As I’m journeying toward developing a “Hallelujah” perspective in 2019, I’ve come to realize that my eyes will have a huge impact as to whether or not I’m able to say at the end of the year, that I knew the Lord’s bounty- his reward, his gift, his plenty, his extravagant riches that are mine in Christ Jesus (Psalm 65:11, Ephesians 1:3).

While my goal is to view life through a lens of praise, if I’m honest, it’s not always the first thing I do. It’s certainly not the easiest. My gaze is often diverted to other people, to circumstances, and to the things this world says are important and valuable. It’s why Psalm 119: 36-37 makes repeat appearances as a prayer index card in my journal-

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

When I let my eyes become fixated on worthless things, it usually leads to a trap of comparison that results in discontent and grumbling instead of praise. My focus shifts to “I have-not” instead of “God has.”

Continue reading “The Eyes Have It” →

As I flipped through my Instagram feed on New Year’s Eve, this Peanuts cartoon got my attention. The caption reads, “My favorite memory from 2018 was . . .”

My husband and I were on an unexpected, cross-country, road trip, so I thought this might just be an interesting conversation starter. Sure enough, it prompted an almost immediate response from him as he quickly identified several highlights and answered prayers that were a part of his 2018. The surprise came to me when it was my time to answer. As I flipped through the year in my mind, there was no stand-out highlight that I could identify.

In my mind, 2018 had been a hard year– one of taking a step, then the next one, and then one more after that. I felt tired from the daily grind that includes caring for a senior parent drifting farther away each day into the depths of dementia. While a long season of joblessness came to end for my husband, it had come in an unexpected package that left me still wondering what God was doing. Even though it had been a busy and fruitful year of ministry leading a morning women’s Bible study, I had ended the year feeling overwhelmed and tired, more ready for a break than I could ever remember.

There were certainly answered prayers and refreshing times sprinkled through the year, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of one thing that I would really classify as memorable. It had been a year of more ordinary than extraordinary, more difficult than ease, more head down moving forward than I would have preferred. Realizing that much of the stuff of 2018 would continue walking with me into the new year ahead, a sense of dread and anger swept over me.

How would I begin 2019 with many things still unresolved?

Continue reading “A New Year” →