Welcome friends...thanks for coming by. We're seeking beauty in all of creation... in our faith and our families; our art and our music; our crafts and kitchens, and even in our own backyard. We'll share a poem or a recipe, a picture or a memory; maybe a dream of how we wish our life could be. And though we acknowledge that the world can be harsh, we're keeping it pleasant in our little corner; endeavoring to keep the words from the Book of all Books: ...Whatsoever things are lovely; think on these things.

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Photo: Bee and thistle: Taken high in the Cascade Mountains where there is a bee buzzing on every thistle. by Debora Rorvig

Monday, December 31, 2012

Encouraging Thoughts for the New Year

My meditation for this last day of 2012 was from Psalm 68:19. It popped into my head during my quiet time this morning. In the King James version (the version I'd memorized) it says...

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

I've always loved this verse; it brought pictures to my mind of God loading my life with good things--much in the same way that I load the back of my Jeep up with groceries at the market. So I decided to research further and see what these 'benefits' might be. I checked my parallel Bible to see how the verse reads in other translations. I must admit, at first I was a little disappointed. (For you scholars out there...when the KJV Bible italicizes words, you know that the italicized words were added by the translators for clarification and were not a part of the original Hebrew or Greek text. This is why its good to study scripture in many translations.) The Amplified translation more correctly reads...

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation. Pause and calmly think about that!

What!!! No backing my Jeep  up to Heaven's back door and loading it up with blessings???  I was a crestfallen.

The Still Small Voice said, "No, something infinitely better. I have committed to be in your life each and every day. To carry you through whatever circumstance you are in, and to shoulder the burden of your human limitations for you."

Wow! I decided to take the Psalmist's advice and pause to calmly think about that! (That's what 'selah' means.) It means that on the brink of a brand New Year, I (and you) can expect God's abiding presence in all 365 days of 2013. It means that when I'm troubled or worried or distressed, He promises to carry the load for me. It means quite simply that-- He's got my back! Your's too, if you'll accept it.

And that, my dear ones, is why I can say to you "Happy, Happy New Year!"

Go forward confidently friends...You are so very blessed!

***

1 comment:

Brenda Leyland @ Its A Beautiful Life said...

a BEAUTIFUL meditation... a wonderful way to end the old year and begin the new.

Happiest of New Years.... how can it not be when He promised He's got us covered... in every way.

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