts after his failure. He repents for his lack of trust in counting his warriors and in obedience he builds an altar to worship to God. Like Noah, He is walking with God, not perfect though, but with a repentant heart, willing to bear the consequences of his stupid choice. After David repented, he did not cut corners in building God an altar (1 Chronicles 21:18)
Failure does not have to qualify in partnering with God when we repent and in obedience goes forward with what He has called us to do, now done in His way without cutting corners.
4. A grateful attitude 🔑
In David's prayer (1 Chronicles 29:10 CSB), we see David go public with his honor to God: "Then David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly" and we see David explain how they had received provision from God to carry out the blueprint of the temple: "Lord, our God, all this wealth that we've provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand..."
When we do receive a blueprint from heaven, we can learn from David's example of telling his testimony publicly and recognising where the provision for the blueprint came from. A grateful attitude is pleasing to God.
Promises attached to the blueprint
1 Chron 28:19 tells how God not only gives David the blueprint on how to build the temple, but also the understanding on how to then carry it out: "By the Lord's hand on me, he enabled me to understand everything in writing all the detail of the plan."
That's a comforting fact. We can in the same way believe God not only to give us a blueprint but also to give us the understanding to carry it out.
Let's learn from Noah, David and Jesus and...
- Ask for a blueprint,
- Walk consistently with our Father
- Remember failure does not qualify when we repent
- Carry a grateful attitude
Bless you,
Sandra.
A blueprint for the new year part 1
Have you ever received a blueprint from heaven?
Synonyms for a blueprint is a model, design, strategy or template. Blueprints are used to describe the detailed, blue, photographic prints which architects used for their buildings since 1942. 🏠 I love the word ‘blueprint’ is also used in the paraphrased, modern translations of the bible.
A blueprint is more than a vision. It is a plan on how to live it out. There are countless examples of this in the bible.
God revealed to Noah how exactly the Ark was to be built to carry out God’s rescue plan from the flood for the righteous (Genesis 7). David received the exact blueprints from God to pass on to Solomon to build the temple of God. (1 Chronicles 28:11 MSG) Jesus taught us the blueprint on how to pray (Luke 11:1 NIV).
I believe in the strategies of heaven. I believe God has designated plans for us and I know He wants to share His secrets with His friends: “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” Psalm 25:14.
With 2019 just around the corner, we can draw near to God to receive blueprints of heaven for our new year: 🎆
“Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ.
Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.” 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 MSG.
I love the analogy of our lives as a house, and I feel the weightiness of the scripture too. God is serious about the foundation and the materials the house is built with. Why? Because the house we are building with our lives is the home He dwells in, His sanctuary.
Therefore, regular heart-check-ups are healthy. Is our foundation still Jesus Christ? Are we co-builders of His house building something of eternal value? Are the materials we use silver and gold that will stand the test of fire?
Or is it rather hay and straw that will make our house come burning down by the exposure of time?
In The Passion Translation commentary, it says that “there is an allusion here to the temple of Solomon, which was built using gold, silver, and costly stones. Wisdom will build her house with divine substance (gold), redemption’s fruit (silver), and transformed lives (costly stones). See 1 Chronicles 22:14-16; 29:2.
Wood, hay, and straw are emblems of the works of the flesh, the building materials of men, not of God.
It is both quality and durability that God commends. Fire will cause the better material to glow brighter, but the inferior material will be consumed.
How we build and what we build matters to God. Note that it is possible to build on the true foundation of Christ but with wrong materials. We need God’s work done in God’s way.”
We need a blueprint to build something of quality and durability in 2019. Are we building with His wisdom, His insight, His understanding, His provision and His perspective?
I hope you are encouraged that God is a God of blueprints. God has a blueprint for the wicked (Job 20:29 MSG), God used wisdom’s blueprints to build the earth’s foundations (Prov.3:19 MSG) and God has a blueprint for your life and season! You are heaven's assignment. You are believed in and dearly loved, and your life has purpose.
With your wise strategy for 2019, you can wage war and confuse the enemy’s blueprint for your life. (Proverbs 24:6 TPT; Psalm 55:9 CEV)
Be encouraged to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ with materials that will last and stand the test of time:
“You will find true success when you find me, for I have insight into wise plans that are designed just for you. I hold in my hands living-understanding, courage, and strength. They’re all ready and waiting for you.” (Prov. 8:14 TPT)
Let's press in and receive what God has for us. He has exciting things in store!
Bless you,
Sandra.
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A new year 🎉
A new year! A blank page!
That can be daunting in many ways. The uncertain future in front of us. The regrets behind us. The present that’s not full of the reality we had imagined a year earlier. Thankfully our experience can also be one of exuberant excitement for what has been and what will be. Wherever you land on the scale of emotions, it is okay. We have come this far (deep breath) and Jesus is worthy of our praise for His faithfulness.
And let me for a moment encourage those that had a year with one battle after another, that is myself included! 🙋🏼 Let us not anticipate the same for the new year. Something new will take place! A new chapter is about to be written! The bible speaks about us going from grace to grace and from strength to strength. That means that even if the righteous falls seven times, we get back up again, having weathered the storm and we come back standing tall to continue, all by God’s grace.
This year my husband and I celebrated New Years at my parent's farm just the two of us. It was intimate and special as we normally celebrate the new year with friends around us. Both is amazing in different ways. But to be just the two of us was the right decision for us this year, and it gave us a freedom to shape the evening in the way we needed. We did three things on New Years Eve and it's not too late for you to do the same...
If your New years Eve felt like a flop, or you just simply haven't had the time yet to position your heart for the new year, here are some easy actions to take that are a great set-up for a new year.
Start the new year...
1) On your knees
Why? Because it is simple and powerful. It is the posture of surrender, humility and yielding to Him who holds the new year in His hands and knows all that awaits us in the future. When we bow low, it reminds us of the bigness of the One we are serving.
Because we were just the two of us, we had the personal space to kneel together before the clock turned 00:00. Other New Years Eves' I've done it in the bathroom if it's crowded and inappropriate to do it right where you are - whatever works. I never leave a moment of bowing before the King of Kings without encountering His peaceful presence and a new sense of awe of who I belong to.
Then we jumped into 1st of January having the television going with the countdown on while worship was going on. It was a beautiful moment positioning our hearts in worship and expectancy for the new about to appear.
New Years Eve might be over but to be positioned on our knees is something we are free to do 24/7.
2) Releasing the year that was
For me, I do this with a dream guide that goes through spiritual, relational, personal, and work areas and ask: What were your favorite moments in 2017? Where did you see growth? What changes can you make? What does it look like to be intentional in 2018?
Check it out here: http://www.jennieallen.com/2018-dream-guide/
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3) With a written statement
This year, my husband and I jumped into the year with a written a statement in our hands that declared what we believe will frame our year. It was a statement that spoke to us as we sat down to plan the year ahead. We will be carrying that statement in our spirits as we make decisions and move towards some dreams in '18. What could your word or sentence be to jumpstart you and continue you focused on God’s next for you? It’s never about pacing but all about a grace word that carries you forward in motion. Choose a word that moves your heart and feet towards your envisioned future.
In ending, remember, 2018 will be shaped by your prayer life so let's get our prayer on! A new year and new opportunities do not mean graduating from the daily disciplines that make up a beautiful, surrendered life.
I am praying God’s steadfast (immovable, resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering, loyal, faithful, committed, devoted, dedicated, dependable, reliable, true, constant) grace over your every step in 2018.
It is a year of harvest and fruition. Whatever has been lost in 2017, will be restored. He will continually birth new things in you and surprise you this new year, I totally believe!
All my love,
Sandra.
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Time to unpack
I want to enter the new year light. I want to enter the new year NEW. Therefore, it is time to unpack.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2. Cor.5,17 NIV)
When I started dating my boyfriend, this verse was pivotal in how we wanted to build and shape our relationship. We were aware that we both had baggage we brought into each other's lives and we knew this truth was something we wanted to cling to. The old has gone, the new is here.
We do not want any of us to be defined by our pasts. BUT in reality there is stuff of emotional baggage to unpack before the new can enter and be enjoyed to the full. This becomes so obvious in a relationship!
What we personally experience is that the conflicts arising in our relationship rarely has much to do with the real situation in front of us. It makes sense with these facts I've heard that normally a conflict is only 10 % about the current situation. 90 % of the conflict arises because of past emotions and fears in a similar situation.
The past can easily have power over us if we do not intentionally help each other unpack it.
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A suitcase that needs unpacking was lately revealed to me. It was a suitcase I dragged along that caused recurring conflict in our relationship.
Thankfully, God helped me see differently. Clearly. So that I do not keep punishing the one in front of me for the mistakes made by the one behind me.
Holy Spirit showed me how I am still carrying a suitcase of emotional baggage because of past betrayal. A betrayal that led to hurt, pain, fear, anger, jealousy, doubt & distrust.
Ugly, I know.
I know too though that I’m not alone in this.
Everyone comes with baggage.
Therefore, we resolved early on in our relationship to be courageous and to not fear the shadowy side of the past that every one of us carries.
A part of being courageous is to own our own journey and the wounds it has caused. Another part of being courageous is to be willing to “feel it to heal it.”
It takes courage to do so but it is necessary if we want to live and stand firm in the new life that has already been purchased for us. It is necessary to be courageous in these ways when we want to refuse to let shadows of our past hold our futures hostage.
Do yourself a favor and read Graham Cooke’s stuff full of revelation!! I love this quote from ”Provision & Partnership”:
"The place of struggle is always the place of your breakthrough, but the first thing that has to be broken through in a struggle is you.
It's your mindset, it's your willingness to trust, your willingness to believe the Lord, and your willingness to step into a miracle."
Yes. Struggle - past - present - future - can become birthing ground for miracles when we choose not to let our past define, destroy, deter or defeat us. We can let it refine us and move on and leave it behind us.
Our baggage isn't too heavy for Jesus! With him our past does not have to make us bitter. It can make us better.
New days, new beginnings & new chances await us. New new new. Our Father makes ALL things new.
Jesus is with us. Love goes before us. Therefore, I'll choose trust for the new year! To not trust will just make me miserable anyway!
Let’s pack light for 2016 and keep pressing forward. (Phil 3,13)
Future, I’m so ready for ya.
"Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.
The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other." (2 Cor 5,17 MSG)
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