Wednesday, January 02, 2019

Every Day A Beginning


Hello Dear Ones,

This is a new year and it is wonderful to have a new beginning, but remember it is only a calendar day, and that every single hour of your life is a point at which you could begin something, make a resolution, finish something, learn something, do better, pray more, forgive more, extend kindness and service to those in your family as well as the stranger.

  When you find yourself going off the track of things that you want to accomplish, or the way you want to live, with your temperament,  your habits, even within hours of  a new day, you can begin again. Every moment is a new beginning, especially to those who are in Christ, in His Body the church; those who have obeyed the gospel, who became new again. Every day is renewable; every soul is renewable. We have a great King who renews us daily as we go to Him in thoughtful repentance and prayer.

With a new year, I am thinking of how God doesn't leave things old. Each day is new, and each season is new. When spring comes, all things are new and lovely, and God doesn't leave the dead, rotting things from fall and winter; he creates a new season. Too often we carry the old resentments and the old hatreds around. This causes a heaviness of the soul, a feeling of depression and discouragement.  In turn, there will be little enthusiasm for life, for progressing, for becoming all that you know God desires in you.

The only thing that is old, is His written word, and his instruction to us through it, but it is not really old as in rotting leaves that decay and die. Instead, adhering to His word is renewing.

People are interested in renewable things, aren't they?  His word is renewable, in that it gives us new life hourly when we comply with it.

We can have Christ, but we have to use His word, obey it and practice it, or we don't have Christ at all.

And if you are in Christ and have chosen the narrow way of life, you will not always be approved of. It is more likely that you will be spoken of cruelly or negatively, but the life you lead is more glorious than the negative that is extended to you. I know many homemakers that receive ridicule from others, because they don't "get out there and get a job" but their work is so fulfilling and good at home, there isn't anything anyone could say or do that would be bad enough to drive them out of their homes to the employment agency.

To those of you who would rather be home, I hope you can find a way, and that circumstances will change so that this might be accomplished.

To keep upbeat if you are care-giving--whether you are a mother, grandmother, wife, or taking care of your own parents and other people, I hope this year you will remember to re-fuel by looking after yourself and regularly doing things you love. The mother of small children must try to overcome her bad moods or discouragement in order to be a light to her little children who depend so much on her.

I hope this year to have a few videos about ladies I have known and the things they overcame in order to keep their lives happy and refreshed.  To sum it up, you don't have to wait for a New Year's Day to begin to be new, renewed, have new habits, achieve anything; you can begin anew any hour of any day.

Sometimes our parents would tell us, when we were in  a mopey mood, to go wash our faces, comb our hair and try to smile in the mirror, and come out with a new, starting over attitude. Other times they made us take a nap.

In the evenings it is more likely that the weight of the day's non-achievements will be heavy on your mind, there is more discouragement, but as they used to say, it is always darkest before the dawn. The next day should begin as new, with a happy optimism, and no hanging on to the mistakes of yesterday.

Sadly there are some people who refuse to do this. They will keep a dark corner of their hearts for grudges and resentments and just nurse it forever. It blights their lives. It cannot produce anything good, lovely or pure. This habit cannot produce creativity or innovation. It cannot overcome any obstacle. 

If you are a parent imposing such attitudes on your children, stop yourself from it, for you cannot give them good memories of happy childhoods and happy homes if you maintain a hateful or harsh attitude. There are some people raised in such a dour atmosphere that they are afraid of "happy" so they throw cold water on it when they can, on others and on themselves.

Every day is new, for God will not bring yesterday with all its folly, back. He gives us a new day to start over.

Good Day, and I hope someone brings you tea on a tray.

Lydia





9 comments:

carol said...

Thanks, Lydia, for this most timely post. Better than 'tea on a tray' for me!! All the best for the coming New Year.

vintage ellen said...

A great post to start off the year! At an orientation for a new job we were told to "Choose your attitude". That has stuck with me for many years. So everyday we can choose to be cheerful, content and faithful. Happy New Year!

Vicki said...

Good morning Lydia,

What a lovely, encouraging, and uplifting piece you have written this morning! You have no idea how very much I needed these kind words to keep going with a positive attitude. These last six months have been so very difficult, but now feel renewed and refreshed to start once again on all that has to be done today, and to remember to take good care of myself as there is much to do!

Love, Vicki

Lydia said...

Thank you everyone. I thought this might make a good podcast too, and I'm getting closer to figuring out how to do that.

Lydia said...

They knew how great that rule was to choose your attitude. It indicates there is a choice! Interesting, and flies in the face of people who are in a funk and think they should see it through.

Dianne said...

Thank you for these words, Lydia. Most needed today.

Julie said...

Once again, you have written a beautiful and encouraging post! This is off the subject, but I couldn't figure out how to use your email link, since I do not have windows email, so here is a link to an article about home design that I thought you might enjoy. It reminded me of your wonderful article about architecture.

https://www.citylab.com/design/2018/08/the-case-for-rooms/563216/

Jaclyn Juliette said...

I absolutely love that message, Lydia. Every single moment of any day is a chance for a new beginning. Be renewed by the changing of your mind. No matter how gloomy things may have seemed, leave the past in the past, seek God and look forward to a better day.

(PS - look out for a package in your mailbox in the next coming weeks from my friend Abigail Bryce. A little thank you gift.)

Lydia said...

Jaclyn there was no need to do that, but tell her thanks; I like mail!! I haven't sent out anything in a long time and want to get back to it. Its five days into the new year and I've failed already but each hour is a new era, isn't it!!! So there is still hope for all the things I want to start!